Vacation Tuesday pictorial

Primetime and I go climbing.


I am weak so I roll on top-rope all day.


After a lot of trouble I make it to the top.


Success affords me this view.


Then Primetime cleans the route in sneakers.


Embarrassing.

How little things change...

From a recent LA Times article on rising tensions between Ukraine and Russia in Crimea:

In a scene that seemed cut from tsarist times, Russian navy officials
and Orthodox priests sat at a long table, knocking back shots of vodka
and proclaiming emotional toasts.

"The West shuddered 150 years ago when Russia showed its sword, and
the Black Sea turned red with blood," said Igor Bebin, a pink-robed
priest who rose to his feet, vodka glass held high.

"That was the supreme truth. And the truth is that now, for the first
time, the sword of Russia is shining again. Be afraid of the sword."

The Russians cheered, and took a deep drink.

So when you try to tell me aggression isn't endogenous to Russian mentality and culture, you can save your breath.

not your typical Monday

Primetime and I went for a quick bike ride up Big Cottonwood Canyon today. 1600ft of elevation gain in a bit over 5 miles. Then back down to the truck.



We then drove over to Little Cottonwood Canyon where we saw this sweet ride.



There were some fantastic yellows up there,



as well as reds at the top.

encore!

watch this.
(courtesy of TPM via Smithers)

phew, life slowly regains normalcy

Sitting in Primetime's living room, I finally have a chance to get some emailing, blogging and interwebbing done. What a week. Interbike is a experience to be sure.

I'm glad it's over for me for at least another year and I'm doing my best to relax a bit before heading home where a heaping load of work awaits my return to the office. My cross season will also start next weekend when I am back in the Twin Cities -- I am very excited.

I had dinner with Primtime, his wifey, and another couple they know once he and I returned from Vegas on Saturday evening. We had home-grilled steak strips with mushrooms and caramelized onions, baked sweet potato chips and an extraordinarily delicious peach/raspberry cobbler courtesy of Mrs. Primetime. I had two servings with ice cream. Yum!

Yesterday was all about a little rest and recuperation as well as some climbing in American Fork Canyon. The Primetime family and I enjoyed a tasty breakfast at a local spot (I ate French toast, scrambled eggs and bacon) and lazed at their domicile watching baseball. Then came the climbing excursion. We headed for the limestone crags American Fork for some cranking and, in my case, flailing. I haven't been tied into a rope for one year; the last time was with Primetime as well only we spent a few days on multi-pitch routes in Red Rocks, Nevada (just outside Vegas).

Needless to say, I was apprehensive about how I'd perform. It didn't take long to realize that virtually all of my climbing fitness is gone. To add insult to injury, my form seems to have also flown out the window. Embarrassing to say the least. I felt soft, slow, fat and weak. I couldn't top-rope the 5.10's we set up at the Escape Buttress. I felt like a tyrannosaurus rex; strong legs, useless arms. The silver lining was to be found in the comic relief provided by my flailing -- we all got a good laugh.

On the way back we stopped at the Hard Rock Wall where Primetime worked a 5.12b roof line. He has been getting strong the past couple of years making my lack of strength all the more glaring. Here he is cranking out the final moves of the route



"Sadly," there are no photos of me to share but if you can imagine a fatty with skinny arms sitting on a rope, you'll get the picture. C'est la vie. Time to go back to the gym!

busy week in Vegas...

so no time to blog.
sorry.

exciting news: Google makes a phone that will probably be cool and actually utilize my network (T-Mobile)!!

political news: Palin is still unqualified.

personal news: I've been getting really good sleep on the bed in my hotel room. It has a comforter pillow-top thing under the fitted sheet. I'm totally going to get one for the bed at home.

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

dood! I loathe interbike.
shit sucks.

on the bright side, I have sorted out a route and destination schedule for the trip out. more on that when I'm home and have "free" time.

is it dumb?

to go camping solo in the Colorado wilderness (within the bounds of a campground) when the ranger you spoke to on the phone suggested that you make sure to be aware of the wildlife this time of year (including moose, prong-horns, elk and BEARS).

