Levez Vos Skinny Fists Comme Antennas to Heaven

I've been listening to Godspeed You! Black Emperor's "Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven" obsessively and almost exclusively since the return trip from West Virginia. Especially the first movement, which is the ultimate driving song for cruising serious mountain roads. I was listening to it on the drive from Judy Gap to Harrisonburg, probably the coolest road I know, and it felt like I had died and was driving towards Heaven, sort of like Doc Melhorne or maybe the couple in The Robe (or whatever) who walk off into the clouds at the end. Sad, very "parting is such sweet sorrow" at the start, but building toward a triumphant end.

No Country For Old Men

Morning weigh-in: 177.5#, 8% BF

I'm back, had a great time. Many things to say...

By the way, I re-read Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men while I was down there. It's the story, circa 1980, of an aging small-town Texas sheriff caught up in the middle of a drug war: a botched heroin deal leaves a dozen bodies in the desert, where a local finds them and takes off with $2.2 million, chased by the sheriff and an army of drug-cartel hit men. It was an interesting juxtaposition to The Reverend Horton Heat's "Low Flying Plane:" I like to listen to him whenever I'm down in Slatyfork, and that's his song about a farmer who becomes a millionaire drug dealer after finding bales of cocaine in his fields. Two sides of a coin...

Kind of funny analogy, I did a lot of my riding on the Gauley Mountain trail system, but I've always considered the singletrack at Snowshoe to be superior. On Sunday I went over to Snowshoe, but found that things had changed...

The top of the mountain -- which once was empty, but now looked a bit like Disneyworld -- was where the action was, and that was where I finally found a bike shop. (I expected that I'd have to pay, or at least sign a waiver, before riding on their land, so I was looking for the official bike scene.) The place was packed to the gills with downhill bikers in full armor, and there were (packed) shuttles constantly running from the bottom of the hill back to the trailheads up top. Average age was 20 years younger than me.

I was told that if I wasn't going to use the lifts or shuttles I didn't need to pay, just hop on the trails and have fun, but once I got going I found their once-awesome XC trail system to be almost gone: overgrown, covered with debris, and generally suffering from neglect. Sad, actually. Sunday turned out to be my shortest ride day; I was disappointed and bailed early, which actually turned out to be a good thing because I managed to avoid the only bad weather of the whole trip (thunderstorms).

I left Snowshoe feeling like that superannuated sheriff. Luckily, the hippie-granola cross-country trails were still fine at Gauley...

I'm Outta Here!

Morning weigh-in: 177.5#, 12.5% BF

Well, not for a few hours yet, but I'm driving down to Slatyfork WV tonight. I should be hitting the Gauley Mountain trails around 9:00 or 10:00 tomorrow morning, then checking in at Elk River in the afternoon. Sweet! I'll be coming home Monday -- I'll be trying to get in as much riding as I can in those four days, maybe a day or two at Snowshoe, and a couple of rides behind Elk River...

Rode to work yesterday, hit yoga class on the way home, went to Porter's for dinner. Picked up the bike tonight from Saucon Valley Bikes, with Doug's loaner fork on it. (My fork is in the mail & on the way back to Marzocchi; I should see it in a week.)

Meantime, I have a whole bunch of new photos posted, including some from the race at Michaux, some from Mother's Day, a bunch from several early-spring rides in Jim Thorpe, and some from this past Sunday's "Dream Come True" charity road ride, not necessarily in that order. Enjoy!

See you next week, I'm off to talk to the trees again.

Thanks For Stopping By

Morning weigh-in: 178.5#, 12.5% BF

Same old same old: yoga & gym Saturday, "Dream Come True" charity road ride Sunday.

Expensive week, part 2: riding Round Valley Thursday, my front fork blew out. The bike is now in the shop but the fork has to go back to the factory for this kind of repair.

Not much to say otherwise.

