More Pictures!

Dad Opens Birthday Presents
Originally uploaded by donXfive.

I dumped another 28 shots into Flickr, check them out by clicking on the one to the right...

This bunch is from the weekend of my Dad's birthday, when I went down to Englishtown for his b'day celebration, then did what was probably my final "tourist walk" in Easton before the PICC line came out. River scenes, Blues Festival, yadda yadda.

The next bunch will be from the recent flooding downtown, and then some shots of Kevin & family's visit and party.

Rainy day, was out late last night and went to the gym this morning, did some errands, played with the computer, think I'll take a nap. I can hear the train whistle blowing, think it's the recreational/tourist train ride one in P'burg: sounds lonely, making me sleepy...

New Photos!

The Pez That Refreshes, Baby!
Originally uploaded by donXfive.

I've been pretty remiss lately in getting my photos onto Flickr, but I just uploaded 38 shots from late May and early June, including the 12 O'Muchy race, some PPRAC fundraising, and yes a trip downtown to visit the Museum of Pez. (I still have about 80 shots from June/July/August, including more touristy Easton hikes, and shots from my brother's visit, so stay tuned, because maybe sometime in the next few days...)

Heading out after this, going down to WB for the evening.

Hausfrau Agonistes

Morning weigh-in: 183#, 10% BF
Blood Pressure: 129/84, 54 BPM

Listening: Gang of Four's Return the Gift, which is a re-recorded set (done maybe last year) of their hits from the eighties. Been mostly digging "Natural's Not In It" and "What We Want's Not What We Get."

Also Listening: I went out last night after a satisfying "benchmark ride" (no digital input or recording equipment, but my time was about 1:28), had dinner at Which Brew, then I went over to Porters for some of the Open Mic Night. Saw a great, but unfortunately anonymous duo: not the best singing going on, but the guitarist was unbelievable. Sure which I caught their name.

Baseball, You Bet!

Morning weigh-in: 182.5, 11.5% BF
Blood Pressure: 126/81, 56 BPM

Reading: Don DeLillo's Underworld. I'm re-reading it, or rather, making a second attempt at finishing it. I can't believe I put it down the first time, it's totally awesome -- but I'm at the begining, maybe it'll bog down and I'll get bored somewhere in the middle this time too.

It Ain't Allamuchy If It Don't Rain

Morning weigh-in: 183#, 10.5% BF
Blood Pressure: 133/75, 51 BPM

Well, I'm back, and only a lttle bit the worse for wear... Good weekend though, and a good race. I did rather well (considering what I wanted to get out of it) with four laps: I felt that I could have easily done more if the plan was to be competitive, but I only rode when it seemed like it would be fun. Thus, no laps in the rain, and I also avoided night laps because there were rumors of rain coming -- and it did come, but very late & then all day Sunday. I did all my riding before dark on Saturday. But the experiment was a success, I felt like I could ride and compete again, and was actually jonesing for more at the end, almost regretting my vows of caution and non-competitiveness. The funny thing was, I felt very strong on the Friday pre-ride and the first few laps; riding (fast) seemed almost effortless until that final lap. A lot like the other day on my benchmark ride, sure hope this a breakthrough and not just peaking...

One good fall at the start of my third lap, where I apparently hit an invisible rock and went sprawling. Knocked my knees up & wrenched the left one a bit, got a nice handlebar-shaped bruise on my upper inner thigh, and was walking like an old man for the rest of the weekend -- the ankle got swollen after a while too, and the other ankle was also bothering me, but I think that was from walking on uneven terranin in sandals all weekend -- but I managed another 20 post-crash miles just the same.

Long Day's Journey Into The Long Weekend

Morning weigh-in: 180#, 12.5#
Blood Pressure: 129/79, 65 BPM

I guess it was a bit of a triumph for my willpower, since I didn't order dinner while I was there -- and I was hungry -- but I went to Which Brew last night to get my weekly fix. (Tonight I have to pack and get ready for the weekend, and by tomorrow I'll be camping.) Timing is everything: there's a great band playing this weekend, and also a "Voodoo Luau Party." Doh!

Anyway, had a good conversation with Darrin, drifting from topic to topic (pork tenderloin recipes, Chinese buffets, Johnny Depp and Baron Samedi), also found out why it was so quiet in there: they'd had a bit of a blowout the night before for Alison the waitress, who will no longer be working Tuesdays. Once again, timing is everything.

