Good Beaches and Bad Plumbing

Yesterday thanks to NoPoGirl Kona, Ky, and I headed out to Meldrum bar for a little bit of heat wave swimming.


Ky and Kona do a high five to celebrate the excellent conditions, limited crowds, only a little bit of white trash, and lots of cool clear water. We managed to find a secluded section of the beach away from the crowds of children that would have made my existence miserable trying to keep Kona in check.

Kona worked on his dogie paddle, while retrieving balls floating down the river and chasing ducks and geese. As usual, as the day wore on, Kona became the most popular kid at camp and began to ignore us as he played with his new best friends.

Once satisfied with the tiredness of Kona we departed the river and headed home. The evening brought book club (aka wine club) for Ky and a cyclocross training ride (aka beer ride) for me up into forest park. All went well except for a high speed lightless collision between Sanders and Cheevers. I am sure beer had nothing to do with it, Good times.

Today I awoke and prepared to take Kona for a morning walk to find a hissing noise coming from my basement. Further investigation (water on the floor) points to a burst valve on the only old plumbing in my house (the rest was replaced when the house was flipped). The plumber will be in route around 5pm this evening. Anyone want to make a wager, I am placing the over under at $200.

Good Times, Good Times.

UPDATE: Pacific Crest Plumbing rocks, I highly recommend them. With a quick adjustment and a recommendation for some future work my bill was zero dollars and no cents. That's right a plumber who is honest, I highly recommend Nick at Pacific Crest Plumbing. 503-252-8800

Hoist it High

News Flash: Joel Rosinbum won the Men's TR4 ParaTriathlon National Championship

Hoist that hardware to the sky (A Tiffany & Co. Silver Platter)! Keep your ears to the ground, there will be a BBQ scheduled to celebrate Joel's accomplishment.

In other news, my vacation is over, so sad. Back to "the grind", only 200ish emails, not too bad. On tap for today will be ignoring my boss so that I can finish a lengthy application to BPA as well as an application to PacifiCorp, thanks Jack for the heads-up.

As promised, an update on my efforts to go wireless. I had my "discovery" interview with the manager over at Verizon Wireless. I was told I would be contacted for a in-person interview, it will be a STAR (Situation or Task, Action, and Result) a.k.a. behavioral interview. If I make it through that interview (which I feel comfortable with, I have done a dozen of those at VZ) then it is on to an evaluation of my ability to make a presentation. Picture this; a room full of people that I don't know anything about, me standing up front presenting on a technical subject that I don't understand, me sweating inside my monkey suit, I can't wait!


In other, other news, I'm Fat! No I don't mean Phat. Now that vacation is over and most of my training for cycling is short distance, high intensity, I can't eat like I was this spring. So I am off to Fat Camp, or at least my mental fat camp. The fridge at work is loaded with healthy food, I have eaten most of my bad snacks, and I promise to myself no more cheeseburgers or doughnuts, the latter being tougher. On that note, anyone want a half dozen free something or another tokens for Burger King. I won a few free burgers and breakfast foods at BK through their Transformers II promotional game, I must resist, I must. Good thing my boss is trying to be a hard ass and not let people leave the office on the clock (even though we are salaried).

So here is the target; 10 lbs between now and Thanksgiving (can't lose my Clydesdale status for CX), 10 more lbs before next years Cherry Blossom SR.

Try and stay cool during the heat wave!

News Flash: Freshness

I have been validated by the hipster world, er or at least my cross bike has been. While running an errand downtown, carless, I was told by a passing gaggle of hipsters on fully loaded touring bikes that my Jake the Snake was "Fresh".


Keep in mind, the above photo is a stock photo, so it does not have all of the upgrades that make my bike oh so fresh.

In other news, vacation is such a wonderful thing, two days in I have already hiked 7.2 miles hilly, gone boating, attended a wedding anniversary party, drank 3ish lattes, worked with Kona on dock diving and visited a bike shop. Tomorrow brings Vancouver Courthouse Crit and the kick off to a week at Neskowin. I will do my best to let the people know how my interview went on Monday, but being a preliminary "discovery" interview I probably wont know much, other than VZW is just like VZ and likes to ask bullshit questions.

As I race on a Sunday, I ask you pray for "Rubber Side Down".