The Art Of Living

Morning weigh-in: 179#, 9% BF

Yesterday was a pretty well-done day for me: bicycled in to work (only bad part was the 5:00 AM wake-up), work yadda yadda, then biked back to Easton for yoga, then home, then dinner at Which Brew -- something I wasn't too happy about weight-wise, but it was a very nice evening there.

As for Jerry Falwell's goodbye kiss, I think lapsed-Catholic Roy Edroso said it best, though I did like this retrospective.

Situation Normal

Morning Weigh-in: 181#, 9% BF

Bad nutrition weekend; last post said "not going out this weekend" but that's not exactly how it happened...

Friday night I met some friends at Sogo, a new Japanese / "Asian Fusion" place on Northampton Street. Eric & Janna, Eric & Kris, Greg, Doug & Lori, Deb -- they were there celebrating Eric B's birthday, and I really just stopped in to say hi but had a mohito while I was there. Damn fine summer drink, that mohito. I went to Which Brew after that (the others went to the Funhouse but I still wanted an early morning), had hot wings.

(Earlier in the evening I rode over steepest-road-in-NJ Fiddler's Elbow, thank you very much.)

Saturday was a bad day: I woke up out-of-sorts, did mediocre at yoga (no biggie but still), and at the coffee shop I noticed that the waitress was in a bit of a funk as well; I also noticed after leaving there that traffic was unusually bad -- not congested or aggressive, just bad, like everyone was in a funk. So it wasn't just me...

Drove all the way to Allentown to the PPRAC fundraiser at Wal-Mart (we would be riding our bikes on trainers and collecting change) and that's where I discovered that I did not have my front wheel. I must have left it outside in the alley! It was now noon (in other words, I was already late for the fundraiser) and the wheel had probably been sitting there -- or not --since I left the house at 7:30 AM...

I got home, of course the wheel was gone. I drove back to Allentown, held a bucket and worked the Wal-Mart crowd like a carnival barker. Got home, showered, took a nap, then went to Which Brew, which was closed for the evening. WTF?!? It was also raining.

Went across the street to Porters, where I had an entire cheese plate, a cheese steak and a couple of beers to drown my sorrow...

Sunday was a little better: I woke up to a beautiful day, so I hopped on the Turner and rode down the towpath to Sals. Had a great ride there, and on the way home I stopped in at the Blue Sky Cafe, ate an awesome french toast brunch. Nice solid 34 offroad miles, mellow pace.

In the afternoon I went to Howell (or Jackson, I forget what town exactly), down to my brother's house for a Mother's Day dinner. Lotta fun playing with my nephew, who got a lot bigger & more grown-up over the past few months, and also hanging out with the family. Dinner was General Tso's Chicken, followed by chocolate cake.

Yesterday was yoga (and the last of General Tso), and today will be yoga as well, but I also bicycled in to work today. Very pleasant.

The World Moves On a Woman's Hips

Morning weigh-in: 175.5#, 13.5% BF

My right hip is sort of feminine-shaped right now, much bigger at the lower point of the hip joint than the left one; it also has an enormous but somewhat diffuse yellowish bruise coming through from deep inside. Pain is mostly gone (it's still a bit sore to the touch but that's all), and all tightness has worked its way out: I'm pretty much recovered. Yoga and riding were definitely the right decisions.

VMB meeting at Sals last night, with pre-meeting ride. Rich B, Eric, Eric B, Doug, Trevor, Greg M, Rudy & a few others, some of whom started way earlier. Good ride, but I was disappointed in my technical riding (and speed: those guys are fast), and also with the ride's relatively short duration-- we only had an hour, which is really not enough time to let things develop. I was climbing well though, no complaints there. Pleasant (and as usual lately, very productive) out-of-doors meeting afterwards at the ballfield, then I went to Which Brew -- what, again? -- for dinner. Saw Stu & Kathy, a nice surprise on a weeknight, and sat out on the deck with them, as well as Perry, Judy (talking about her new place) and Ann. I think actually prefer weeknights at the WB over weekends, which is good because I'm probably not going out tonight or tomorrow.

