Nationals Day #1

We made it up here to Colorado Springs without too much trouble. It helps a ton that we travelled with Rob and Royce (one of Noah's teammates) to get here. We did run through a nasty hail storm, but even at that we made it from Stella Sola to the hotel in 12hr even. Austin and Hunter showed up a little later with their folks.

Home is the DoubleTree, so it isn't like we are roughing it. We have several restaurants within walking distance, and we've made a WalMart run to take care of the times we don't want to even walk.

On Friday the boys got in a great tune up ride on the track. It is basically the same dimensions as Alkek (Houston), but it is quite a bit smoother.

Last night (Saturday), Hunter and Noah both had 500m TTs, and Austin had the 25K Points Race. Austin rode the best and strongest I've ever seen him ride, and I've seen him do some big things on the bike. I believe he was around 15th. Maybe a bit better. There were 50 or so starters. It was very late when his race was done, so we didn't hang around, as we wanted to get the younger boys to bed.

Hunter took 1.5 sec (HUGE) off of his best 500m time.

Noah finished 3rd in his age group, earning his first medal at a National Championships.

Since I'm coaching here, I didn't bring the camera, but Steve (Hunter and Austin's Dad) is taking lots of shots, and I hope to get those up here soon.


Qualifiers this morning for Hunter and Noah. Austin and Royce race tonight. Hopefully Noah and Hunter will be as well.

Go White Boy

Dr. Bruce Dickinson

First thing this morning, Reanie said, "Daddy, I have the fever."
So I told her, of course, "The only prescription is 'more cowbell.'"

graduated a year early and everything

Jordan brings in a book from outside. He shows it to me and says, "I've read this before. I didn't like it. Too many characters and no plot." Then he sat it down on the table and walked away.

went down to Austin for a bike race on Saturday

Mama and the POSS2 watching the race.











Noah and Hunter, cross the line together finishing 1-2.

TENZING IN THE HOUSE!


Noah and some hardware.

In case you were wondering

The purple of my sister, Cami's, hair and that of my love handle do not exactly match. I'll do better next time, though, I think it might be easier for her to match me. I couldn't get all of the "blonde" out.

Grumpy sound

Why does the day after the day after hurt so much more?

zigged when I should have zagged

Daddy had a good day at the office

Texas State Road Race Championships

1st Andrew Dahlehim Pro, 1,2
1st Christina Smith Women Cat 3 (Team Lone Star Works)
2nd Tammy Sporleder Women Cat 3 (Team Lone Star Works)
7th Cassandra Criswell Women Cat 3 (Team Lone Star Works)
2nd Kim Jennings Women Cat 4 (Team Lone Star Works)
6th Bibi Martinez Women Cat 4 (Team Lone Star Works)
3rd Darwin Darr Men Cat 4
4th Ken Maclean Men Cat 4
5th Mark Kuithe Men Cat 4
9th Frank Everly Men Cat 4

Oh, there's definitely gonna be a party!

Finger snap, gah-roovay

This makes me want to get back in the classroom. Good thing it is summer, so it'll wear off by the time school starts.

It's been a nice day

Kid #1 and I went on a easy ride this morning. We rode into Old Town Lewisville, which is the opposite direction of 101% of the rides around here since it goes in to towne (have to use the "e" on the end).

It was fun to hit different roads and see and hear the morning sounds of the town coming to life. It wasn't all that long ago that Lewisville was a town of 10,000 or so people that was primarly farmers, ranchers and folks who wanted to live near the lake. The mascot at Lewisville High School (where I taught for awhile) is the Fighting Farmer.

We rolled into Old Town and came upon the famer's market. I peeled off an Abe Lincoln for Kid #1 because I roll big like that and told him to go grab something like fruit that we can eat before heading back home.

There was a pastry and coffee table, several vegetable and fruit stands, a pasta (?) table, a couple crafts tables and so forth. #1 clickity clacked past all the Saturday morning folks while wearing his cycling leotard and shoes. It looks cool when he does it. It looks silly when I do it.