I'm thinking it'd be ok...

people care what I think!!!

You know how every here and there you hear about polls that say 32% of Minnesotans feel X is a bad idea or whatnot? Well, the other day I received a phone call from a curious number (000-000-0000... seriously, that's what popped up on the cell phone) and ignored it. When the number called again later that day, I picked it up ready to unleash the fury upon a telemarketer. Instead, I got some girl asking me whether she could ask me a few questions for a poll of potential Minnesota voters.

After some skeptical questioning of my own directed at her, I agreed and was asked about Obama/McCain, Franken/Coleman, what issues are important to me this election cycle, etc. It was kind of neat. I've often wondered where they find the people who comprise these polled masses. I am now one of these people.

Now... respect my authoritah!!

suggestions??

I am driving out to Vegas and back for Interbike this Fall and plan to document my journey on this here venue as best I can. I've driven this route a handful of times before but I've never really had time to explore any of the fantastic locales along the way. This is a sad fact and I intend to do something about it this time around.

This trip was originally designed to afford me time to mountainbike in Fruita/Moab with a good friend who currently resides in TN. Unfortunately, he was called away on business this coming weekend (when we would have been riding together) so this part of the journey is off the menu. On the return trip, I had made plans to visit with Primetime in SLC for climbing and a bit of hooliganism and this portion of the trip remains unscathed.

My query is this: where should I stop along the way? What places do I need to see? This is my route, more or less.


View Larger Map

Should I see Arches National Park? Should I explore Zion? Something else entirely? I'll have almost a whole extra day on the way out for some serious sight-seeing.

And how about the way back... I'm thinking of checking out more of Eastern Wyoming and breaking off of I-80 toward Casper, WY, and I-90 which would take me close enough to Mt. Rushmore for a visit. Is this the way to go?

btw

For those of you who don't know what cyclocross is, here's a sample. Sorry about the music...

cyclocross practice wrap-up

A few notes and observations...

1) I NEED to start wearing a heart rate monitor during these practices and keep myself in check; I went a bit too hard at first and had to let up quite a bit to catch my breath and recover. I've been thinking about the subject of how hard at what times during a race one ought to be riding and I have come to somewhat of a conclusion. We'll see if it pans out in the first few races of the season.

2) Everybody else is fast. This makes me feel slow out on the course.

3) Smithers is a machine when it comes to getting in a full workout. Maybe it has something to do with being a parent... Either way, when he sets off to get 45min into his legs, he gets the full 45. He does not let himself take it easy or sit up or quit early; at least this is the way it looks from an outside perspective.

4) The success I achieved learning to remounts sans a stutter-step last week paid dividends this weekend if only in helping me feel less the amateur among fellow racers. I get a bit sloppy once tired, but this didn't seem to affect my momentum too badly -- after all, at that point I was barely moving forward anyway!

5) The practice didn't go particularly well -- I was still toward the back of the pack for much of the practice race. However, it didn't go as badly as I had expected either. It helps to remind myself that some (or all) of these guys are faster than me and that at least some of them race in a category higher than mine. As for category, I'm still undecided whether I ought to race the 4/5 (what used to be C's) or race the 3 (what used to be B's, sort of). The latter race is a 45min format vs. 30min. To be clear, I wouldn't expect to race particularly competitively in the 3's, but at least it wouldn't hurt the ego quite as much to suck if in the higher category. Kidding aside, I'd rather spend $25 on a race that lasted a bit longer but I believe upgrading to a 3 in cross will mean that I'd have to race in 3's races on the road come Spring according to these new formats. I'm pretty sure I'm not fast enough or fit enough to race with the 3's on the road. Who knows... maybe this winter's training will be super awesome and I'll pwn everyone next year. But then again, maybe not.