Parting shot: Second night in a row I had a fan on in my bedroom. Bring the heat.

Hold My Hands And Pray For Rain

Morning weigh-in: 175.5#, 13% BF

Killer ride yesterday as I said, and hopefully I'll be up for another good ride tonight; the VMB meeting is at Sals and there's a ride beforehand. Rain cancels of course, and tomorrow will be the gym because of the rain.

Saturday will be yoga and then the PPRAC fundraiser at the Whitehall Wal-Mart; Sunday I'll be racing again, this time at French Creek. I hope I'm not overextending myself, doesn't feel like it but then again it never does until too late...

I'm pretty sure nutrition is the key to good fast recovery, which in turn is the key to multiple workouts. Last night I ate about 600 calories worth of couscous for dinner (this was post-ride, pre-ride I had a bowl of cereal with strawberries) as well as a quart of E-Load, I hit the glycogen window so I think I got a leg up on my replacement carbs. I ate all that on the porch, hanging with my neighbor Ebony, and Nick from across the street, pretending to not be nosy while the cops refereed an altercation between the teenage girls next door...

It Is A Mystery

Looking Up The Upper Switchback Trail
Originally uploaded by donXfive.

I took this photo a few months ago, while XC skiing with Doug & Lori. Other photos I posted from that day are getting maybe 5 or 10 views total, but this one has been looked at 83 times so far, making it my 18th most popular photo. I have no idea why -- I mean, it's a nice picture, I like it, but it just doesn't seem like anything special.

Anyway, rode the "northern benchmark" road ride tonight, 24 miles in 1:25, OK but really just average pace by the standards of a few years ago. I felt fast though, at least until I started the return trip and realized the way out had been with the wind...

One (OK, Two) For Sociability

Morning weigh-in: 178#, 13% BF

Stopped in last night at Bike King, bought new cleats which I'll put on tonight before hitting the road. I was planning on installing the cleats last night after Yoga (which was lovely), but I got a call from Doug, met him & Lori for a couple of beers at Which Brew. Very nice catch-up, hadn't seen them in a while.

I'd gone to Bike King on Monday as well, but had forgotten my wallet which necessitated the return trip yesterday, and with going out last night, I managed to extend to three days what should have been a 10 minute task -- D'oh! Anyway, I removed the old cleats (the hardest part of the job) this morning before work, and should be ready to ride pretty quickly tonight. The hip is just now starting to feel OK, so it's not like I missed anything.

Third Knee On My Hip

Morning weigh-in (Monday): 176.5#, 11.5% BF
Morning weigh-in (Tuesday): 178.5, 11% BF

Quick weekend recap: Friday was a hot lap on the towpath, followed by an abbreviated evening out (bed by 11:00 I'd guess), Saturday was a rest day, did some chores and had an even earlier evening out, bed by 8:00 for Sunday's 4:30 wake-up.

Michaux: A Race Report (something I wrote up for the Chain Gang)

It was an excellent day for racing and riding yesterday, and trail conditions were ideal, maybe even a bit on the dry side with a few notable exceptions. Joe and I, having left his house at some ungodly hour, and being sent on a detour through the woods, arrived around 8:30 AM, just after the 50-mile racers took off. Register, prep bikes, port-o-john, warmup, more port-o-john, and then we lined up for the start about 10:30.

The start setup, by the way, was different from previous years: we lined up on the dirt road behind registration, heading towards the parking lot entrance but from there straight, up that dirt road climb for about a mile and into about 4 miles of mixed single/doubletrack I'd never seen before. Very nice stuff, but also very tight and twisty, hard to pass -- and if anyone stops ahead, everyone's walking. That area ended with a boggy section, one of only three wet spots on the whole course, but like those other spots it was a giant mud pit; the trail literally went through a swamp. It was rideable, but once again we were forced off the bikes by the general chaos. That swamp was the last place I saw my left cleat...