He asked for a couple peaches and apples, but they sold him a basket of each anyway. We ate until we were full and packed the rest for the POSS2.

While dribbling fresh peach juice down our chins we saw #1's great-gradnmother there picking out some fresh veggies. We visited a bit. It was--and I mean this sincerely--nice.

His great-grandmother has been a Lewisville/Flower Mound resident probably as long or longer than anyone alive. They lived there before there were neighborhoods and strip centers and all that. And there we were in the old town on Main St at the farmer's market eating fresh fruit and visiting a great-grandparent.

So I slipped Norman Rockwell, who was painting caricatures in a booth, another big $5 I had (because I roll like that) and made our way home.

And then I got to go on a lunch date with #2 to Sneaky Pete's (I know it is called Little Pete's now, but to me it will always be Sneaky Pete's) for lunch. We watched the people come in and out on their boats, we fed the ducks and we had pizza "because it rhymes with 'Pete'".

It was all so real and Dr Seuss at the same time

Noah, Jordan and I rolled up to the house following the Wednesday night ride. We were feeling pretty good about ourselves, and it was getting better because we could smell dinner on the grill from about 1/4 mile away.

As we hit the driveway, out from behind the dense grapevine on the front fence comes Mama on the lawn tractor. She's wearing the skirt and blouse she wore to work that day. In her lap is a naked Buddy. Also in her lap is Reanie dressed in a black ballet outfit, complete with hot pink tutu. At the end of the driveway is a big bouncy slide fully inflated.

Buddy rules II

We're the all of us, including Jordan, riding in the car to Denton for some not-Mama-made pizza. In the course of discussion, Noah explains some problem he solved that did earn a polite nod of acknowledgment from me. Buddy, with perfect timing says, "That's good thinking, Noah".

Buddy rules

Buddy and I were watching the last bit of the Giro stage today. While sitting in my lap, he pointed to the screen and asked, "Is that you, Daddy?"

"No, Buddy. But thanks."

Then he belts out, "LOOK, IT'S NOAH!" Ok, so it was Simoni, but that Buddy was certain Noah was in the race was pretty dang cool.

The thing about 4WD is...

...that you can go about 50yd further than 2WD before you get stuck.

Happy Birthday!

Catherine Elise Owens just put Troy in the #3 seat of hierarchy at his house.

stuff has been happening

so much that blogging has taken a back seat. and the camera isn't in a pleasant mood, so I can't even cheat by posting pics.

Will be catching up with a diddy about Noah racing at Ft Davis, Troy and Roxanne bringing baby Cate into this world, having Buddy with me during the day now, eggs over easy with cream cheese and honey, and other things that make me feel good.

Some pictures of Noah at Ft Davis

Fair warning

This is fair warning. I'm gonna write about Noah's race at Fort Davis soon, and if you don't like hearing some Dad gush about how his kid did...Nobody is Making You Read This.

1922-2007

I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center.
--Kurt Vonnegut

He could also get you a pretty good deal on a Saab.

Castaway II

This just amazes me, and I reckon this means I'm easily amazed, but still...
My buddy Riner is sending me some goodies, and he provided me the tracking number since these are special goodies. I get a kick out of seeing what that package was doing yesterday and last night:

Apr 11, 2007
4:12 AM On FedEx vehicle for delivery IRVING, TX
2:49 AM At local FedEx facility IRVING, TX
2:24 AM Departed FedEx location HUTCHINS, TX
1:04 AM Arrived at FedEx location HUTCHINS, TX

Apr 10, 2007
8:36 PM Left origin WICHITA FALLS, TX
6:29 PM Arrived at FedEx location WICHITA FALLS, TX
4:39 PM Picked up WICHITA FALLS, TX
3:11 PM Package data transmitted to FedEx Wichita Falls, TX