Also had a good, if somewhat disturbing, conversation with another friend: it seems a friend-turned-flame-turned-abusive-relationship is trying to get back into her life, and through rumor and innuendo has successfully poisoned her current relationship. (Meanwhile, she feels like the focus of all her town's vicious gossip.) There's not much I could do except be sympathetic, but I at least said my peace about staying clear of that dude -- the classic "red flags" are there for eventual violence. My problems (right now) seem trivial compared; I'd like to be able to help, or at least give good advice, but I felt totally out of my depth. Nod sympathetically, hope for the best...

Tonight I don't know what I'll have for dinner, but I will be prepping the bikes and then the camping gear, then going food shopping (which was supposed to happen last night but didn't), then packing -- it'll be a long night.

UPDATE 8/28: I removed identifying info about the "troubling conversation" friend.

Benchmark, Va-Va-Voom

Did my "short northern benchmark" ride after work, (611 to Mud Run to 191 to Bushkill) -- and did it in 1:27, or nine minutes faster than the last time, which also was my personal best this year. Not bad! Guess I'm ready for Allamuchy.

SS BSD: Also, today I figured out how to use the programs I compile & link over at the Super Dimensional Fortress -- actually, I discovered my mistake and fixed it, which made for a short and sweet (but very dorky) voyage of discovery...

And yes, the pork tenderloin is all gone.

What Mythical Man-Month?

Morning weigh-in: 181.5#, 11.5% BF
Blood Pressure: 129/77, 51 BPM

I'll try not to rant, but as a result of some people trying to rush things and putting the cart before the horse, I was stuck here until 9:00 last night trying to get something done. What makes it worse is that yesterday was beautiful, and I was planning to leave "early" -- ie on time -- to take advantage of it. My friend Joe, who does similar work as me only freelance, emailed me to say "don't miss this opportunity," which is probably what jinxed me...

Meantime, it was pork tenderloin day three of four. That and another salad, sauerkraut, and the last of the corn on the cob. After dinner I totally crashed: played with the 'puter, checked email etc & went to bed. It felt like I just got home but it was already midnight. (Tonight will be the last night of pork.)

Tonight I'm going out riding, screw anyone who tries to say different. I told myself when I was down that I'd never again miss a riding opportunity, and I'd be an asshole about it if I had to -- I guess the time has come to stop welching on that.

By the way and speaking of Joe, I ran into the other Joe G (vegan Joe), while riding at Sals last Friday. He was riding Rob R's 1x1 (Rob was on his 29"er) because his own bike was in Canada. Apparently he's been spending a lot of time up there, Montreal area or whatever, after helping a friend relocate. Hmmmm... I wonder who's watching the strawberries?

Everything Dies, Baby

Morning weigh-in: 181.5#, 12.5% BF
Blood Pressure: 138/80, 50 BPM

Yoga last night (once again, felt amazingly good afterward), then I got home and had more pork tenderloin (w/ salad & more corn on the cob). I felt kind of agitated around bedtime, up instead of sleepy, so I took the singlespeed out & cruised around Easton for an hour or two. No lights, no helmet, no gears or suspension -- just tee shirt & gym shorts, sandals and a "simple" bicycle. First time I took that bike out since February. I was a little nervous about climbing back uphill from downtown, but I felt surprisingly strong, and my climbing cadence felt vigorous, dancelike, I was almost aggressive dancing up those hills.

Reading: Still dipping into the Edward Abbey reader occasionally, but I picked up a book on yoga last night before class, and spent some time looking it over after I got home. I've been having trouble coming up to speed on a few things (mainly nomenclature, but also multiple-posture sequences), thought I'd supplement class with a little home study. The book itself, several hundred rather forbidding pages of small-type print and lotsa black & white photos, covers everything I've ever seen or heard of within the first 50 pages, which also include the forward, preface, introduction...

Linux Voyager, New Boat: I got a friend (Mary M's husband Paul, who runs a computer repair/consulting company, and who occasionally helps me with my own computer needs) to burn me a copy of the latest Ubuntu distribution, as well as the latest Fedora Core distro. I'll be checking these out, then picking & installing one of them -- after Allamuchy!

Sals 101: Speaking of Mary, check out this flyer that Doug made me -- I'll be leading a Genesis group ride at Salisbury on Labor Day.

