iRide

Ya, I’m ready to call it a month and move onto October!!

So back on the 15th, I ran down the crappy luck I’ve had this month. Well, it hasn’t gotten any better. I have only ridden once since the 14th and basically haven’t had one healthy day all month. I had to take my rear 29er wheel into Bicycle Warehouse because the rear hub is messed up AGAIN!! I found out on Thursday that it has to go back to Chris King AGAIN to be fixed. I’ve already been without it for 2 weeks. It will be at least another 2 weeks until I get it back. That’s what I get for buying those cheap $400 hubs!! {SIGH}

So, back on my ride on Sunday the 14th, I crashed twice and sprained my wrist pretty bad. I decided to give it a few days rest. I had plans to ride the following Friday, but those fell through and I didn’t ride again until Saturday the 20th. Sean, James, Evan, J and I rode at Mission Trails. I have never ridden there and was looking forward to it a lot. We rode all through Spring and Oak Canyons and it was a blast. The trails consisted of mostly singletrack and it was a really good time. It still kicked my butt pretty bad as I was still sufferning from The Black Death that’s been kicking my tail all month. But the trails were fun and I was with good friends. So, despite all the coughing and not being able to breathe, it was a good ride.

I was planning to ride the next day in Fallbrook with dad. Well, that morning, I was stretching and pulled a muscle in my back. I pulled/injured this same muscle almost exactly 2 years ago back in ‘06. It took me a month of Physical Therapy to get it calmed down and back to normal back then. Well, it got tighter and tighter as the day went on and by that evening I was in severe pain.

Tonya went out and bought a “moist heat” heating pad and she helped me keep it going all night. Being that proactive in treating it helped and by Monday morning it had calmed down considerably. I decided it would be good to rest it and didn’t ride Monday morning.

Spencer had a “back to school night” at his school Tuesday night, so I skipped Taekwondo and went to that. To make up the time, I skipped riding Wednesday and went to Taekwondo instead. I had planned to ride Friday but it fell through. Which I thought was OK, because I had rides planned for this Saturday and Sunday.

I had an appointment in the morning yesterday and was going to ride right after. I woke up feeling great. No sore throat. No cough. No fever. I think I’ve finally kicked this virus I’ve had all month!! The temps got up into the 90’s so I decided to wait and do a late afternoon/early evening ride instead. About noon, I dozed off in the recliner for about 15 minutes. When I woke up, the muscle in my back had seized up again. I spent all of yesterday after that and most of today in excruciating pain. It has just now calmed down enough for me to function somewhat normally. OK, so the virus is gone, but now I have another ailment to deal with. {SIGH}

What sucks even more is, mom and dad came out to Ramona today to see Sydney sing at the church her pre-school is a part of. I didn’t get to go to see her sing. Also, since they were making the trip out, dad brought his bike and we had planned to ride out here so I could show him all the cool stuff we have right out my door. Because my back was messed up, we didn’t get to ride. {SIGH}

One ride in the last 2 weeks, no exercise and being couped up inside the house sick, in pain or both almost the whole month is driving me CRAZY!!!

One cool thing that happened this past week was something I got to do on Friday. I have been listening to this morning radio show called The Mikey Morning Show for the past 5 years. It’s the #1 rated morning show in San Diego. I am a huge fan and after listening all morning, 5 days a week for the past 5 years, I almost feel like I know them. They call their listeners P1’s (a radio industry term meaning Priority One, used to classify listeners).

They started this game about a year ago called P1 Trivia, where 2 listeners can call in and play against each other. They have to answer trivia questions that have to do with the 7 people on the Show and things that have happened on the Show. The game is usually played on a Monday or Tuesday. If you win, you get to come into the studio on Friday and sit in for the entire Show. Since I worked Friday’s, I never bothered calling in. I was bummed about that too, since I’ve been listening for so long I know the answers to just about all the questions. Since we went to a 4/10 schedule at work recently, my Friday’s are now open. I’ve tried calling in for P1 Trivia a couple times and always got a busy signal. Well, this past Tuesday when I called, it rang and I got to play!! The cool thing is, even if you loose, Mikey let’s you come in anyway–as long as you know at least a few of the answers.