If I had a tracking #...
April 11, 2007
11:07 AM Tracking the FedEx tracking #
10:34 AM Ate some more breakfast
9:29 AM Ate breakfast
8:51 AM Took kids to school
7:20 AM Got up for real
6:00 AM Turned off Chloe's alarm
4:47 AM Kicked Buddy since he kicked me
3:21 AM Took Reanie back to bed
2:55 AM Took Buddy back to bed
1:17 AM Took Reanie back to bed

April 10, 2007
11:21 PM Took Reanie back to bed
11:07 PM High 5
11:06 PM Private time with Mama
9:33 PM Get kids in bed
9:21 PM Get kids out of tub
9:09 PM Eat some take out dinner
9:01 PM Unload bikes and stuff
7:56 PM Put on street clothes and head home
7:21 PM Get dropped
7:03 PM Attack
7:00 PM Race


Sten, send me a danish or something so we can track that one!

Stevie Wonder Driving School

We're rolling down FM 407 getting the little ones to school. Buddy is in the back, and Reanie up front. We're having as serious a discussion as can be with a 3 and 4 yr old as co-pilots. Suddenly, just as I'm coming up to cars and a stop light, Buddy covers my eyes with his hands from behind my seat, and he says, "Where's Daddy?"

Teaching him how to unbuckle his own seat belt doesn't seem such a wise thing now.

Good morning!

Reanie staggers into our room this morning. Tells me she needs to go potty. Right on. I tell her that she knows where it is. She comes out a little bit later more awake. I asked her, "Did you go big job?"

She said, "No, I'm all out of big job."

And I thought that's where it would end. But, no.

Then she bends over, sans skivvies, and says, "See?"

Enak Bor is my inspiration

There was a time, back when I was the only bike racer in the family, that we could load up half the Expedition with my stuff, and the other half was for the rest of the family. We seemed to be fine with that. Mama, #1, and eventually #2 could pack whatever they needed to make a day in the ditch palatable, and I brought everything I've ever needed or thought I might need for a bike race. And we packed Moby to the gills (i know...i know...poetic license, please).

A few years ago, I bunked up with a good buddy and his wife for a stage race. At that gig, I brought two bags and one bike (it was a stage race). I thought I was traveling light and being all respectful. Enak, though, came with one bike and a back pack for the entire weekend. He mocked me, and he did so at a time I was feeling all good about myself.

Well, we're about to head out for what I think is my first stage race since that one, and I got all my street and cycling clothes, and all the race food, bottles, etc for me and #1 (since he now races too), and we're taking all of #1's stuff for a race, his bike, my bike, and all the stuff for Mama, #2, and #3, AND we're putting it all in a car (Wallace) that is half the size that Moby was (well, I guess still is, but it ain't ours anymore).

Enak, I'm getting there. You are my inspiration.

table manners and acting like a lady

What with Reanie going to a private school and all, we get to enjoy the fact that she has learned to burp on purpose. It works so much better, too, when she is in her school uniform. That's money well spent, NiMYRT customers.

So, since she's learned her new trick, she likes to demonstrate and practice her proficiency lots. Buddy's trick is a little more pleasant to endure since it is somersaulting. But he doesn't do this at the table. Reanie does burp at the table.

I'll say something about it being rude. Mama says something about it not being lady-like. Buddy says, "More chicken," and we pass him the fish.

At dinner tonight, Reanie roars a burp and says "excuse me". Same ol', same ol'. I, predictably, say something like, "It is rude to burp like that. especially on purpose. Stop." Mama says, "Reanie, be a lady at the table."

A few minutes later, Reanie burps again while scratching her butt (we're still at the table). I say, "REANIE! Stop scratching your butt at the table!"

So Reanie asks Mama, "Is scratching your butt being a lady?"

3 or 6 min of your life you won't get back

I watched the POSSx2 play like this for ten minutes or so before thinking to grab the camera. They'd wound down by then, but it was still fun for me (but prolly not for many of you blog readers). Can't remember how much we paid for this playset, but it was worth it. I'm trying to figure out a way to bottle up these laughs. for now, we have the videos.

