Being Thin

Over the past three years my body has gone through a pretty big transformation from being a basketball player to a cyclist. I've lost 40 pounds and most of my muscle from the upper regions of my body has trimmed way down. Plus I lost a bunch of fat and leaned up too. I actually weigh less than my collegiate playing days (better endurance too).


But I thought this picture was interesting to see. Amazing how thin a pro cyclist is when you strip away the jersey. I'm sure not everybody is like this on the pro tour. So to my friends out there who worry that I'm "wasting away", don't fret. I don't look like this.

Acts of Random Happiness

Taylor is almost four months old and she's crossed over from being a docile infant to the realm of unexplained happiness. It used to take a bit of work to get her to smile, but now she's throwing out smiles like a politician wanting to shake every hand at a rally. It's a nice change as now I don't have to work hard making high-pitched baby sounds to get a reaction.

She also has the kung-fu leg kicks going too. Poor Tate and Logan may get one of these kicks straight to their heads if they're not paying attention. I fully expect this to happen to Tate as his luck with his head has been pretty low of late. First he accidentally closed the car door on his head (how does anybody do this?!? ... don't worry, the door was closing very slowly) then he ran into a chair at my in-laws dinner table. He takes life "head-on" apparently...

Pet Peeve - Earbuds

I own one and I'm sure you probably do to. They're great to have and make things so, so much more convenient. Yeah, I'm talking about the iPod. Whether you've got the Nano, the iPod or the iPhone I do marvel in how it makes my library of 400+ CD's all come together so seamlessly.

But enough about my man-crush on this device. I'm peeved and here's why. I'm not a fan of these things being used by cyclists.

The other day I was climbing up Hwy 9 out of Saratoga and came passed a cyclist. As usual I gave him some words of encouragement and kept motoring along. Next up was another cyclist about 300 yards ahead.

Upon reaching her I gave her some encouragement as well, but it fell on deaf ears. Ok, not deaf, but ears that were being occupied by the iPod earbuds. So my kind words were not heard, and then when I passed, I get this incredulous look from the rider as if to say, "At least you could have said you were passing me?!?".

Come on! You had your iPod blasting who-knows-what into your cranium and you decide to give me that look and attitude?!?

So that's just my most recent experience. I actually have had teammates tell me of stories where people listening to music have turned into traffic and/or other cyclists passing from behind because they can't hear what's happening around them.

But hey, who am I to tell people what to do. You just go ahead and get that love tap from the Ford F150 next time...just let me know if it "snuck" up on you and pounced unexpectedly from behind.

Not Surprised

Read this little news bit this morning. For some reason I'm not surprised. Seeing guys come out of nowhere is a pretty clear sign that something might be in their blood. I'm just glad CERA is getting detected and actions are being swift.

Maybe Kohl and our California governor can get together and swap dopping stories...

SJBC Winter Series is Here

Once again the cooler morning temperatures is about to bring out those hardy souls for some Fall and Winter racing at the Winter Series (http://www.teamsanjose.org/ws/2008/). The past two years I've done these events I used them as major training rides to build up the old engine. This year I'll have none of that. Ok, maybe a little, but I'm not going to be putting my nose out there for the sake of trying to peak again in February. I'd rather peak later in 2009.

I'll still be doing most of the events, but might just hang out with some of the new riders and do some mentoring. That might be exactly what I need.

Getting back on the bike

Last year I was coming off my L4/L5 back injury and was itching to put in hard rides and get my fitness back. This year it's a completely different story.

I hit my goals and have pretty much sat on my butt enjoying some time over the past month doing stuff around the house. It's amazing how much you can get done when you're not racing. I did do one great ride that was new to me during this time. We spent a weekend down in Cambria for a wedding. Upon the recommendation of a teammate I decided to ride up Santa Rosa Creek Drive and explore the canyon. Nice little road until you hit the 'wall'. Yes, the road literally jacks up from a nice meandering ride and points skyward. Boy, that was a gut check. Those extra pounds on me reared their ugly head.

Looking forward I'm pretty excited about next season. I've taken delivery of a TT bike and I'm hoping to focus on TT events in 2009. Between the SJBC Winter Series, Beat the Clock and those events on the NCNCA calendar I'm hoping to spend quite a bit of time doing these.

I'm also tossing the idea around of getting a coach. This is a hard call for me to make. I do enough research to arm myself with information to be a pretty well-informed self-coached athlete. But on the other hand, I'm sure working with a coach would help me. It will be interesting to note which voice in my head wins. In the meantime I'll be easing back into the bike and taking it easy during the Winter Series.

Palin - I can't wait for SNL

Saturday Night Live is going to be great. How do I know? Sarah Palin is dropping some great sound bytes during the debate. So far this is what I've seen:

• Winking at the camera
• Calling out Joe Sixpack and Hockey Moms
• Her north-of-the-border accent gets accentuated when she's under pressure and trying to answer a hard question

And this was in the first 5 minutes of the debate. I might actually pay attention to this election due to the fact that so much comedic material is forthcoming.