6) I still excel at the sketchy faster sections. I feel this will work to my advantage to make up where I lack in fitness. This morning's course featured a sharp 180 turn immediately after a long fast downhill. I was riding very well through there as well as on some bumpier sections at the back of the course. Let's keep our fingers crossed that there are still some wusses out there who get sketched out by going fast in loose terrain or when the tires start to slide.

7) I just realized that I'm at point seven and I don't think I have anything left to say. Riding with a pack in a quasi-race format was helpful and will doubtlessly assist me in easing into actual racing. I'll have to figure out how I'm going to maintain some nominal level of fitness while on the road for two weeks at the end of the month; Ped suggested bringing a bike and trainer to ride outside the car in the mornings or mid-drive to shake the legs out a bit. I am thinking this is a good idea but haven't made a decision yet. My first race of the cross season will be on October 4th (my birthday - hooray!); my moms will be in town visiting so we'll teach her to do water bottle hand-ups. Hopefully I don't suck it up!

2004

In the Fall of this year I was settling into the single life having recently split with my girlfriend of two and a half years. I hadn't been in the game for as many years and mine was totally off; I went on a handful of disastrously awkward dates with a Caribou Coffee barista before realizing I wasn't yet over the ex-girlfriend. I was also participating in my first political campaign during those Autumnal months with intent to do my part in dethroning king Bush. Unfortunately, these efforts met about as much success as did my dating exploits.

I had been living in the Twin Cities for a year plus and working at my current job for eight or nine months when my brother came to visit. I took him to breakfast at Al's in Dinkytown on the UofM campus where I first heard this record: Lucero's That Much Further West.




Even now, four years later, this record ushers memories of changing leaves, hot chocolate and cool crisp air into my conscious. This is one of maybe two dozen records to which I've never grown tired of listening. Lucero has put out a number of fantastic albums but this one is my favorite.

inexplicably unqualified

For those of you who didn't catch Palin's interview over the past couple of nights, I suggest you see for yourself by searching Palin Interview on youtube.





She evaded every important question and I wish Gibson had gone after her evasion a bit more intently. I suppose there's a finite number of times you can beat a dead horse, though, before you eventually realize it has perished.

the life of a simpleton

Inquiring with an apple-savvy friend, I ask about the newest releases & updates to the apple iPod line:

I went to the site last night and they have new iPods. But it looks like the offering has gotten narrower (which is not a bad thing) but there are no more short little squat Nano's. They are tall and skinny now. I think I prefer the short squarish squat ones. Should I not?? As for the iPod touch correct me if I am wrong on this chronology: they make the iPhone, then the iTouch (which is the phone without the phone), and now the iPod Touch, which is just an iPod with a giant "touch" screen. Is that right?

I have to say, I'm not all that pumped about the updates. Am I just not seeing the cool parts?

Savvy friend replies:

The iTouch you refer to has always been known as the iPod Touch. It was, and still is, an iPhone without the phone. The previous version and current version of the iPod Touch can run all of the applications, have built-in WiFi, etc.... The new version is cheaper ($229 vs. $299 for 8 GB, $299 vs $399 for 16 GB and $399 vs $499 for 32 GB) and has a slightly different design (with dedicated volume buttons), but that's about it. Well, it does have the Nike+ receiver built into it now, but I don't know how much you care about that.

The Nanos... you are getting double the storage for the same money. You also get nifty new headphones and an accelerometer (shake it to shuffle your music, rotates the display when you rotate the iPod). I personally much prefer the tall/skinny design because it is easier to hold and actually use.

Apple added the "genius" feature to iTunes as well as the new iPods (recommends similar songs to the one(s) you have selected, can create playlists for you around that song), but I don't know how useful that truly is. iTunes 8 has some other new features, but I just haven't had time to play with it, so I can't really comment on them.

Apple also updated the iPod Classic to just one model with 120 GB hard drive. My guess is that this is the last version of the iPod Classic Apple will produce. Next year at this time, it will be completely discontinued.

I was actually quite pleased with the iPod updates and I really like the Nanos. If nothing else, the update was primarily a price drop and those are never bad.