It was a close game and I got some pretty hard questions. The guy I played got some pretty easy questions in my opinion. Anyway, I didn’t win, but Mikey let me come in anyway. I showed up at the Clear Channel building Friday morning at 5:45 AM and got to sit in the studio for the entire Show and meet all the people on the Show. It was so cool. Everyone was so nice and it was cool being in the same room during the Show. I mean, we’re talking about a studio that is maybe 12′x15′. It’s smaller than I thought it would be and I was right there the whole time. The Show goes from 6-10AM and usually goes past that. Friday’s Show didn’t get over until about 10:40. Let me say it was just about the fastest 4:40 of my life. It was over way to quickly!!

This Saturday I will be spending the day at my first ATA Instructor Certification Camp. It’s and all day camp and I will be a Level 1 certified Trainer after that–my first step in becoming a Nationally Certified Instructor. I’m nervous but looking forward to it!!

So, this week I’m not sure what kind of riding I’ll be able to do. I have to go to Taekwondo on Wednesday. I’ll have to make an effort to ride Tuesday and Friday for sure. Saturday I’ll be at certification camp so that’s out. Man, I gotta start getting some rides in!! Maybe if I can actually get healthy for a day I’ll be able to.

One final note: Interbike was this past week. In case you don’t know what it is, it is the biggest MTB trade show there is. It’s not open to the public–only industry peeps. For the last 2 years, I have worked for one of the country’s biggest online retailers. I still have yet to go. Last year, my employer sent many people. Some of those people didn’t even work for the business, but talked their way into getting passes anyway. Hey, more power to them. I still didn’t get put on the list. Now this year’s show has come and gone. With the way my month has gone, I nearly forgot about it. I still didn’t get to go. Now I’m reading show reports from various people who went. Some had no business being there. They managed to sweet talk their way in somehow. Me–I’ve been trying to get in for the last 4 years. And every year I don’t go and am forced to hear from all the idiots who did get to go. More power to them I suppose. It just pisses me off to see clowns like that post their lame crap. Yes this is my jealousy, bitterness and frustration talking. I’m human, I have no problem admitting that. I know you probably don’t care to read my whining and complaining. For that I apologize. I hope you don’t read this whole post as a huge “Whine-fest” and decide to quit reading my blog. I just had to get it off my chest. I need to go ride. I know that’s affecting my mood. {SIGH}

Until then, seek your bliss.

Ride lots…

I came across this recently and just thought it was kind of cool. Here’s the list of songs I would have play if there was a movie made about my life.

Opening Credits: Dean Martin — “Ain’t That A Kick In the Head”
Waking Up Scene: Stealer’s Wheel — “Stuck In the Middle”
Getting Ready Scene: Beastie Boys — “Body Movin”
Car Driving Scene: Stone Temple Pilots — “Interstate Love Song”
High School Flashback Scene: House Of Pain — “Jump Around”
Nostalgic Scene: Jane’s Addiction — “Been Caught Stealin”
Angry Scene: Rage Against the Machine — “Bulls On Parade”
Agony, Painful Scene: Portishead — “Nobody Loves Me”
Break-up Scene: Dave Matthews Band — “The Space Between”
Sad Scene: Sarah McClachlan — “Fallen”
Nightclub/Dance Scene: Beastie Boys — “Ch-Check It Out”
Buddy/Sidekick Scene: Dr. Dre with Eminem & Snoop Dogg — “Forgot About Dre”
Dreaming of Someone Scene: Chris Isaak — “Can’t Do A Thing (To Stop Me)”
Contemplation Scene: Depeche Mode — “Policy Of Truth”
Falling in Love Scene: Edwyn Collins — “A Girl Like You”
Kissing Scene: Death Cab For Cutie — “I Will Possess Your Heart”
Love Scene: Lisahall — “Is This Real”
Relaxing Scene: Jack Johnson — “Wasting Time”
Fight Scene: Bionic Jive — “Swarm”
Victory Scene: Kanye West — “Good Life”
Closing Credits: Tomoyasu Hotei — “Battle Without Honor Or Humanity” (Kill Bill Soundtrack)

Like I said, just a little bit of fun and goofin’ around. Feel free to comment with your list. Until next time, seek your bliss.