No animals were harmed in the filming of this video clip.

Part I

Part II

Some pictures from the Lago Vista weekend

Some Thoughts

-thinking about #3, one would think "speech impediment" would be easier to say. I wouldn't want to be the first person to make fun of it him once he's aware he has trouble with R's. And W's. And "Th". And "S". And "V". And "B". And...

-thinking about #1, I'd reconsider the tactic of crashing him out to get rid of him. Might work that one day, but if you have to race again the next day...hang on. I can't remember the saying, but there is something about one's character that is proven when they are faced with adversity.

-thinking about #2, one of the highlights of my life has been to notice that #2 has favorite songs on the radio, and catching her singing full throttle along with Unwritten by Natasha Beddingfield...if she new, I'd go buy her anything she wanted right then and there.

Observation of the day

Helicopters make donkeys run fast.

What we have here is a failure to communicate.

Reanie: I can't hear you. You have to say "No" louder.

Good Game

One of the fun things about these things is the numbers.

26 Deviled ("evil") Eggs

30 potions Cheese tray and bread

40 pieces prociutto and melon

30 pieces brucetta

lots of olives

24 servings Polenta and sausage

20 servings garlic scallops over linguini

60 pieces bacon shrimp over bed of spinach

36 pieces baked clams

40 portions fried rice balls

20 potions caponata

20 portions spiedini

20 portions Chicken Tikka, pita and hummus

30 portions caprese

24 potions baked pears

20 portions banana pudding

50 pieces chocolates

14.5 bottles of wine

have camera phone thing. must use it.

I snapped this picture while heading back at the end of a ride yesterday evening. This is the hill right before our house.

Today is my sister, Shaun's, birthday. Happy Birthday, Sssshhhhaaaaauuuuuunnnn!

On Being Buddy

He's all snotty right now, so he snores and sniffles and yucks. Put some vapor rub stuff on him last night, and that helped me sleep.

He was sleeping hard when it was time to load everyone up this morning, so I had to wake him up. Let's just say that Buddy prefers to wake up on his own. A lot much. But we got it rolling, and I had most of his clothes on him before he got really pissed off.

When he hit that point, I started wrestling with him out of funness and diversionary tactics. He got into it, complete with his new thing of simultaneously headbutting me to the nose or lip and kneeing me in the I-Created-Yous.

So I let out a breath that indicated he hurt me, though I didn't let go of my grip on his shirt as I tried to hockey-jersey him. But he stopped for a second, put his hands on my cheeks and said, "I'm sorry Daddy", and then gave me a kiss with his hands still on my cheeks.

And with his hands still on my cheeks, and just as I was falling into the "Aww" moment, He headbutted me in the mouth. I've got all day to plan my revenge.


Why is it that kids can take toys and stuff out of a box or off of a shelf three to six at a time and thrown them clear acoss the room in a matter of .03 seconds, yet when it is time to put thm away, they carry the toys one at a time and in such a way that each toy is cursed with 50X's normal gravity?


Of course, Mama will say the same thing about me and my stuff. It isn't my fault she lives in my office, though.

Toughness defined

Becky spent the day taking a chunk out of a huge goal she has for this year. How big of a goal? Well, today she rode 200K (that's 124 miles in old money). Wow! Right?

But it was 34 degrees and raining all day). And today was just the first step towards this goal.

Here's Becky tackling another goal (Mt Washington), but it isn't to show her in action so much as it is a way for me to say, "I'm inspired."

I'm no pettifogger, but only two other people showed up to do this ride(no, I wasn't one of them...I mean, hell no, I wasn't one of them). Toughness.

how to tell if someone went to a good college or not

I try to delegate houshold stuff as much as possible. When #1 is around, he earns his 11yr old keep with dishes, taking out the trash, and othe stuff appropriate for him that I don't want to do. But since I work from home, the daily stack of dishes piling up in the sink is pretty much my gig to eliminate.

