Turkey Burner

I managed to get out of bed this morning and head to Fort Custer for a Turkey Burner ride. I had full intentions of riding a full red loop and a full green loop. I managed to ride the red and the first part of the green. Legs were feeling like I was pulling a few bags of concrete behind me. For me.....10 miles was enough. I rode. I managed to get there on time and ride. I got to see a lot of my friends and then I came home. Not much else to say right now other than I am tired. Glad I rode and happy to burn some calories with my friends. Off season is in full effect. Don't know if I will ride outside anymore or not this year.....I would like to....but endurance is on the menu for at least the next month.

Thankful....

I am thankful I woke up this morning.
I am thankful the sun came up this morning.
I am thankful my Dad made it home safely from Alaska.
I am thankful my Father-n-law was able to spend Thanksgiving with us.
I am thankful for my children.
I am thankful for my wife.
I am thankful I have a job.
I am thankful for friends.
I am thankful for mountain bikes.
I am thankful for kick-ass trails to ride.
I am thankful for a lot of things....and I am thankful year round....not just today. Being thankful is not a once a year deal....it should be an every day deal. Take a second every day to realize...no matter how bad things are going that they could always be worse. I have had friends, recently I might add, tell me that very thing. "things could always be worse". At that exact moment I really didn't think they could....but I am positive that they could be.....probably will be....and will eventually get better.

If you ride....slow down and appreciate the scenery. Ride the trail backwards. Ride in the dark. If you don't ride....look in the mirror every morning and understand that you have the opportunity to be thankful. I hear people complain about their job....but at least they have a job. I hear people complain about how dirty their house is.....but at least they have a house. I hear people complain about pain.....only to forget that pain tells us we are alive.

Then I hear people apologize for everything that they do. Stand up "sorry". Sit down..."sorry". Breathe "sorry". Just being sorry for everything that they do....or that is needed to be done for them. Frankly....we are thankful he is still here. Thankful for every day he wakes up. Thankful for every "nickle" that is traded between him and my daughters.

Thankful........how about you?

Weight....yeah...again

I am tracking my weight again. I know I know. I need to really get the work done this time. I have some good accountability partners that are going to kick my ass if I falter again. I have a lot of incentive this time, because my lovely wife is trying to earn an incentive trip to a tropical location.....and I would feel uncomfortable on the beach being the size I am. So.....the next round of the fight starts with the scale. Here is how it starts:

Current weight: 263

Weigh-ins on every Monday.

I'm givin her all she's got capin.....

Ever get that feeling that you just don't have any power on the bike. I got that feeling last weekend at Yankee Springs when I was trying to climb tiny little hills. I kept thinking......

 

and just kept plugging away. 3 months is a long time to be off the bike...and as far as singletrack...well....non-existant for nearly 4 months. The little rollers just feel like pure sand. Or maybe it is because I feel like this guy....

....

....I suppose I better get to work. My yankee ride with Brian, Dan, and Jay was not terrible...but it was slow. I lacked power in every climb...small or large....there might be a theme here. I love going down the hills...and I still felt fast at Yankee on the downhills...but the uphills were awful. All of the hills out there are long and just were taking the life out of me. But at least I wasnt riding this bike like Dan was....

These bikes weigh 30 something pounds but go like hell thru the sand and snow!

Needless to say.....I don't climb like this guy shown below.....but I was on the verge of loving climbing before my knee injury....not like my Uncle Cadel....but still.....

So it moves on to the ride today at Fort Custer. I was riding very well at Custer this year....managed a 5th. Today was a different story. Thank G-d bicycles have "granny gears" because I had to use them a few times.

The new re-routs were a lot of fun, but I did take a beating because I didn't have any power in my legs to hold myself up. I went from jamming up hills to using the smallest gears on the bike.....oh how fast the cookie crumbles.....

The good news is that I can still get it all back. I can be faster, lighter.....better. Buckle up.