Ride lots…

I haven’t posted an update in the last couple weeks, because, well, it’s just been one of those days–all month long!!

It all started with Monday September 1st–Labor Day. It would appear that the Poison Oak from the Santa Rosa Plateau ride (see last post) decided to rear its ugly head to exact its vengeance on me. The rash appeared on Labor Day.

This was what greeted me that morning. It only got worse from there. I mean, almost unbearably worse. I ended up buying a myriad of Tecnu products. It helped alleviate the worst of the pain and itching. It is all but gone now, but it took just about the entire last 2 weeks.

I mentioned in my last post that I was going to be going on a road trip up to Kernville with James and Sean. We set out on the evening of Wednesday the third in Sean’s motorhome.

That there’s an RV

Right away the trip took a bad turn. About 1:30 in the morning on the way up, we blew a tire.

We ended up limping into Ridgecrest and spending the night in the parking lot of a tire store.

No worries. The tire got fixed and we were on our way. I wasn’t feeling very good, but figured it was the higher altitude and restless night’s sleep in the motorhome. We made it into Kernville and parked at the top of a mountain over-looking Lake Isabella. Our plan was to hit the “Just Outstanding” trail and a few other finger trails. We parked Sean’s motorcycle at the bottom of the mountain. We would park the RV at the top and ride. We would eventually ride to the bottom, where Sean could hop on the motorcycle and drive back up to the top, grab the RV and drive back down to pick us up. I was really starting to feel sick, but ignored it.

Once at the top

…we had some lunch and geared up to hit the Unal trail.

James had a little issue with his left crank arm

Luckily the bolt hadn’t fallen out. We re-installed and were on our way, with a short hike up.

Over the river and through the woods…

A bit of unridable chunk

Sometimes, walking a climb is just fine…especially when said climb sits on a trail, that sits at 7,000′

Nice views too

After that 6.5 mile loop, we headed back to the RV to take a quick breather before we hit Just Outstanding. I was REALLY starting to feel bad at this point. I knew I was running a fever. I had a massive headache. My whole body ached and I had a bad case of the chills. I knew then and there that my trip would be cut short. There was no cell phone service at the top of the mountain, and I needed to get ahold of Tonya, tell her my situation and beg her (LOL) to come pick me up. So, I decided to go ahead and ride, with the sole purpose of getting enough of a signal on my cell to call her.

We started out for round 2 and picked up Just Outstanding

The trail was very dry and dusty

I was able to get a signal on my cell not too far down and was able to call Tonya. I explained the situation and she said she would be on her way–a 6 hour drive each way, or 12 hour round trip!! Yes, I have the greatest wife to ever walk the face of the Earth. She never complained or whined or made me feel guilty even once.

I felt a bit better knowing I would be sleeping in my own bed that night and celebrated with a little log roll

Kernville Tunnel

All too soon the fun was over and we started some rolling singletrack/fireroad mix to get to the main DH to the bottom

After what seemed like an eternity, we got to the main DH to the bottom–2,300′ of DH mind you. I was basically done. I felt so awful and knew I needed to be careful so I wouldn’t get hurt on the DH. It ended up being super dusty and loose–not very much fun at all. Of course, I felt like 5-lbs of crap in a 3-lb bag, so maybe it would’ve been more fun if I wasn’t sick.

So loose and dusty, we had to hike-a-bike (HAB) down a few sections

I suppose most of it was ridable though

We didn’t take too many pics of the DH as we were racing daylight. We got to the bottom just as dusk was giving way to night. I was SO glad to be done!!!

My Angel showed up around 10PM to take me home. I said goodbye to Kernville and my bros. I actually do want to get back sometime soon. Thanks to Sean for setting it all up. And again, muchos gracias to Sean for the pics!!

I spent that weekend and the next week sick as a dog. Going home early was definitely the right choice!! I spent all weekend in bed. I ended up staying home from work Monday-Wednesday and was barely well enough to go back to work Thursday.

I was feeling decent Friday and Jeremy and I decided to hit up Hodges for an easy ride. It kicked my butt like it never should. Being sick sucks!! I was glad we got out though. I haven’t ridden with J much lately. It was good times for sure. I had to work at the bike shop Saturday. Mark and I decided to hit up LPQ after I got off. I knew it would be a good trail to help me get back into shape. I was/am still coughing and slightly congested, but it was a good ride and I felt alright.