Fortunately, it is one of the household chores I don't detest, which is not the same thing as saying I enjoy it. Sort of like going to the dentist, but at least getting an anesthetic . Which reminds of the time in college that I had a bad tooth, no dental insurance, and had to decide if I wanted to pay for the filling. It was cheaper to just get it pulled. And cheaper yet still to do it without anything to numb that sumbich. At the time, $40 was a very big deal to me. And since I've already gone on a tangent here, I'll add that it ultimately saved me even more money, because it made room for a wisdom tooth to come in.

But I digress.

Scottie stayed with us for a spell a little bit ago, and he took over doing the dishes after dinner. #1 was feeling pretty good about himself, but then again, so was I. There is a point to this story, I swear.

What with Scottie doing the dishes, he did it his own way. Sure, folks have their preferences about putting the silverwear up or down and so forth, but what really got me was what he did with the brush used to de-gunk the dishes before putting them in the washer.

Which reminds me that I prefer just washing the dishes by hand and putting them in the rack to dry.

Again, I digress.

So once Scottie had left, the dishes stacked up the next day. I looked around for #1, but I think he was at school or something, which meant I had to do the dishes myself.

After warming up and stretching, I turned on the water, dolloped some soap, and then scouted for the dish brush. But the thing wasn't in the sink or hanging on the little nail inside the cabinet door. While this kind of thing isn't cause for any concern, as it generally means #3 was playing with it somewhere, it did kind of give me the icks because what I like the least about doing the dishes is some OCD that I have to clean the brush before getting the gunk off the plates with it. I mean, it is wrong to use a dirty brush to clean off a dirty plate that is going into the dishwasher, right?

Frustrated, but already committed to washing the dishes, I opened up the washer (I only wash them Walton's style when the extra few minutes it takes aren't an issue) to begin the process. Lo and behold, it was already full of clean dishes.

I may be ok with doing the dishes, but for whatever reason, I hate putting them away. And for that matter, I'm ok going to get my clothes off of the clothesline or out of the dryer when I need something clean.

I digress, yet again.

So there is a bunch of dishes, but more importantly, the dish brush was in the dishwasher!

So, I concluded that Scottie must go to a good college to learn such a thing. Simply washing the dish brush with the dishes is probably the best thing taught at that college in Austin!

No School Today

This post isn't about me. Just about the week around me.

The last 7 or so days have been so packed that I'm sure I'm going to have to come back and edit this post to add in what was left out, but let's give it a first run anyway...

Last week began as usual. Work stuff for me and Mama. School stuff for the kids. Peter is doing his thing. A comfortable buzz of business. I was reminded early on in the week by Scottie that he was coming up for a spell (that's a good thing). I'd forgotten, honestly, but I remembered when he left a voice mail saying he was in Ft Worth and would be here in 45 minutes or so. I got the voice mail after he walked through the door, but I DID get the message!

It was good that Scottie was here, and not just because it is good to have him here, but also because he could help Noah (and me) gather data for Noah's Science Fair project which was due on that Tuesday, and not in a few weeks, as I thought. So, we all bundled up to ride and time some downhill stuff on Noah's bike as part of his experiment.

While this is all happening, Mama received and alarming email from one of her cousins living in Ireland about her (Mama's) Aunt and other cousin being stuck in Cuba without any money and "Send some immediately! It is an emergency! It cost more there than they thought!" type thing. No note about where to send it or if they even know the money is coming and no way to contact them (phone or email) to tell someone, "WTF are you doing in Cuba with no money?"

Stressful, and unnecessarily so. The bright side, for us, is that since that Aunt is the one who normally cares for Apple Granny, it meant Apple Granny was headed back to us to stay for awhile, as Nonno had to head to Terlingua for some business. The downside (for me at work) is that we could arrange for Tina (who cared for Apple Granny a few hours per day last summer) to only come in for a short spell each day with so little notice.

While this is going down, Peter moves out in a huff.

