"Oh, boy!" cried Darby Suckling...

What to do? I got home from the Thanksgiving visit, planning to go out tonight and found my Amazon order -- it's not one, but two books, which I now realize I should never buy more than one book at a time, to avoid trying to read them together... Anyway, I'm about 35 pages into The Road and it's already broken my heart, and I'm a page into Against the Day, which is where I got the quote for this post's title.

Good Thanksgiving visit: Mom & Dad, Uncle Pat, Chris & Tara & not-so-young Christopher, and Tara's parents, a full table for the turkey dinner. A little birthday cake for Uncle Pat afterwards, and I was as stuffed as that bird... Stayed up into the wee hours & watched "Jaws" with my parents.

Today was a singlespeed ride at Huber Woods and Hartshorne Parks (near Red Bank, NJ, ie near where I grew up), where I was joined by my friends, new club members Joe and Dawn. They're from up near Allamuchy, but have been wanting to check these trails out. Happy to oblige, and it was nice to ride there with someone for a change, almost like showing the place off.

I think I will go out.

Woodland Hijinks

Sals Trailwork: Rich and Spanky
Originally uploaded by donXfive.

By the way, we did trailwork at Sals on Sunday. Pretty big crew: besides me there was Doug, Dave, Bob R, Bernie, Spanky, Joey V, and Greg & Judy. We were basically prepping a new trail, which didn't need much more than rake-and-ride (a little benchcutting here & there), and got a good chunk of the trail done.

Towards the end of it we saw a bunch of ATV'ers riding illegally in the area, and someone got ticked off enought to call the police. As we were waiting for something to happen (two of us went to meet the cops at a nearby parking lot), the ATV's basically rode right up to us, ruining the trail as they went -- we accosted them as they were bushwacking, before they got to our new stuff, and Joe managed to keep the situation defused but we basically made them back out and leave, and also found out where they parked their trailers. Well, we relayed this info to the guys hanging with the cops, who dispatched a squad car and busted these dudes just as they fgot back to their cars. Some were from Jersey (like they told us they all were) but a few were locals. It should have been a $300 fine each, but they all got off with a warning.

Ack Ack A Dack

Morning weigh-in: 184.5#, 11.5% BF

Got a call the other day from my high school friend Mike B, telling that another HS friend, Steve Spodak, was in the hospital. Congestive heart failure, difficulty breathing, diabetes -- if you saw Steve or know him, you really wouldn't be surprised: he's always been pretty heavy, and sort of out of control with the food/drink issues (among many other things).

Apparently, he was hanging with yet another old friend (Bob N, who is now, amazingly, a radiologist), and Bob happened to notice the breathing & made him get it checked out, which is what landed Steve in the hospital. I talked to Mike after he visited; it sounds like Steve is kind of in denial about his health problems, since he was trying to get someone to bring him a cheeseburger from the cafeteria, or at least a Coke from the vending machine. Hmmm, sounds so familiar...

Got a Spodak on my back,
It's a Spodak attack!

Reading: Just finished rereading Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 and Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian. Just in time too, since I got an email from Amazon, saying they just shipped Pynchon's new (woo-hoo!) Against the Day and McCarthy's new The Road. They should both be here by the weekend.

Now It Can Be Told

After The Party
Originally uploaded by donXfive.

I stayed home from work yesterday, stayed in most of today too, waiting for the Verizon repairman. (I've had no landline -- no incoming calls, no dialtone on my regular phone -- for a little more than a week.) I made an appointment for the repairman to come out, earliest possible day was Friday and I'd have to be home when he showed up, sometime between 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM. I waited until 4:00 before calling to ask what the story was, and found out they'd cancelled the visit because they ran some kind of test an surmised that the line was OK... Um, thanks for letting me sit around all day waiting, and no it still doesn't work.

They apologized, said someone would be here today -- I insisted it had to be after 2:00, I wasn't sitting around all day again -- and today I got a call at 1:30 saying their workload was too big and they'd have to come another day. I almost bit the woman's head off, let her know just how I felt about that, and sure enough a repairman was here at 4:00. Wires in the house are fine, wires to the house are fine, but at the interface box outside, all the wires have been cut -- not ripped or broken, professionally de-installed.

