Mothers Day

It was a good day. We started off the morning by cooking some breakfast outside. We cooked up some good pepper bacon and my wife made some great tasting French toast. It was some special type of bread. Whatever it was, it was great. We ditched church and decided to go on a little family mtn bike ride. I was even able to talk my mom into going. She just got a new mtn bike so what better way to break it in.

My Mom with her new ride.

We went up to the Country Club trailhead which is about 3 1/2miles. Coby, who is 5, did really well considering he was on a new bike with absolutely no suspension. It was a little brutal for his little legs to pedal that far. He's ridden further but not on a rocky trail.

Here is Coby making his way through the single track.

I was very impressed with my mom as well. Not too bad for a woman of 55. At about 2 miles theres a pretty big climb which many beginners have to walk as did my mom, but she said her goal by the end of summer would be to ride the whole thing. I think she'll do it.

Here's Ryan (my oldest) who is a much more advanced rider. How lucky can a dad get when both of his boys share the same interests as him. Ryan's got unbelievable endurance when on a bike. He doesn't know it yet, but I just ordered him a new road bike. He's been wanting one for a couple of years now. I'll be looking forward to sharing a lot more time with him this summer.

The normally 20-25 minute loop took us about 45 minutes but it was a blast having the whole family out there. It's definitely something we need to do more often.

This evening the boys and I took my wife out to dinner. I helped all day trying to clean house so I thought it would be a good end to a good day if we went out to eat. We have a new local pizzeria which all of us love so we opted for pizza. It doesn't help with the diet very much, but some days you just gotta give a little. When it comes to food...I don't mind giving in.

Now we're all at home getting ready to face the week again. Two more weeks until the Ironhorse and I'm not sure how I'm feeling. I don't really think I could have prepared much differently. I'm going to ride hard this week and then take most of next week tapering down for the race. The only thing I wish I would have done different would be to have some big races under my belt. I haven't ridden in a big pack since my big crash last year so I have a feeling I'm going to be a bit nervous in the pack. There's one big decent at the beginning before all the climbing starts which worries me a little. If I can get through that crash free, I'll be good to go. The first 15 miles is flat with that one big decent, then its pretty much 3 big climbs before the finish in Silverton. It's about 35 miles of nothing but uphill and it definitely hurts. I have a feeling it's going to be no different this year. I can only hope to be better prepared. We'll see.

I'm assuming most have read up on Fatty's bad news this week. I hope you will keep him and his family in your prayers. This is an ordeal I hope to never face. My God be with his family through this difficult time.

Thanks for Reading

Another Eye Opener

Before our little league game on Saturday, I had time to check on some of the blogs try to keep up with. Elden, The Fat Cyclist succeeded at bringing me to tears. His wife has been battling cancer for sometime now and they just found out that the cancer had metastisized to her brain. Their only option is radiation and even then the doctor told them that it wouldn't cure the cancer, but only slow it down.

I'm sitting there worried about a ball game when Elden and his family are facing this unthinkable challenge put before them. Reading his blog really helped me put things into perspective. Between him and Spencer, it's really hard to put any weight on any problems I may have right now.

I frequently find myself failing to practice what I preach. We've got to live each day to the fullest. We truly never know what tomorrow holds. The little things will still be there so don't stress over them. Leave work early to spend an extra hour with your kids. Take a warm bath. Take a longer walk. Sit outside and do nothing.

One of my favorite movies in the early 80's was the Tom Cruise film, "All The Right Moves". It was about the tightly wound teenager trying to do everything right in order to get a scholarship. His free living friend was constantly telling him, "sometimes you gotta say, 'what the fu--!'

So sometime this week when your just fried at work, tired of the grind......just say "what the heck" and go do whatever it is you want to do. Blow off all the demands and chill out. The work will still be there tomorrow.

I hope you will consider this and have a kick butt week.

Thanks

Great Weekend Riding

I didn't get any riding in this weekend, but I had a great time with my oldest son Ryan. He's my nine year old who is playing his first year in Minor League Baseball. He has come so far over the last year. It used to be that I would have to beg him to play ball and now I'm barely able to keep up.

Saturday started off with our second game of the year. Ryan and I got there early about 8:30 with the game not starting until 10:00. Our team got off to a rocky start but finally came through at the end. The boys still don't seem to be very relaxed when batting but I'm hoping that will come around. We won 7-5 in the last inning.

After the game, I took my mom (my son's biggest fan) and Ryan to lunch at our new local bagel/sandwich shop. Then after lunch, shockingly, my son asked if we could go back to the ball field for some more batting practice. Man, this kid knows how to make is dad happy. So we went back to the field for two more hours of baseball practice. I was so proud of how hard he was willing to work. He's been wanting to play catcher for sometime now but I've always had him at second base. In our league, the only time the opposing team can steal a base is when the catcher misses the ball. This rule was created in hopes of making the games a little more interesting instead of just having kids go crazy on the bases. So far, our catching has killed us. I can't seem to get it across that they need to use their bodies to block the ball.

So, I'm going to give Ryan a shot. After batting practice on Saturday, he wanted to work on his catching. We put him in the gear and got busy. He's got some work to do but he's got the desire and the talent to do a good job. Catching is tough for a little guy. It's a long time to be squatting back there for a little kid. After about an hour of working behind the plate, we called it a day. Ryan then suprised me again. He wanted to know if we could come back to the field the next morning. I was blow away.