I get a call from the school that Buddy has a fever. Sorry , Buddy. I ignored that voicemail that day, and I played dumb when I took you to school the following day, since they require kids to stay away for 24 hr when sent home sick. But as I see it, he was never sent home sick. So there.

Kathe, Mama's closest friend while growing up, came to visit this past weekend as well, bringing her cool-as-all-get-out 18 month old, Jay. I wish we could just scoop up these two, even if would be awkward adopting someone our age. Kathe's husband died 6 months ago in a car accident, and this was the first time we've seen them since then. I'm not one for drama too much, but I just sort of hoped they'd stay for a long, long time.

Then Chloe's Aunt missed her flight back. I'm not sure if it was a missed flight in Cuba, the connecting in Pananama or what, but it meant that things were crowded cozy here with all of us, though Scottie beat the ice storm and went back south to Austin by then, while Granny stayed another couple of days.

Sadly, we got word about this time that Grandma (my step-Mom's mother) passed away on Thursday. We spent some time visiting with her over Thanksgiving, so I'm glad we had that. She was a classy lady.

The ice storm hit on Friday, cancelling flights, which meant Apple Granny was here for bonus extra days too! Since Tina had a previous commitment, Granny and I had Friday to ourselves, so I practiced making waffles, and we tried to see how much tea we could add to her honey without screwing up the honey. It was a good day. Kathe and Jay arrived.

Saturday was a planned team mini-camp from our house on Saturday. We'd been looking forward to this for some time. GSTz was gonna be there, complete with our Junior team, as well as the new women's team Lone Star Works has now...it was gonna be a blast. A training race thing in the morning, then a big, Mama-style lunch, just the way Mama would want it, with all kinds of family and friends and big appetites. But the weather was too much, and the thing ended up being called off at the 11th hour. Bum-mer.

It was probably for the best, as I ended up napping in full-on, drooling, wake-up-and-not-know-what-time-or-day-it-is mode for a solid hour that morning. Guess I needed it. Noah and I took turns riding the rollers. I was on my new track bike (Thank you, Robbie!). We made bets with each other to determine who had to go outside in the freezing rain and ice to get firewood, and we basically had a great time with all the little ones and company around.

Meanwhile, it is end of the quarter at work for Mama. Actually, it is end of the year stuff as well, so it has been stupid hours. She was on the computer last night at 1130p, and on it again at 645 this morning.

Oh, and the kids didn't have school yesterday, so I gave up trying to work. I messed around in the kitchen and came up with an even better (if I do say so myself) waffle recipe, and then we tried to catch a movie at the theater, though the timing was off for the one appropriate show at each theater we tried. So (gulp), I took them to the mall.

We held hands and walked up and down that place (I was not spending another day in the house, since it is also my office). We ate pizza. We played on the playscape thing. We rode the $0.25 rides which now take four f'n quarters each for one ride. We window shopped, and Reanie informed me of all of the clothes I should buy Mama. We went up and down the escalators. We checked out all of the fountains. There is something about the fountains in the mall that gets Buddy fired up. Sort of like his catnip. We walked right passed a toy store, and the magnet or black hole must not have been working, because they just looked in the window, said something like, "Neat," and we went on our way. Or, I said, "I think there are cookies up this way.'

The day really was a great one. Holding hands as we walked everywhere was the highlight of my day.

According the thermometer outside my window, it is 24 degrees outside. I'm glad my kids like the Jeep, though I really should get a top for it. We're off to school!

Oh, I forgot about Noah's shark tank! We picked up that on Sunday after taking Jay and Kathe to the airport. We then spent the afternoon getting it set up. Right now, it only has the "pretend fish" (per Reanie), since the water has to be conditioned for a week before adding the shark(s). Yes, sharks. I didn't know you could either.

This is NOT stalking.

Veggie left last night. While I shopped for groceries this morning, everything seemed to remind me of him.




It didn't seem like I could go anywhere without something triggering a memory.





Even if I wasn't sure what it was that was reminding me of him.