Turns out, my neighbor had switched to RCN phone service (I found this out later), and RCN sent out some assclown to make the change, which he apparently did by cutting all the connections, then re-connecting my neighbor's line, leaving me disconnected. All's well that ends well, and I thanked the Verizon repairman for helping out, but am now preparing to let RCN know exactly what kind of dipshits I now know them to be.

Long story, short pier: I didn't have internet access at home for a week, now it's back and I have my latest pictures, from both the chili ride and the McSorley's bus trip, posted on Flickr.

Take A Deep Breath, Feels Like You're Choking

Morning weigh-in: 185.5#, 12.5% BF

Chores, yoga, then tuna & wilted greens aglio e olio over fettucine. I can't stop eating that stuff when I make it.

No run this morning, I'm taking it as a rest day (it's also the Chain Gang meeting). Tomorrow is the gym, Friday is the towpath, Saturday is the gym and maybe yoga beforehand (early, but it's a "mixed" rather than "beginner" class), and Sunday will be another ride.

Good news and bad news: I've been using the neti pot regularly, and sinuses finally opened up yesterday morning, so I've been happy that they now can drain -- but of course I'm not all that happy with that whole draining experience. Terrible time breathing in yoga last night, took some antihistamine/decongestant/antitussive before bed. Mmmmm, codeine... shiny purple candy-like syrup...

Gutterball Knock You Out

Morning weigh-in: 184#, 11.5% BF

Fighting my way out of one rut and into another...

Dinner last night was great; that bean and tomato stew turned out to be totally awesome, and very filling. I had a little before yoga then a full plate when I got home. Good thing I like it, because I have a lot left over.

Anyway, pre-dinner then yoga: pretty nice once again, and it was good because it felt like a real workout -- I also felt like I "got it" with a few poses, but of course that didn't last... Saw Violetta there as well, nice surprise, also Lara from Which Brew, who takes the bellydancing class after my class.

Went to bed early (head cold, uh-oh looks like sinus), got up and ran again this morning. Again, just a mile, and did it at a 14-minute pace again, but that's where I'm supposed to be right now.

A Missive From The Land Of Boring

No morning weigh-in...

So this weekend: Friday night was an easy singlespeed ride on the towpath, mostly just sit & spin, then some yoga to loosen up and dinner at Which Brew. Ginger-carrot soup, nachos, Weyerbacher Winter Ale. Saturday: hard workout at the gym, followed by a nap; nitelife was Which Brew again, where I ran into Doug & Lori (they were there Friday too), Eric & Kris, and their friends whose names escape me... I ate an enormous amount of food, I was starving.

Sunday was my "re-dedication" ride: a nice easy road ride, but it was supposed to rain and I was going to ride in the rain, like signing my name in blood or something, to push home to myself that I'm serious about training -- and this time, I mean it! (Once upon a time, about ten years ago or so, it wouldn't have even been an issue. Sigh.) It never actually rained while I was riding, but I'm not sure if that was a bad thing or a good thing.

I got home, did some chores, and then did something I swore I'd never do: I went grocery shopping on a Sunday afternoon. I needed to buy food (by dinnertime) if I was going to be eating at home like I wanted, so off I went to the supermarket. It wasn't too bad, though the supermarket was way crowded, like bumper-to bumper with the shopping carts. Bought a bunch of meat & veggies etc, actually just enough for the meals I have planned for the week, then came home & cooked tempeh-veggie stir-fry for dinner.

The Big News: I went to the PPRAC '07 kickoff meeting last night, and signed up for next year's Perimeter Ride, so yes I'm doing it again this summer and I'll be going a-begging for cash pretty soon. You have been warned...

Ran this morning, one mile at very slow (14 minute) pace, then made tonight's crock-pot dinner: tomato-bean stew. One from the recipe book, we'll see how it works out.