Tabor Done

Yes the fat lady has sung and the pain train is parked at the station, until next year. Mt Tabor and I had a tough start but I finally hit my stride on the last week and brought my A game. Unfortunately my A game is probably more like a C- compared to the skinny tall guys with tattoos that I race again. But then again, I like beers and burgers, so they can keep their girlish figure and enjoy that leafy green salad with tofu.

My fellow beef eater Mr Brian Barker formally known as Barker News (time for a new blog pseudonym) was also in attendance. He is a bit faster than me on longer climbs or anything that requires more fitness than raw power (no that is not a dig). After giving him a pre-race pep talk I thought he was going to whoop my ass, but it turns out his gas gauge was a little off, as I found him on two laps to go, so we initiated our grudge match. Brian struck first attacking me at the top of the climb of the last lap, after I had given him a nice wheel all the way to the top. He got 'off the front' so I chased him down catching him at the base off the final climb. He gave me the traditional Ironclad greeting, also known as the bird or the finger (we were inverted). I passed him and geared up leaving the bike in the big ring and dug real deep. Brian got dropped and in the process I picked up a PSU rider and pulled him to the line so that he could pip me.

Success, looks like I've got scoreboard, for now. Up next is Vancouver Courthouse Crit followed by the mid-summer crit series, one or two other crits and then the cross and kremese races will be on us!

Now for some beach time (and an interview on Monday, more to follow on that).

Chow.

Limits Found (Updated with Photo of Hood)

For your reading pleasure, this is version two of this entry with 75% fewer words.

Weekend done, limits have been found. What I had penciled for the weekend was reported to be "core" (as in hardcore) by one of my most hardcore active friends. I just thought it was a busy weekend that would be managed with strong coffee and lots of food. I was wrong.

Friday Night, Coldplay Concert, good show, no hearing damage.



3 hour drive starting at 1am, took some night time photos of Mt Hood via Trillium Lake (absolutely gorgeous full moon view of the mountain). Saw a deer, took a nap, had two servings of McDonald's, briefly fell asleep behind the wheel. Took another nap.

Mt Hood Via Trillium Lake at 3am.

High Desert Omnium, crit race began, I was did great until my calf muscles seized up and I got dropped / pulled from the race. Back to the house, another nap, another race. The time trail was intense, speeds were high, climbs were steep, someone crashed hardcore, I thought I would too.

After the TT it was off to downtown to visit a childhood memory and get a milkshake at Goodys. Still every drop as good as it used to be and for nostalgia sake I even ordered $2 worth of gummy coke bottles.


Food and sleep, one more race. I thought it would be over for me at the base of the first climb, I was wrong. I made it all the way down to and around Craine Prairie before I got dropped, probably one of my better attempts at a race. Next year I swear I am going to finish a road race and sprint for victory, well maybe just finish with the leaders.

I skipped the post race Burger & Beer and headed back to Portland in favor of not crashing the car for falling asleep at the wheel. Heavy traffic and some rain, back home. Ate some food, watched a little TV, back to sleep.

Now I "work". Never again will I attempt this madness again.

I hope.

Drop Chain = Zero!

I have crossed my final hurdle for the year, not dropping my chain at Tabor.

Mmmm, Cliff Bar

Finally!

It's been a strange straining relationship with Tuesday PIR and Mt Tabor this summer. My deep roots of racing (1 whole year) were grown racing on Tabor and the Tuesday night PIR with much 'success'. This years racing began in February and included road races, stage races, crits, the whole gamit. Much to my suprise my results on Tabor have been marginal, full of mechanical and mental failures and my results at PIR have been even worse. Prior to last night I was yet to complete a Tuesday night race without getting dropped and lapped.

Fortunately I am starting to turn the corner, I started the evening with a couple leasurely laps on the back of the 4/5 race to check out the scenery, warm my legs, and take a look back at to where I came from. I was actually shocked at how easily I was able to sit on the back and have a conversation with a teamate. Either the competative field has deminished in that race or I have come a long ways from last year.

On to the actual race, I was able to sit in the race and move arround the field more or less at my leasure. At no point did I feel threatened or out classed, so success there. On the second to last lap, halfway through I decided the pace was too light to serve our purpose. So I jumped out and sprinted off the front of the field. Everything went well until I ran out of gas halfway through the last lap and was overtaken by the field. Still a successful race, I served my purpose.

Tonight, Tabor, no wammy, no wammy, no wammy!

