Ray's MTB

I was down in Cleveland helping out my brother-n-law. I looked at a map and figured out we where 5 miles down the highway from Ray's. We got done early on Wednesday and that is where we went. I was surprised by the location. It's just an old industrial park...and a sign that says "Rays MTB" with a bike hanging in front of it. I was then excited when the door handle was a mountain bike fork. Nice touch. Sheldon and I went in and looked around for a few. We met Ray and chatted with him for a bit then I dove in. I rented a bike and headed to the beginners room. I rode most of the lines in there and then went to the sport section. There is quite a difference between the two. The sport section has an easier portion with low stuff and then a good mix of tests in another section. Nothing is real high....but it would still suck to fall off of some of the stuff.

This place is sweet. You can pick your challenge and just move around. There is an XC route that goes around the whole place. Pump track.....which I was not a fan of.......but only because of the exit. It was straight up to get out and I couldn't carry any momentum to get back out. I did two loops and was done. I rode around for a while and then I would take a break. Sheldon was on the phone taking care of business and then he was watching the high fliers do their thing. It's cool to watch....but I am scared to death to try and fly. There was one section in the beginners room that I started flying over....but it was short with a flat landing. Next time I want to try and clear a table top....because it just seems like fun.

I will definitely go back and have some more fun. Its just a cool place.....and I was so excited that I didn't take any pictures....lol.

Dear Depression: EAT SH*T

Gas bill, unemployment, house payment, lack of singletrack, daily monotony, water bill, rain, lack of sunshine, ect.

These things all can add up to one very nasty summary: Depression.

I normally get a little down this time of year because the weather is turning colder and I know the opportunity to ride is diminishing. The thought of everything added up with all of my bills and lack of income snowball and turn into me being a jerk about everything. This week I was hoping to ride a day or two and the beautiful days were denied because of lack of babysitter. Oh well....(down down deeper in depression)

BUT!!!!! Thursday I was going to see "Race Across the Sky" and that really made me want to ride....so I did. I had Yankee Springs all to my self for a nice fall ride. It was 57 degrees when I got to the trailhead and 46 when I left 1:45 later. It was a good ride with the leaves crunching under my wheels. I was so happy to be riding that I zoned out a bit and missed a corner. Went straight off the trail into the woods.....good thing it was an open area and I have no injuries to speak of. I felt better....instantly. This ride pulled me out of the depression I was sinking into. Thankfully!

Zack, Chris and I went to the movie and now I am super excited about racing next year...in like 6 months....lol. Anyway.....Depression.....EAT SHIT!

Busy weekend....

Saturday was a very busy day. Soccer at 10:30. Home for lunch, then back to the field for more soccer around 2:00. Megan mentioned that she wanted to go ride even after her game. I was thinking about taking her to Fort Custer to ride the trenches and just get a small dose of the trail. We ended up wasting enough time that the opportunity passed. Ron and Barb have a nice .85 mile trail behind their house so we decided to head there. Meg is still getting the hang of her clipless pedals so this is a good spot to work on technique. We did two laps and Megan was done. I am glad that I didn't drive 45 minutes to Custer...even though it would have been fun! Instead we had a 1.75 mile ride about 5 minutes from home. I don't have any reason to ride as I my next race is not until next April. I just want to get out and enjoy what dirt I can before the snow flies.

Reality....

I realized last night that I am sitting near 1000 miles for the year. Not a ton my many peoples standards, but a good year for me. I don't get to ride as much as I would like. Family has and will always come first. My two older kids are to the point where I can take them more, and I surely plan on that for 2010. I will talk about goals for next year in a post down the road. Right now I think it is a realistic goal to hit 1500 miles before the end of the year. I have two and a half months. 200 miles a month for November and December and another 100 for the rest of October. That is only 50 miles per week. I should be able to accomplish this goal with little issue. I am also going to start jogging at least one day a week....maybe more. I gotta get rid of this weight so I can kill it next year!

Cross....but not what you think....

I have never done a cross race. I am not the biggest fan of running. It hurts and I can think of every excuse to not do it. After watching biggest loser for the past 8 seasons it is very obvious that running is a good thing to do. They are always running on the treadmill or running outside. I remember hearing one time that running is the best overall workout for your body. My response was "haha...yeah right". When I run my shins, heels, and knees hurt so I can't do it. But then I see these 400 pound people running and I start thinking. Maybe I can.....what if I did.....and kept at it? Could be good cross training.

So, Monday I decided I was going to do it. My oldest daughter has soccer practice for an hour and there is a 1 mile track around the sports complex. I walked over to the paved path and looked around for a minute. "Don't Do it" kept bouncing around in my mind. I took one step. Then another. And another. Walking. Baby steps right? Well, then I bolted off on a slow shuffling jog. This was it. I was like Forrest Gump.....I WAS RUNNING. lol. What I found out was exactly how bad of shape I am in. I ran as far as my lungs could take it and then I walked. When I got my breath back, which I was clearly outrunning, I started to jog again. When I needed more air I stopped and walked. One lap down.....maybe I will walk another....NO. I started jogging again and made it a bit further this time before I had to walk. I repeated this walking and jogging process for two miles. Overall I think I ran about 1.25 miles and walked the other .75 mile.

My knees do not hurt....but nearly the rest of my body does. Abs, shins, quads, hamstrings, back, etc. I will never run again. I am designed to ride a bike. I can ride, slowly, for long periods of time and not hurt this bad. I love riding my bike....it is the main exercise I get. I have my trainer set up already because of time constraints....but I am still getting to the dirt when I can. I do need to lose more weight and need to find something that helps.

Tonight Megan has soccer again. Anyone wanna run?

RE-BOOT

This blog is going to be a continuation of my other one. I didn't really like the name of the old one and I wanted a blog which had a unique name and had mountain biking involved in the title. I was given lots of great ideas such as:

Pedal til you're purple!
Riding the Ribbon
POS~Pedaling on Singletrack (this was my one of the best!)

The title I arrived to came to me tonight when I was watching television. I think it will be good to catch the eye of other riders and people who are just curious. To both of my faithful readers, Thanks for following along!


Idea: This blog will be mainly about mountain biking with a mix of weight loss progression thrown in for good measure. It will have cycling related topics generally 98% of the time and other worthless information to rot your brains for the other 2%.

I hope you enjoy!