I was pretty ticc'ed at first, and I lost a lot of time figuring out what happened & looking for a spare in my pack (no such luck or foresight), but in the end the handicap might have helped me: I was forced to be very careful with my foot, especially on technical climbs, and as a result I just toodled up at a sedate pace (where I might have gone in more aggressively, blown up, and walked), and actually passed a lot of guys walking up the hills.

Downhill I wasn't so fortunate. There's a lot of bike-handling done unconsciously through your feet, and for the most part (by forcing myself to think about it) I was able to compensate for that -- until one double log where I just bunny-hopped without thinking first... Foot flew to the side, bike plowed into the log and stopped, and I did a somersault over the bars, landing on my hip on a rock. I got to watch all the guys I just passed on the hill go by, thinking "those %$#!!&$ dudes probably think I'm some kind of roadie, passing on a hill and then crashing! I'll show them! Ow, I'll probably feel this tomorrow." (I was right on at least one count.)

The rest of the ride was uneventful. I was pretty far behind, and when I got to Grave's Ridge I was disappointed to see it was empty because I was cleaning it -- until I dabbed on something stupid in front of the only two spectators. That was at mile 15; there was maybe another mile or two of loamy singletrack, then a 5-6 mile jeep road climb (log sled trail, mainly), followed by a mile or so of rocky singletrack before the last bit of dirt road to the finish. My final time was 3:11 or so, just about what I expected (shooting for an average of 7.5 mph) so I was happy.

Saw Joe at the finish, first time I saw him since the start. He rode with Jay for most of the race, and his story is better than mine but you'll have to hear it from him. I also saw Joe Gabor at the finish; he did the 50-miler, and finshed not long after I did. He looked like death warmed over and said "this was harder than the Wilderness 101!" I'm guessing I made the right course choice...

Long ride home, made even longer by construction delays, but it was still one heck of a good day.

One last observation: the atmosphere was very laid-back, very "old school" as both Joe and Jay noted: things were very relaxed, there were quite a few racers taking "spliff breaks" on the course, and most everyone had a bottle of barley pop at the end. Sue, who ran support for Joe G at the rest areas, told us of one guy (probably not an official) trying to induce the 50-mile singlespeeders to chug a beer at the last rest stop, on the grounds that if they were that damn hardcore... He had a few takers.

So anyway, I have a huge (and very sore) welt on my hip, but last night's yoga helped out, and a few more days should get me back up to 100%. Dinner last night was at the monthly Mug Club at Which Brew, and tonight it'll probably be something light.

Lux Vomica (or, Thin Is In)

Morning weigh-in: 177#, 8.5% BF

Stupid hard ride yesterday with my friend Joe at Round Valley. He's way faster than I am, and I basically I came home crushed. Torched my lungs, I even vomited in the parking lot at the halfway point.

The ride was hard, but that wasn't the real problem. This is more of that early-spring postnasal drip thing, which dries and hardens in my throat and lungs, making me cough so hard I eventually gag. I went without my medicine yesterday: the Mucinex which thins everything out and dries up my sinuses, and the Astelin which keeps the passages open, and without them I had some serious problems riding. Well, now I know, I learned my lesson -- once again...

Tonight is the towpath, tomorrow is a rest day and Sunday I am racing Michaux. I will be taking my pills and spray with me. Gotta keep the lungs clear.

Berry Berry Bonth of Bay

Morning weigh-in: 176#, 12% BF

I forget what Wednesday's weigh-in was, but it wasn't good, maybe 179# or so, product of a Tuesday trip to Which Brew for dinner (instead of shopping -- but I was so hungry!) while my laundry dried.