"P" Is For "Prostaglandin"

Mornign weigh-in: 186#, 12% BF

I think that's the name of the chemical, maybe a hormone, that muscles produce when they're rebuilding themselves. It helps to absorb or assimilate protein or something, but it's also the stuff that makes muscles ache the day after they've been exercised -- it keeps you from abusing them again until they're fully rested & restored. I think I've got some in my legs right now, great workout last night...

(By the way, that's why you shouldn't take Advil for muscle aches if you're working out: it blocks the prostaglandin, so the muscles don't hurt but they also don't regenerate, and you've wasted your workout effort.)

After that I went to Which Brew, but had dinner ( the last of the chili) at home beforehand. Tonight will probably be similar to yesterday, except there's an easy ride on the agenda.

November Sun

Morning Weigh-in: 184.5#, 12.5% BF

I noticed this the other day: that thin white November daylight is back. (I was going to mention it then, but then it became cloudy & rainy for a few days.) The light won't really turn golden again except maybe at dawn or dusk, until around New Years, and before that the rivers have to turn gray-green first. Silverlight express, time for some road rides?

Worked late last night, then got a call last night on the way home: my friend Greg's car had broken down, he was at the car dealer and needed a ride from there to his house. Happy to do it -- picking him up was on my way home, his wife was out of town & couldn't rescue him, and he & she were the ones who regularly took me shopping when my ankle wouldn't let me drive -- but that meant skipping the gym. No problemo, I had a backup plan...

Instead of the gym, I went for a run, then did some yoga to recover & loosen back up. I haven't tried to run since about July (when I had some bad experiences, leg wasn't fully ready), so I took it real easy, just did a mile and it took me 14 minutes to do it. I felt pretty good, though there were twinges in the ankle -- mostly on the tibia side, and mostly the little "balance muscles," so no worries, I hope. I was a little surprised by the yoga though, how much of a difference I could see (and especially feel) last night.

Tonight is the gym, followed by (maybe) a weeknight out. I can always blame laundry...

A Bunch Of Crows Perched On A Dead Deer In The Rain

Morning weigh-in: 184#, 11.5% BF

...That's what I saw on the way in to work this morning. It was off the side of the road and looked like a new kill; the crows weren't feeding so much as just standing around yelling at each other, and the hide still looked intact. I doubt if that's their usual food, maybe they lack the ability to tear open a deer carcass on their own.

Anyway, that's your image for the day. For other images take a look at this. My friend Joe was on the Chili Ride and has quite a bit of GPS/mapping savvy, and he made a map of that ride with links to photos. (Look on the map for camera icons & click them -- they're more visible in the aerial photo than in the topo. Since most photos were taken at one of two spots, they all overlap on the map, so he included thumbnail links under the map as well.) I have about 40 shots of my own, both the Chili Ride and also the McSorley's trip, which I'll upload probably tonight.

So, how was the weekend, anyway? Um, good, good... I was up to 186 pounds on Monday morning...

The Chili Ride was great, maybe 20 people total in two groups. I was in the "fast group" with host Kevin, "Stevesquatch," Rich B and Joe, among others. I was near the back for most of the ride, especially at the beginning, but was holding my own by the end so I was happy. Later, at the party, my chili didn't win but I was still happy: beer and a bonfire, chili and desserts, life is good.

The trip to McSorley's was likewise awesome. We got on the bus at 10:30 or so, w/ bagels, Irish coffee & mimosas on the trip in; spent several hours at McSorley's before going to some Chinese restaurant (the only downer on the trip -- I'm not big on Chinese food) in Chinatown. A quick stop for cannoli's and espresso, and home by about 10:00. A great day, even if it wasn't the healthiest.

Monday was ashtanga yoga, then Which Brew for Mug Club night, and last night was voting followed by svaroopa yoga, and tonight is the gym.