But when he's gone, he's gone. Until he comes back.

Oh...Veggie, we remembered the kit, but you left your underwear behind. Again. I tried wearing them, but they are too small.

Your Honor, I object. Leading the Witness

First sound or voice upon waking this morning...

Buddy: Mama, do you like movies?
Mama: Yes, Buddy. Go back to sleep.
Buddy: Do you like Thomas (the Tank Engine)?
Mama: Yes, Buddy.
Buddy: Do you like Thomas movies?
Mama: (sounding like she would rather be asleep) Yes, Buddy.
Buddy: Can we watch Thomas?

Buddy and his "R's"

Buddy has a little trouble with his R's. He's only 3 yr old, so we don't care too much. It is still cute and doesn't make him sound like he's behind grade level or something. Heck, since we don't have regular or cable tv around here, some entertainment can be had by getting him to say "R" words or words that have "R" in them.

A big part of Buddy's being is Thomas the Tank Engine stuff. He's got trains, tracks, books, DVD's, and whatever else capitalism dictated has Thomas on it. Part of his collection is Percy.

To get Buddy to do anything, you have to have some train to lead him and "encourage" him. Want him to sit down? Hold a train out and point to where you want him to sit down. Want him to join the family for dinner? Tell him, "I've got Gordon (or any other train you happen to have nearby)!" This morning, I needed to get him to the car so I could take him to school. I told him, "I have Percy." But Buddy responded, "I don't want Percy."

Keep in mind that Buddy has trouble with his R's.

Training with a capital "T"

So I was just riding regularly, but for now, I'm gonna call it training. Made it 48 days in a row on the bike. Some of those were 45 minutes on the rollers or 15 miles with Noah, but it was time in the saddle, and it was 48 days in a row of it.

Around day #40, I was well in the habit and I was actually starting to feel some sensations in the legs that felt like a bike racer would feel in her legs. I'd step on the gas, and the bike would go, and it would go at a speed that was fun. But then I'd remember that it had been more than 2 years since I had even sorta bike racer legs, and then the 30 seconds or so of fun would hurt in a bad way, not in a good way.

With so many days in a row, I started adding bits here and there that were like training to the mix. One of these workouts within a ride is what I call Slogs. Some folks call them Stomps. Some call them Standing Starts. Some call them stupid.

I was having some sensations that feel like a bike racer, so I took the opportunity to play around with one of the workouts I often dole out to athletes I coach. I tried these efforts in different ways to see if we couldn't maybe find something a little bit more to pull out of them.

The efforts themselves are riding very, very slowly to nearly a standstill, then taking off in full sprint from a very (too big) big gear. Sort of like starting in a car from a dead stop in 3rd gear. I tried some by starting right foot forward. Some left foot forward. Some standing. Some seated.

Somewhere along the way, I did something weird, and I felt my cleat move. But it didn't all fully register until the next big slogging pedal stroke when I came down on that loose cleat. With things askew, and pedaling as forcefully as I possibly could, something had to give. It was my knee.

If this had been any other time in the last two years, I'd be beside myself pissed that I'm losing time, but this time it is rather funny to me, because when I was describing it to a buddy, I said I have to take some time off of training to let it heal. But my time off of training still involved riding to keep the streak going.

My buddy pointed out that I said I was "Training" and he hadn't heard me talk about that in a long, long time. So, I may be down for just a little bit, but it is temporary.

Oh, but I lost the streak when I got some flu bug so bad that I was bed ridden for a full day and night. I very nearly just got up and rode up and down Nonno's driveway to keep it alive late that night, but then realized, I needed help to get up and go to the bathroom. Riding a bike just wasn't gonna happen, even with discipline. I'm back rolling now, though. Even pushed pretty hard at the track last night. I'm not calling my shot or anything like that, but I'm a least dressed and on the bench. And if the 4th string quarterback and back up holder get hurt, I might get to hold the ball when the kicker warms up. That's closer to the game than I've been in a while.