Finally did my food shopping last night. Busy evening: haircut immediately after work, then I rode the singlespeed downtown for yoga -- did a headstand, which doesn't seem quite so grail-shaped anymore -- home, shopping, dinner, garbage, then went out and prepped the Turner for today's ride. (I'll be hitting Round Valley after work tonight.)

It is Springtime. It has always been springtime. Spring is finally here for real, the weather's nice, the trees are in full bloom, and it's berry season at the supermarket. Among my purchases yesterday were a box of strawberries, a box of raspberries and three boxes of blueberries. You'll never guess what i had for dinner last night -- or breakfast this morning...

I Only Think When Provoked

Morning weigh-in: 177.5#, 12% BF

Yesterday was an "active rest" day; I went to the beginner yoga class. It's nowhere near as athletically intense as some other classes (thus "active rest," the only class that's less physically demanding is tonight's Svaroopa class), but I always manage to come home with something new. Many times I've gone there thinking "man I know this stuff, why am I bothering with this baby course?" only to think afterward "wow I didn't know any of that -- how could I have been so stupid?" Anyway, good class as usual, but it was unusually crowded, I even saw someone there I knew. There must be an "intro to yoga" workshop going on: students usually take one regularly-scheduled class a week in addition to their workshop stuff.

Dinner was a salad, some cottage cheese and an apple -- in other words I must go grocery shopping tonight. (Well, I was planning on a light supper anyway.) I was supposed to do laundry last night, with a supermarket trip while it dried, but yesterday morning a friend showed up at my door, who was biking to work in the rain and had decided against it. I gave him a ride in, and he rode home on a different bike (don't ask), but he needed to pick up his bike last night from my place, and by the time he left I decided I was in for the night. Thus, tonight is laundry/shopping.

Political Crack: Happy Mission Accomplished Day!

And Another Thing from the Blogosphere: This excellent post hits the nail on the head. I see this happening in Easton (where a friend once said "every time you have an urban renewal, you just end up with one more bar") and I see the same dynamic in Bethlehem with the BethWorks (or whatever) project and the coming of the casinos. Hmmmm...

Every Eight Hours, A Doctor Avoids Me: Had an apple with breakfast (oatmeal), and one with lunch (chicken stir-fry), and of course one last night with dinner. This really isn't unusual anymore; I've been on an apple kick for the past month or so, usually as a post-meal snack. I don't normally think of apples as either tasty or filling, but I find that if I get one to eat, instead of whatever it is I crave, they do taste good and fill me up just fine.

Anyway, tonight is Svaroopa yoga, maybe a more active at-home something as well (calisthenics etc), and of course laundry & shopping.

Awesomely Awesome In Its Awesomeness

Morning weigh-in: 178#, 11% BF

Great ride yesterday, maybe the best in several years: I went up to early to Jim Thorpe and rode up Broad Mountain via the "stagecoach road" singletrack, met the VMB group ride and did American Standard, then came down the mountain via the Bear Trail for a total of 29 miles, at least 20 of which were pure singletrack satisfaction.

Total adventure bike, this ride had everything: brutal lung-busting climbs, rocky singletrack, logs, loamy singletrack through the pines, hardpack, swamps, water crossings (including one very deep and raging mountain stream I had to wade, at the ruins of an old dam), a dirt cliff/embankment that I had to climb, and the infamous pipe crossing over yet another raging mountain stream. A little bit of hike-a-bike where the trail had grown in, and some road/railroad grade riding completed the picture. Weather varied from cloudy and cold in the early morning, to sunny and hot later, to sun showers, to a thunderstorm for the last mile; companionship ranged from solo riding at the beginning and end, to as many as 21 on the American Standard group ride.

Met up with a few of the crew at the Hotel Switzerland for lunch and a beer afterward, and my day was complete.

The Sarcophagus Cannot Hold

Morning weigh-in: 180#, 8% BF

Well that's what two dinners and a few beers will do for you... Home, dinner, gym, Which Brew, sleep, wake, step on scale -- gaaaa! Good gym workout though, really hit the arms & shoulders hard.