It Wasn't Raining When Noah Built The Ark

Morning weigh-in (Thursday): 185#, 13.5% BF
Morning weigh-in (Friday): 183.5#, 14.5% BF

Good workout in the gym yesterday, not spectacular but very satisfying; I felt like I really hit my target areas (uh, basically everything) hard, and I am starting to see improvement as well. I busted out my good old Cyclist's Training Bible the other day -- that's where this post's title comes from, an inspirational quote to start the chapter on periodization -- and I see that I am doing all the right things right now, to be on track for next summer. All except having fun -- I don't think you're supposed to do that while training, but I'm going on a fun ride tomorrow, too bad.

Home, where more laundry waited to be dried, so out to Which Brew for dinner but kept it reasonable: beer is usually my worst culprit for weight gain, but I only had one mug last night, and balanced it with a salad. Quiet night in there even if it was the Day of the Dead, just a few people at the bar, mostly bartenders on their night off. Nice people, but their conversation was much younger, and more female, than I could relate to (movies I've heard of but didn't bother to see, Madonna vs Debbie Gibson vs Paula Abdul etc), so I just hung out and ate with my mouth shut, so to speak.

Tonight is the towpath, then I have to make chili for tomorrow: it's Beth's 11th Annual Chili Ride and Cook-Off, and I am gunning for at least an honorable mention. Sunday is the bus trip to McSorley's.

Fifty Bucks, Fifty Minutes

Morning weigh-in: 185#, 13% BF

Trick-or-Treat went from 6:00 to 8:00 last night, but I ran out of candy ($50 worth, and discounted, so I got even more for my money) before 7:00. Total madhouse, I never saw that many kids. It looked like a parade going by.

Laundry for the Trick-or-Treat time, Which Brew while it dried: chili and a Rogue Dead Guy for dinner. Many there were in costume again. Talk was of the big bus trip this Sunday, to McSorley's in NYC -- and of course I'm going, signed up and paid last week. The evening's TMI award went to Theresa for her graphic description of menopause, with Gary, glassy-eyed and green-about-the-gills, serving as her conversational foil. Good times...

Haunted Nazi Hayride

Morning weigh-in: 183#, 13% BF

Good night at yoga last night. I won't be at the Svaroopa class tonight -- Trick or Treat, $50 in candy might last me the two hours -- so I did the beginner Ashtanga class. For the first time it felt like an actual workout, actually got warm & sweaty at times, and I also felt like I "got it" on a lot of poses and movements, finally understood at least what I'm supposed to be doing in them. Getting there, making progress...

Listening: On the ride home from work I was jamming to WPRB, which seemed to be on fire. One song (maybe called "Dirty Wing?") caught my ear: throwaway song but the refrain was catchy:

I hear you got another stigmata,
I hear you got another stig-maaaa-taaa...

"I hate Illinois Nazis:" For some reason this reminded me of riding in to work a few weeks ago, and getting behind some farm vehicle, a hay wagon with swastika bumper stickers. Behind it at a red light, before my morning coffee, it took me a minute for the fact of a swastika bumper sticker to penetrate my consciousness -- huh? WTF but sure enough, it said "New Jersey Nazi," and he had another one that said "I Believe In Private Property -- What do you believe in?"

Note to self: no fender-benders, no confrontations, this guy had the vibe that says "armed lunatic," but I couldn't help musing, "well, what do I believe in?" Oh, I don't know, maybe the essential evil of Nazism? O-or the stupidity of espousing propertarianism and a political philosophy with "socialism" in its name? (OK, in practice they're not that far apart. By the way, I'm wondering: are NJ farmers subsidized?)

Anyway, when the blacks and Jews come from Trenton for his daughters, er, taxes, they'll find him with "a rifle in one hand, the Bible in the other and a copy of the Constitution in his back pocket," so don't blame him when the world goes to hell in a handbasket.

OK, rant over, but that reminded me of the asshole dad from Night of the Living Dead, which is today's featured article on Wikipedia. Hmmm, wonder why... Ruithidh an taigeis fhein le bruthaich -- oooh, fun size!

A Big Breezy Day

Which Witch?
Originally uploaded by donXfive.