Moral of the story?
It isn't very couth to say "I think I prefer the short squarish squat ones."

poached...

...from CX Steven; feelin' the need to spread the wealth.

tim "the tool man" taylor

was an idiot.

Yet, I invoke his name to hark the awesomeness that transpired in my kitchen this evening. After conscripting a drain-cleaning snake from the hardware store down the way, I pulled off the drain cover and opened the first line of assault against the clogged drain flanking the kitchen sink.

The past few days have been marred by slow but tense battle between the sink and my will to wash my dishes. In answer to each of my advances the sink held fast its position and showed no signs of weakening. I was reminded of stories from high school that recounted battles fought in the Great War -- entire armies fought over swaths of battlefield that could be measured in inches or feet.

Today, however, the sink's clogged drain met it's demise. Using my newly acquired super weapon I successfully broke loose the obstruction and the sink fell, its previously impenetrable force rendered broken and dismantled at the tip of my coiled spear.

Victory -- oh, it is sweet.

solo cross practice today

I warmed up riding over to A's house to say hello and see what the vegetable and bean stew smelled like brewing in the crock-pot (it smelled great). This was going to be a short ride with more than less intensity and as much off-road time as possible in the neighborhood. So I headed out to Lyndale which is currently a hard-pack dirt road from 38th to 50th. There are a few spots where I was able to simulate sandy sections, but for the most part it was quite tame.

My goal was to ride this "under construction" segment of Lyndale and then head south via Penn to 54th, which is in a similar state of dis-repair between the former avenue and Upton, before returning to the park next door for as many impromptu laps as my lungs could handle. Instead, I took a detour to an open park along 50th to practice dismounts and remounts on flat, grassy ground.

Our previous attempts at a flying remount ended with my left foot pressed awkwardly into my rear wheel and the destruction of two broadly bladed aluminum spokes. This time around I started with what I knew completing a dozen stunted laps of riding 30ft, dismounting, running 15ft and then hopping back on avec the notorious stutter-step. Step one was intended to get myself into the rhythm of things. Now it was time for step two.

Soon enough and without my intent the moment of zen hit me square in the crotch... But in the good way! "Hooray!" my mind squealed. I had landed in just the right spot to avoid anatomic catastrophe while sustaining forward momentum. I was delighted. The next lap went equally well, as did the third and fourth. By the tenth, I was ecstatic.

Out of breath and tired of riding in 50ft circles, I pulled off toward Harriet. Arriving at the park near my domicile, I churned out a few hard laps including two short and steep ascents, two fast downhill stretches and an equal number of paved portions. I also threw in a brief stair section to give myself an opportunity to embed the remounting lesson further into my subconscious.

All in all, the workout was a success. I arrived at my front door tired, a little sore and filled with a sense of accomplishment. A small one, to be sure, but an accomplishment nonetheless. Good bye stutter-step! Hello .00004 seconds of additional speed through a smoother transition!

The Empella is done(ish)!

(ish) because let's face it, a bike is rarely "done." There's always something extra to add, or some little bit to swap out. Just this weekend I traded out a QR rear wheel on my Salsa Casserole in favor of a bolt-on wheel. With stainless steel horizontal dropouts, the Casserole is not ideally equipped with gears, a derailleur and a regular quick-release rear wheel. In fact, the folks at Salsa recommend that one use a "old-style" steel QR lever so as to provide a more secure wheel attachment. Having blown apart a BOB quick-release employed in just such a act, I decided enough was enough and tore apart a Tiagra 9-spd hub replacing the axle with a solid one. Now, bolted down, let's see that rear wheel try and slip under pedal load.

Now, after sufficiently distracting myself with that tangent, I present to you a few photos of the completed(ish) Empella -- ready for racing!

the state fair: a pictorial remembrance

I love the fair because I love the food.
If you think about it, it's gross... yet, so tasty.

So bad for me.
But, did I mention tasty?

The people watching is OK; folks have said the fair is great for this sort of thing. I say it ain't any different than anywhere else in the Midwest except for the fact that it's all in one place. So I guess it's OK for people watching.