Mark, Sean and I decided to ride here in Ramona yesterday. It was a fun ride, but I crashed twice. Hard. To make a long story short, I’ve got some gnarly scrapes on my right arm, hip and knee. I also tweaked my right wrist pretty bad. When I woke up this morning, it had a huge lump on it and my range of motion is about 1/4″–no joke.

I was able to get into the doctor this morning. He looked at it and was sure I fractured it. So, off to the Radiologist for X-Rays. Six X-Rays later, I find out it’s not broken, just a bad sprain. Thank you thank you thank you!! Unfortunately, I still have basically zero range of motion. I am typing most of this one-handed.

So, I get Poison Oak and what amounts to The Plague or the Hanta Virus–I still haven’t decided which one it resembled the closest. Then, when that is all finally clearing up, I tweak the ever-loving-you-know-what out of my wrist. Oh well, at least it’s my right wrist and I’m right-handed. Wait….

Like I said–it’s been one of those days all month long!!

I leave you with a pic I think turned out pretty cool. James took it on a ride a few weeks ago. It’s a steep roller at Lake Hodges. I’ve hit it a few times and it’s really fun. I knew it was steep, but the pic really shows it. Usually pics make hard/techy/steep/rocky trails and features look really tame, but this one does a decent job of showing the bit of sketch. The perspective is awesome. You can really see how high up and steep the roller is from where I’m at and where the road is.

Until next time, seek your bliss.

Ride lots…

Plan A for Saturday morning for Sean, Mark, Ben and I, was to do some 20+ miles of back country exploring to the east of Ramona. However the weather had a different idea and by 7:45 AM, torrential rain and lightening were having their say. So we went to Plan B to meet up in Fallbrook and ride there. But on the way to Plan B, we came up with Plan C to meet Scott/Blue Rat and Tom/Vandyketom at Santa Rosa, at the bottom of Slaughterhouse by the fire station. I have ridden Santa Rosa many times, but had never been up Slaughterhouse. It was also a good opportunity for to meet up w/ some fellow SoCalTrailriders folks and for the other guys to hit up a new trail.

At the trailhead

Ben is always smiling, but he won’t tell us what is really in that inhaler of his

It’s always nice to ride in a canopy of trees, but I’ll pass on the fields of poison oak

Crew for the ride, minus Sean, who was the Trail Paparazzi for the day

Tom rolls a rock feature

But that’s not good enough for Mark, who must be the center of attention, especially when it comes to photos

Santa Rosa Conga Line

Is that a face staring at us from the trees.

Mark kicking a tail whip

Me hitting a berm on the Shivela Trail.

A tree that looks like it belongs in an Alabama swamp instead of Murrieta

Reaching the turn-around point

Mid-ride entertainment was provided by the Visitor’s Center before heading back down Slaughterhouse

We logged just under 14 miles and about 2200’ of climbing. Heat was cranking up by noon, but there was a good breeze going that made it tolerable. In all, a good ride leaving everyone from San Diego very satisfied (except for the poison oak part).

Thanks to Scott and Tom for waiting for us at the trailhead and showing us Slaughterhouse. Again, extra thanks to Sean for the pics!!

A little while after I got home, the boys talked me into taking them for a ride over to our usual stomping grounds. I decided to take the Haro, since I haven’t ridden it in awhile and I figured jumping it would be a lot more comfortable than the Yeti. So, I go to jump the stairs and just before take-off I slipped a pedal. My body got out of position and my landing was pretty henkey. I ended up bending the rails on my saddle pretty bad. I had to totally disassemble the seatpost in order to get it off. Not pretty!!

The rails should be straight across/flat. New saddle time!!

Tomorrow morning, Sean, Ben and I are going to do a road ride. It’ll be my first in about a year I think. I’m looking forward to it and am curious to see what my road fitness is like.

I am also planning on taking a roadtrip next weekend with Sean and James to Kernville. As long as I can get off work Thursday (which shouldn’t be a problem), I’ll be good to go. I’m going to get more details from Sean tomorrow.

Until next time, seek your bliss.

Ride lots…