UPDATE: Forgot to mention the reason for today's post's title -- I broke my wooden spoon last night, my longest-lived and most useful kitchen implement. Dang! Now I'll have to go carve a new one out of a bigger spoon.

Zombie Dancer

Monday morning fly-by: weight about 182, bp still slightly high... Sals/towpath on Friday, followed by too much Which Brew & Porters, Saturday gym/errands, then more Which Brew but not as much as last night, Sunday rode the Allamuchy race course, helped with pre-race prep.

Yep, racing Allamuchy next weekend, solo; my team name is "Gimpy's Revenge." Time to get back to the weird world of the crazy-tired solo racers, walking and standing around in the woods like zombies...

Still busy at work. No OT tonight though, hitting the yoga class instead, then starting my camping gear & clothes preparations for the weekend.

Last night's dinner was awesome, by the way: I had to cook some pork tenderloins before they went bad, so I had that with some corn on the cob a friend grew & gave me, plus some sauerkraut. Will probably be having the same tonight, ditto tomorrow etc until it's all gone.

Strekefuss

So where have I been... uh, nowhere! Or rather, right here, but with nothing to say.

I've been riding a lot offroad: did a few towpath/Sals day-into-night extravaganzas, also hit Musikfest once or twice (including once by bike, a "beer lap" on one of my big rides). Yoga, gym, no Which Brew because they're on vacation, still managed to gain weight though my friends say it's probably muscle...

My ankle is doing really well; last visit to the surgeon was Wednesday and he basically said "You're done here, have a nice life." OK, I will! Most of my flexibility is back too, except for my toes of all things, which I notice at yoga. Must stetch my feet.

Yesterday was a kick-ass ride at Jim Thorpe, dinner was potatoes & chickpeas in a lemon-tahini curry sauce over barley. Tonight is Mug Club night at Which Brew.

Heavy Tortellini

Morning weigh-in: 181.5#, 13.5% BF
Blood Pressure: 134/75, 45 BPM

Wow that's a low resting heartrate, I can almost hear my blood hammering through my veins, Sploosh! Sploosh! Sploosh! Little disappointed about that weight though. I had a bag o'salad, and meat tortellinis for dinner, guess the tortellinis were heavier than I realized.

Anyway, hit yoga last night, a really good (ie easy) class, I felt much better than last Tuesday when I thought I was going to die. No problems with the ear/vertigo, but I'd been taking Astelin for a few days to see if I could clear things up -- maybe that's what's causing the higher BP?

Tonight will be the gym, followed by more salad (gotta get rid of it before it rots) & maybe those pork tenderloins.

Meantime: today is the final showdown, Joementum vs Nedrenaline.

Where Ya Been, People Been Askin About Ya

Morning weigh-in: 180.5#, 12% BF
Blood Pressure: 144/83, 59 BPM

Whoa, that's a a major spike...

The weekend:

Friday was the "Wiener Derby," Janna & Eric's ride/picnic from the Velodrome. The ride, basically following the "Derby Ride" course, started at 6:00 sharp, and I just made it. I rode with one of the slower groups, then hooked up with Eric R and we cruised at a bit quicker pace for the last 10 miles or so. Hot dogs & summer salads in the Velodrome lot afterwards, almost like we were tailgating since there were races going on. My friends Heath & Hans were inside watching the Madison Cup race, so I went in and said hi, then they came outside & hung out afterward.

Heath told me that he and Margarita, married this time last year, are now separated. Things got a little awkward after that...

Saturday had a lot of running around: started by picking up drycleaning, then got a carwash -- Wilson Band fundraiser, swore I'd never let them touch my car again, but hey it's for a good cause, and this time they did a great job -- then the gym, Sears for some hardware, organic food shopping, and a visit to Doug & Lori. At home: got the new dryer going, washed & dried (woo hoo!) a few loads of laundry while I worked on the bike, and then went out to Which Brew for dinner. They were trying to get ready for vacation -- they're closed this week -- and giving away desserts etc. I got a huge chunk of chocolate cake -- schweet! Very rich though, and I was stuffed full of the dinner I ate and the beer they were pushing (cask of Autumn Fest had to be finished that night), and the cannoli that had already been foisted upon me... I got some help from the bartenders and my friend Kirk, who I think saved the last of it for his girlfriend.