In any case, let us dally no longer and embark upon this journey of remembrance...

Beer at the fair: how could you not? It isn't good. Mine was flat; the bartender handed it to me mumbling something about a "keg change," and "sorry..." I did my part and drank the flat beer. Thirst quenching!




I ate fries. Twice. This was the better of the two stands.




I also ate corn twice. The corn is terribly delicious. Grilled right there at the fair and then dipped in a vat of melted butter (seriously, I think they use an old oil drum). The ear of corn is handed to you, at times still quite hot, dripping with buttery goodness. Make sure you remember the toothpick, though! It sucks walking around the rest of the day trying to pick stubborn bits of corn from your teeth with only your tongue and oral suction. It can be as frustrating as trying to pick up a fork with your elbow. Just the one. Perhaps the best part of the corn is that they provide massive compost bins just beyond the corn stand. From the earth we come and to the earth we return...

What would a trip to the fair be without adventure? Part of the culinary adventure is trying "new" foods that are introduced each year. This year brought about a score of previously unknown food combinations. Among them were deep-fried smores




and a 1/3lb of bacon on a stick which I passed up for the chocolate dipped bacon




Notice Maj in the background, horrified at the sight. In all fairness, she is 87% vegetarian and not what you'd call a fan of red meats. To be fair to the bacon, however, I must say that it was delicious. Chocolate dipped and topped off with a light sprinkling of sea salt. Pretty much identical to chocolate-covered pretzels, but guaranteed to give you a heart attack by the age of 32.




Unfortunately not caught on film were my enjoyment of Hawaiian shaved ice, the corn, the warm, gooey cookies, the pizza, the cotton candy and a wee sample of turkey sandwich. I spent $60 in one afternoon in St. Paul and most every one is free of regret.

fuck 'im

Jack Abramoff was apparently "tearful" upon receiving a sentence of four years for his involvement in a government corruption scandal. Max could have been up to 121 months; both defense and prosecution asked the judge to be lenient. Abramoff got 48 months and both sides were surprised at the severity of the sentence. Seriously? That is less than half the maximum potential -- sounds pretty lenient to me. Suck it up, Abramoff.

three years ago this month

I was the Penske master.
26ft of cargo space.
The biggest rig you can drive without a special license.
I drove this truck out and back for Interbike.
Now we send three of these out and back for the show.

Nuts.

excitement abounds!

After a four year hiatus, my moms is coming out to the Twin Cities for a visit. This is very exciting for me as I'm eager to show her more of the metropolis I call home. I've got some ideas of what to do and where to take her, but I'm also open to suggestions. I'll have three nights and three days to give her the tour...

Got any ideas?

what it means to hemorrhage irony

It doesn't get any better than this.

Sarah Palin's 17 year-old daughter, Bristol, is five months prego. No, seriously; I'm not making this up. See for yourself.

The expecting mother and proud pappy are going to get hitched and raise the kid, according to the Palin family's press release. This is fine and dandy and I truly hope everything turns out OK and that the kids -- including that little bundle of joy in the oven -- don't grow up to become unstable adults.

I do believe one would have to be a fool, though, to think the girl had much choice in the matter. After all, it's a well known fact that conservatives are anywhere from 50 to about 2500 years (give or take) behind the times. I suppose if my grandpa knocked up my grandma out of wedlock they'd have been ushered down the isle in much the same way. But this isn't the point of my post.

The point, gentle reader, is the following:

When she ran for governor of Alaska in 2006, Sarah Palin was asked if she would support abstinence-before-marriage programs over sex education, school clinics and contraceptive distribution. She was firm in her answer: "Explicit sex ed programs will not find my support."

If there ever comes a time when you wonder, "gosh, what does foot taste like?" I think you'd do well to strap that blue-tooth onto your dome and give good ol' Sarah Palin a call. I'm sure she'll be able to set your right straight. And I do mean straight, kids. Because gays are the devil.