Forgot to mention it, but yesterday was also the 21st anniversary of the (start of the) Chernobyl disaster. (And wasn't I writing about this recently?) At the bar I asked for some absinthe (active ingredient: wormwood, which in Ukranian is "chernobyl") to commemorate the event, but they had nothing, so then I asked for "something Spanish" to remember Guernica, and they recommended tequila. Oh well, another dumb idea shot down, and probably a good thing too.

Meantime, I can't resist: once again here's the Kid, of Speed!

Nosferatu

Morning weigh-in (Wednesday): 179#, 10% BF

Morning weigh-in (Thursday): 178#, 11% BF

Wikipedia sez today's the anniverary of the Guernica raid, which reminds me of Picasso's famous painting, and that reminds me of the photo to the right, with Nixon/Reagan/Bush shadow-government supervillain John "You Can't Make An Omelet Without Raping Some Nuns" Negroponte, posing in front of the UN's copy of the mural. You can almost see the spittle forming at the sides of his mouth as he giggles and plans another Abu Ghraib. (That reminds me, the US government has just released this terrorist rather than extradite him. A-and don't get me started on this!)

Anyway, great ride Tuesday night at Round Valley. Though I was planning to do an out-and-back (which would be about 3/4 of the way around the lake, then turning around and doing the singletrack again) but decided at the turnaround point that I'd run out of time, so I completed the loop around the lake via Mountain Road. My total ride was 12 or so miles in 1:30.

Dinner was leftover pizza plus a little bit of that pasta & tuna, then I went to Which Brew while the laundry was drying. I want to do a fund-raising event there for PPRAC, and went down to maybe talk to Kelly-Jo about it, but she wasn't in. Supposedly she'll be there tonight, and so that's where I'll be as well, after the gym.

Last night was yoga, then the last of the pork tenderloin, with sauerkraut and a salad. (I also posted some photos at flickr.) Tonight will be a gym workout, more pasta, and a short pit stop at the WB.

OK, Not So Much

Morning weigh-in: 179.5#, 11% BF

"Active rest" day yesterday: yoga after work, and then for dinner I made tuna & wilted greens (over spaghetti this time) which may explain the 2 pound weight jump...

Not much to say today, so I'll just do a tour of Teh Internets. Hmmm, lets see... looks like the government has launched a war on chocolate, the honeybees are still mysteriously dying, and playing in the dirt makes you happy.

I'll be getting happy at Round Valley tonight.

Sol Invictus

Morning weigh-in: 177.5#, 9% BF

Good ride yesterday in Jim Thorpe, downright nice in fact, even came home with a "farmer tan" sunburn on my arms... Me, Doug, Eric, Spanky, Dave L, Joe G and Rudy, a good mix of riders (both socially and in terms of ability), on challenging but fun terrain -- and did I mention the weather?

Friday night was cool, outside on the deck at Which Brew, and Saturday afternoon -- evening, since I got there at dinnertime, but the sun was still out -- I went back to hang outside some more. Shockingly early night, I was home and in bed by 10:30, but I started early and my watchwords for the evening were moderation and self-control -- and in the tale of the tape, the results speak for themselves. Ahhh, but life is good...

Ludlow, Colorado

Morning weigh-n: 179#, 10% BF

Gym last night, then leftovers. Just the way I pictured it.

Today in history: It's the anniversary of the Ludlow Massacre. This was featured prominently in the last pages of Against the Day, and was mainly the backdrop for that Scarsdale Vibe speech I quoted earlier.

(By the way, Cormac McCarthy just won the Pulitzer Prize for The Road.)

Tonight I'm riding in Jersey with my friend Joe, then hitting the hay early. Tomorrow is yoga, gym, and maybe a mellow ride, Sunday is Jim Thorpe. It's beautiful out.