A good night, saw Mike and Carol & their friend (whose name escapes me), and had good conversations with Kirk and and Arnie (it was his birthday) and also with Lee, who don't know well but he had some very interesting things to say. Even so, I left kind of early, I felt like a beach ball with arms & legs sticking out.

Sunday started with a ride at Sals. Me, Brian, Pete H, Eric R, Scott S, and a guy named Ron, who we saw wandering around in the baseball field; he couldn't find the good trails so we hooked him up. The only person missing was my friend Tom H, who was the reason for the ride, I was going to show him around. He actually called around 11:30 (ride started at 10:00), to see what was up. Oh well, not riding today... The ride itself was very good, and though I wasn't the fastest there I felt pretty strong. Lots of other people in the woods, saw three other groups of riders, including some Wildlands Conservancy guys planning an adventure race.

Home, nap, shower and back to Bethlehem for a little bit of Musikfest. I met Joe & Cindy there, had some pork tacos and a pulled-pork sandwich (one animal species, two vendors) for dinner, had a few Brew Works beers and caught a zydeco band, as well as a set of the Red Elvises. Saw Andrew (from Porters) there with a few friends, but I was out of there pretty early: stopped for more food shopping on the way home, and was still home before dark. Ice cream and a little more Edward Abbey on the porch, and I was in bed by 10:00. Woke up exhausted.

Reading: Besides the Edward Abbey reader, I've been checking out The Way of the Peaceful Warrior, by Dan Millman, which Doug loaned me. So far it's sort of like a Carlos Castenada Lite.

Listening: Doug also loaned me a CD he'd been pushing for a while, a band called Wolfmother. I've been listening to it in the car ever since. Kind of super-derivative metalloid rock, but there are a few songs that I really like.

Wow, What A Dinner

Morning weigh-in: 183#, 10.5% BF
Blood Pressure: 134/75, 61 BPM

Looks like it was dinner that spanked me last night, gained four pounds in a day... nachos and a slice of cake, accompanied by two beers and two drinks. Hung out with Kirk, talked with a few others, but it was pretty loud there, at least until the place started filling up. Anyway, a good night, maybe not worth the price I paid but good nonetheless.

Appalachia

Morning weigh-in: 179#, 12.5% BF
Blood Pressure: 120/71, 75 BPM

Rocking fast towpath ride last night, not quite as fast as I'd like but I figure at least some of the lost time was due to the more difficult trail conditions. I rode it in 1:42, with an average heartrate of 159 BPM and a 179 BPM max HR; total calories burned were 2023. I spent most of my time (1:07) in Zone 4, and another 21 minutes in Zone 5, so I think my heart is back in the groove, no longer having overtraining/fatigue issues. Morning heartrate was pretty high today though, which may be a sign that I need a rest day...

Reading: The Serpents Of Paradise, an Edward Abbey reader. Again, just browsing, but there are some good stories in there. I liked his description of a visit to the Smokies, and his talk about the blue haze found all throughout the Appalachians -- that haze can be seen in the hills across from our office right now. Deep blue overtones in the shadows, like some of the sky got tangled in the trees... cue "Starship Trooper"...

Tonight I'm giving Lori P a ride home, think I'll use that to wangle a visit to see how Doug's doing. I may take a rest day today, or possibly go to the gym, not sure yet. Dinner tonight will be at Which Brew: Dave Cahill's record release party is tonight, and since they'll be closed all next week for Musikfest, I better go get my fix now.

The Bugs Of August

Morning weigh-in: 179#, 12% BF
Blood Pressure: 123/75, 68 BPM

Wow! Yoga spanked me last night. No doubt it was partly due to the heat (I was pouring sweat), and I think part of it was that the standards were higher than usual last night -- there were only two others in the class, and they weren't really beginners -- but I also had positional vertigo problems partway through, and that really makes yoga impossible. I may have to put it aside for a while if the ear/balance problem is really about to manifest. (I wonder what gives? My nose & sinuses have been pretty good for months, but then again I've been on antibiotics for months...) Be that as it may, I notice that the classes have not been getting easier. Looks like the same old dynamic: I'll have to do my homework, put in a whole lot more effort than I have been, to reap the rewards.

Got home, actually felt kind of sick so dinner was a bowl of cereal and I went to bed by 8:30.