Pretty fun weekend, highlight being the big Halloween party at Which Brew (photo is of Lori P with WB owner Kelly-Jo). I went as a pirate; Doug went as "me." Not going to mention who else was there since, well, who wasn't? Awesome night...

Today was emergency trail maintenance at Sals, lucky break that daylight savings ended but it was stll hard to get up this morning. We had to build "choke points" on the trails to keep out ATV's, which means piling up rocks and logs to block the trail, leaving only enough room for a bike to be able to get through. The piles have to be pretty big or the ATV's can get over them, and they have to be made of fairly heavy rocks and logs or they'll get moved -- that translates into some fairly hard work. We brought bikes for afterward but no one rode, we were whooped.

Incredibly windy day, kind of scary watching the trees whip around, which got worse when Eric decided to cut down a few dead ones...

Spitting In A Wishing Well

Morning weigh-in: 184.5#, 9% BF

Not much posting lately; Blogger's been acting up again...

Listening: The Pixies, Last Splash. Joni Mitchell, Song to a Seagull.

Reading: Big If, The Big U, and Neuromancer.

Exercising: None, unless you count Yoga on Tuesday.

Voyaging: I've been playing with that guile some more, decided to upgrade to the latest version. Got the compressed file from the ftp site & unpacked it, found that it needed later versions of other packages ("big number" library, libtool) that what I had. Got those, unpacked & installed them, then installed the new guile. A few glitches here & there (always with the voyage of discovery), but now it's up & running. The tutorial I'm following is now outdated though...

Doing: Not much. I've been in a funk lately, low energy levels, which hit rock bottom last night: I worked late, my brain was fried and (when I went out) I just didn't feel like putting out the mental effort of dealing with like, social interaction, even though I wanted to be around other people... Real problem is, I'm burning the candle at both ends: work, extra work, go home and play with the computer, and usually there's a ride in there somewhere or a trip to the gym, then I head downtown to check out the local music scene. If there's time afterward, I go shopping. Maybe "too much" is a more accurate answer? Even more accurate would be "vapor-lock," as each thing blocks al the others.

Hey Now

Morning weigh-in: 183#, 13.5% BF

Some catching up: I didn't say anything about this yet, but it looks like my friend/acquaintance Jay is doing much better -- he had bacterial meningitis (super-serious) and was admitted to the hospital last week with acute septic shock. Intensive care, induced coma and life support, they gave him like a 50-50 chance to survive the next few days. That was last week, and he's apparently made an almost miraculous recovery since. He's not out of the woods, or even out of intensive care yet, but it looks like he's going to be OK. You can read more about it here.

Anyway, the weekend...

I met Doug and Lori for diner Friday night at Which Brew, after blowing off my evening towpath ride (I'd rather ride in rain than wind, and it was windy). Nice dinner, cool conversation, and we sat in the front table by the window, a first for me. I also saw a few people from the Haunted Tour, and they talked me into going to the Saturday night show.

Saturday was a "non-gym day" (Dawn's sister is due soon, and the baby shower was yesterday) so I went to yoga. Another beginner class, pretty soon I'll have to start taking the mixed level ones. When I feel I'm ready... After that was breakfast at the Coffee Exchange, then I went to help with some PPRAC fundraising with Eric & Kris, Brian, Doug & Lori, and Eric's niece & her friend. The usual Wal-Mart scene, only it was much busier than I've seen it -- we were dealing with Saturday crowds rather than our usual Sunday scene.

Saturday night was the Haunted Tour of Easton. This was similar to last year's tour, absent the 2005 highlight (a visit to Easton's catacombs -- I shit you not, we have an underground cemetery) but for some reason the vibe was way more fun. I went to Which Brew for dinner afterward (Ryan Carr's band playing, birthday party for the publisher of The Elucidator, Tarot card readings at the window table), then over to Porters, where the Haunted Tour peeps eventually trickled in after their cast party. Needless to say, it became a late night, good thing I walked...