4th of July Reflection

This afternoon I had some free time and a need to bake chocolate chip cookies, but no chocolate chips. So I put on my sneakers and started walking to my Ghetto Safeway. Not that I live in or near a ghetto, did you know the term ghetto originates from WWII? I just have a real crappy Safeway two blocks away and if I can buy two bags of groceries or less I just walk over and get what I need. Anyway, on my walk to Safeway (this one is on par with the old St John's Safeway, for those UP alum out there) I was inspired to think and write about this great country we live in. Being so close to the Fourth of July this post becomes so much more relevant, I think our founding fathers and all of the service men who have fought to protect our way of life (or at least our interest in foreign oil) would appreciate to know that America still kicks ass. But, before you read on, please know I tend to be a little "sarcastic at times" and having blood relations to multiple service men and women, I do appreciate and support the work they do.

So, why does America kick ass? Defiance, Determination, Ingenuity, Anti-conformity, and Consumerism, that's why! So here is the run down on my shopping trip that demonstrated all of these great things.

Defiance - Even though 'The Man' that is Safeway corporate says all employees must wear a tie to work, doesn't mean that tie has to be fastened to a dress shirt. An off shift employee (see name tag, apron, black pants) in front of me buying a Gatorade, decided she didn't want to be ruled by the man, she was going to wear a bright red tie loose around the neck and a bright green tank top. Take that MAN! No taxation without representation. I wonder if she attended one of those tax day tea bagging parties?

Ingenuity - As I walked to the store an older Subaru from the eighties rolled by me, only it wasn't just a beat up, silver non-descript, 80's coup. No it was a statement of ingenuity, granted this ingenuity was infinging upon the designs of those good people at ford and chevy.


But with a twist and an improvement, yep you guessed it, this proud owner had taken his POS and made it a bigger POS by chopping off the roof and window structure from behind the driver/shotgun seats and made his own car-truck monstrosity. Now I am sure you want to know what the improvement is, well, he also added a Rubbermaid truck bed locker box and had unlimited airflow out of his cab, I wish I had a camera with me. Definite improvement over those stuffy weather sealed factory models from the past. Don't tell me that the ingenuity of America's car industry is dead, oh speaking of not dead, I give you the next GM El Camino, only it's a Pontiac G8 Sports Truck or Pontiac G8 ST.

"The Pontiac G8 ST will be powered by the 6.0L V-8 engine, producing 361 horsepower (270 kW) and 385 lb.-ft. (522 Nm) of torque just like the Pontiac G8 GT. In addition, the Sport Truck also comes with a 1.8 meter long cargo bed and 1208 liter cargo space."

Exactly what America want's from their auto makers, more power and less function!

Anti-Conformity - Just because society says you don't need to wear a life jacket to walk across a parking lot, doesn't mean you can't. So one non-square shopper wore his type-II personal flotation device as he purchased his 12 pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon and walked to his car. Maybe he was afraid of tripping and landing in a puddle of 12 exploded PBR cans, you never know. Safety first!

Consumerism - A shopper in front of me, had a coupon. $10 off a purchase of $50 of food product, when he found out that without his alcohol (6 bottles of wine) he was only at $44 worth of food he had a remedy. He quickly grabbed two pints of Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream (which he admitted he didn't need more of). Bam, free Ice Cream and $3 off his bill, That's twice now that the Safeway Man has lost! I should have asked him if perhaps he would prefer some carrots instead?

Determination - Ah the Pièce de résistance, an unfortunate woman needed to park her minivan in a handicap space, a beautiful Chrysler, God Bless American cars, or should I refer to them as Italian now? I can't wait to see the first Ferrari inspired Town and Country Minivan. But why was she unfortunate, because she was on Oxygen. I feel for anyone that has to pull around a canister of oxygen, that would be a real burden, it probably excludes you from some joyous activities like walking dogs in the park and playing a pickup game of frolf. But you know what it doesn't stop her from doing, smoking that cigarette that probably put her in the condition she is in now. She is determined to not let a canister of oxygen or a doctors order keep her from the joys of Marlboro Country.

So yes, this is why America still kicks ass, so have a happy and safe Independence Day and go spend money you don't have on fireworks so you can go blow shit up! It's you God Given American Right!

Joe = Idiot

No Shoes = No PIR Race = Joe = Idiot

Tabor Tonight!