(Just thought I'd mention that I have been getting some rewards from the yoga already: I seem to have a better feel for my body, especially breathing and posture, and I've had to adjust my rear-view mirror in the car since I'm sitting taller & straighter. After Sunday's ride though, I had to move the mirror back lower, since I was pretty beat down & slumping again.)

Slept with all the windows open and two fans on me, awoke to the sound of cicadas in the trees. We're into the second half of summer, summer in earnest...

Tonight is a towpath ride, and I may include a dip in the river, followed by more dirty rice or maybe that tuna.

Reading: Been browsing through Bacon's Essays, just read "Of Seditions" this morning. It made me late for work, it was so good.

Crush Groove

Morning weigh-in: 181.5#, 12.5% BF
Blood Pressure: 123/73, 57 BPM

Dang! I guess it was just "suppression weight" that I'd lost, but I'm still not too happy to see that bounce back up... Anyway, went to the gym last night; dinner afterward was dirty rice, with a salad and some feta- & garlic-stuffed olives. Tonight is yoga, then maybe tuna w/ wilted greens. That is all.

The Weekend In Review

Morning weigh-in: 179.5#, 14% BF (UPDATE: Fixed weight.)
Forgot blood pressure, oops.

I took Friday as a rest day, worked a little late & then went to Which Brew for dinner. Saw a bunch of friends, sampled some Magic Hat brews but got no schwag -- WTF?? -- and snickered insecurely with the rest of the guys, while the gals all had their sex-toy party (like a tupperware party, I think) behind closed doors in the other room. I was out of there by midnight, Saturday would be busy.

Saturday morning was yoga, followed by a haircut, then I went over my friend Joe's house to pick up his old dryer which I bought (actually, it wasn't me "picking it up" so much as him delivering it, since we used his pickup to get it to my place). Still have a few installation/wiring issues to deal with, but I now have a full set of laundry equipment again. Later I met Joe & his wife for dinner at the WB.

Sunday was a Jim Thorpe ride, the singletrack on Broad Mountain, again with Joe & Cindy. I felt much better on this ride than I have been feeling recently, which was a really nice change, but it was brutally hot out in the sun, and there were several long sunny climbs...

Today I'm working late, then hitting the gym. Dinner will probably be Louisiana dirty rice, or maybe "potatoes & chickpeas in a lemon-tahini curry," if I have all the ingredients.

Hazy Days of Thermidor

Morning weigh-in: 179.5#, 12% BF
Blood pressure: 122/70, 61 BPM

Gym last night, followed by dinner at Which Brew. I kept myself under control, had a cheeseburger & two beers, turned down the dessert & left hungry, but I'm down by another pound today... Pleasant evening, several friends were there, it was actually crowded when I got there (say, 9:30), but things cleared out pretty quickly.

Tonight is another road ride -- if the weather cooperates, otherwise it's a rest day -- followed by a trip back to WB: it's "meet the brewer night," and the brewer is Magic Hat!

Tomorrow is probably either the gym again, or yoga, I haven't decided. Also, it's time for a haircut, and I'm getting a new (new to me, anyway) dryer.

Winding Up, Winding Down

Morning weigh-in: 180.5#, 12.5% BF
Blood pressure: 133/75, 57 BPM

I notice that when my pulse is low, the systolic pressure is higher -- as if my heart is just squirting all the blood around in one big push...

Uh-oh: Looks like Floyd's in a bit of trouble, one of his preliminary doping tests came back positive. It was from Stage 17 too, the amazing "comeback stage." I'm hoping it was a false positive -- I hear he's allowed to be on cortisone for his hip, and he tested positive for steroids -- but if he's busted, oh well.

My ride last night wasn't nearly as dramatic (or drug-enhanced), but I did cut six minutes off my previous benchmark time. I did my "northern benchmark, short version" ride: up 611, over on Mud Run, back along Rt 191 & Bushkill Drive. Time was 1:30, and I was kind of holding back a little... Hills didn't feel so bad, either. I spent most of my time (after the warmup) in HR zones 3 & 4, with the bulk of the remainder in zone 2. My HR maxxed out at 173 BPM, and my average was 150; total calories burned was about 1600.

Dinner was broccoli-and-cheese couscous, plus black beans & garlic. Another excellent post-ride meal (totally nailed the glycogen window too), even though it was driven mainly by my recurring failure to go food shopping.

Tonight is the gym, followed by, um, food shopping.