Sunday was a Jim Thorpe ride. Pretty good, though some trails had been damaged by quads, and some destroyed by bulldozers, since the last time I was there more than a year ago. (Once upon a time I probably rode those trails twice a month.) I skipped the post-ride libations, because my parents (Hi Mom! Hi Dad!) were at the Water Gap checking out the foliage, and we met for dinner at Everybody's Cafe in Stroudsburg (two thumbs up for food and atmosphere). Very cool, and I was surprised by how well my plans came together.

Anyway, today is probably a rest day or the gym, maybe some yoga-at-home -- tomorrow is that Svaroopa class, and the girl always asks me if I've been practicing. Wednesday is the "Salisbury Summit," a meeting of local clubs to talk about the Sals trails.

Friday I Got Friday On My Mind

Posts aren't showing up correctly, Blogger's buggered, oh well...

Killer workout last night, added legs and really went for the burn -- I am now in "strength-building mode," with fewer reps and higher weights -- and it was most satisfying. Dinner was Which Brew, followed by a visit to open-mic night at Porters.

Had a good conversation with Andy S at Which Brew, mostly about books. I think I'll be getting the new Cormac McCarthy novel The Road; he (among many others) say it's one of the best books of the year.

Not sure what tonight will entail (probably staying in, to tell the truth), but tomorrow is PPRAC fund-raising at Wal-Mart, possibly preceded by early morning yoga, and Sunday will probably be a ride at Jim Thorpe.

Woke Up This Morning, And My Boots Were Full Of Blood

Morning weigh-in: 181.5#, 9% BF

So, that ear infection...

For a few days there my ear was bleeding. (Gaaa! Bleeeeeding!!!) I think it was just a pimple or something, I checked as soon as I saw it and I could hear just fine, but it was scary to see at first... Strangely enough, the ear problem seems to have gone away.

Look Back In Exhaustion

Morning weigh-in: 181#, 13.5% BF

Well, that was tough! I didn't have much of a race season, but what season I had ended yesterday with the 2nd annual All-A-Muchy race. About 30 miles of technical, rocky singletrack, maybe 5000 feet of climbing, took me a little over 6 hours to finish -- I came in 93rd overall (of 124 starters), which is probably 80th in the open men's division. I was whooped...

It was a great day though, chilly (especially before the sun came up) and breezy, but the trails were dry -- they were in fantastic condition, actually -- and it was nice & sunny for most of the day. Perfect day for riding, an absolute blast.

The rest of the weekend: Friday I walked to Which Brew, then did Porters on the way home (Post Junction in the house), as well as... somewhere else... Great night, I felt the need for a blowout and I sure had one.

Saturday was morning yoga, then over to the Coffee Exchange for breakfast. Laundry, chores, and bike prep took up the rest of the day. Dinner was pizza; bedtime was 7:30.

Sunday's bedtime was also around 7:30, but I am still tired. Rest day today, then "active rest" with a Svaroopa yoga class tomorrow, Chain Gang meeting Wednesday, and either ride or gym Thursday, and whichever one I don't do Thursday I'll get to on Friday. That's the plan, anyway.

Dream King Redux

Tuesday's ride was great (for me, others had many mechanicals), and I came home & passed out; Wednesday was laundry and dinner at Which Brew and no problems sleeping; and last night was the gym, then back to WB for dinner. Sleeping like a log...

I think my problem is another inner-ear infection: lotsa pressure in there, and my vertigo problems were back for a while -- maybe that was the source of the feverishness, an actual fever. When I go for my physical I will have that looked into, maybe get a referral for an ENT guy & get this dealt with once and for all. (Neat stuff on ears here.) This will probably be sometime next week, since all the tests I needed should be done.

Listening: Been in a 90's alterna-women retrospective lately, listened to Tori Amos and now Bjork. Next up will be -- PJ Harvey? Listening to women in the car anyway, in the house it's been men: I've been getting into Gregorian chant. I have a couple of CD's, and I think I'm starting to freak my neighbors out.

Playing: I've started to teach myself Lisp, or at least the rudiments.