When we got up this morning, Ryan was dressed in his baseball garb and ready to go. We spent another 3 hours at the ball field. Had you asked me one year ago that Ry would ask to practice this much, I would have never believed it possible. I am truly impressed with his love for the game and his desire to improve. It's going to be a fun season.

Update

And we're off and running. Little League games started today. Three weeks of practice and now we'll see if we've learned anything. Our first game isn't until Thursday and we've still got two practices before then but I'm anxious to get started. For the most part, I'm proud of how hard the boys have worked. They've come a long way over the last few weeks. Most teams practice about twice a week, but these kids have had the honor of being tortured by me 4 days a week. Our first game is against the Pirates who I think will be our biggest competition. Their coach is a good friend of mine and he does a great job with the kids. I think most of us do a good job at putting the kids first. I'm proud of the group of coaches we have.

I've got 24 days until the Ironhorse Bicycle Classic. I'm a little mixed right now. I'm between being burned out on training and excited to get the race over with. Between work, baseball, and riding...it's hard to give all three 100%.

On Friday I did the first day of the Answer the Challenge bike ride. The first day is from Phoenix to Strawberry which is about 87 miles and includes about 8000 feet in total climbing. I finished an hour faster this year and felt much better at the end as well. I'm hoping this is a good sign. It was a fun ride. I think I'm going to start tapering down the long rides and start focusing on the power and anerobic endurance workouts.

I weighed on Sunday and was surprised to see 165#. So I've been watching the diet pretty strictly. Today was oatmeal for breakfast, ramen for lunch and a turkey burger for dinner. I'd love to be under 160 before the Ironhorse.

I guess that's about it for now.

Thanks for Reading

Prayer Time

I've just gotta share a quick thing we went over at church yesterday. I find myself every Sunday hoping to come home from church with some new inspiration (the work week can really take it out of you).

Our pastor, at the beginning of the service, had us close our eyes. Then said, "Imagine yourself alone in the woods, just out there spending time alone with yourself and with God. You're sitting in front of a nice warm campfire and all you hear is the crackling of the fire. The stars and the moon are shining brightly. It is such a beautiful, peaceful evening. You close your eyes and just enjoy the moment. Suddenly you hear some rustling noise coming through the trees. You show no fear but your heart is racing. As the noise gets closer you see a figure come into your campsite. It's Christ!! You say nothing, but drop to your knees. A million things run through your mind. As he reaches out and touches you on the shoulder, all your cares and worries disappear."

This consumed my thoughts for the rest of the service (and obviously after). This is exactly how it should be. Christ is right here with us! We need to give it all to Christ!! Live through Him. Can you imagine how much easier LIFE would be if we would only have the faith to do this? What happens here on earth is so minute! What we think are big problems are usually so small compared the problems of others. Live your life as though a little Christ was standing on your shoulder. Do this for a week and see how much better the week goes. I'm going to give it a shot. I hope you will to.

Just wanted to share this. Hope everyone has a great week.

Thanks for Reading.

Update

I had hoped to start writing a little more this past week but with work, riding, and little league, I don't have much energy left by the time I get home. I'm having to ride early in the morning right now since I've got Little League practice every afternoon/evening. I left Monday morning at 6am and got in 50 miles before work. I must say, this is the best way to start a day. Starting the day with a good ride just seems to put the whole day into perspective. Tuesday and Wednesday were both 20 mile rides in the morning as well as practice in the evening. I took Thursday and Friday off from riding but still had practice. Today (Saturday) was super windy (45mph gusts) but I still managed a 60 mile (3.5 hours) ride. I wish I had brought a camera because it was a gorgeous ride. We rode down towards Whiteriver then took a newly paved road to the fish hatchery. New pavement, no cars, pinetrees, and a running stream......it doesn't get much better.

I'm still holding at 165# and have been sticking to my diet pretty well. I'll have a Chai Tea in the morning which has been my biggest weakness but other then that I've been doing pretty well. I've yet to race this year and would really like to get some time in riding in a pack before the Ironhorse. It's not looking to likely though. My first big ride is this Friday which is the Answer to the Challenge. This is more of a tour than a race but I like it as a tune up ride before Colorado. The first day is from Phoenix to Strawberry which is about 95 miles and totals I think about 9000ft of total climbing. The Tour of the Tucson Mountains could be my first test with a pack but after the Answer that leaves me with only one days rest. Tucson is still up in the air. This is my first year racing as a Cat 4 so I'd really like to see how I'd do.....I don't know, I'll wait to see how I feel on Saturday. We're doing a 2.5 hour spinning ride tomorrow then I'll start tapering down for next weekend.

We have been unbelievably busy at work. I'm hoping that the word is getting out that our customer service really is better then the big corporate companies. We bust our butts to make sure each client/patient is treated as an individual and not just another patient to fill a quota. It's a constant battle to keep up with the bigger companies but I'm proud of what we are able do for people. God has really blessed us. I often wonder why he has me doing this and I can only guess that it's our job to give back. As long as the Big Guy keeps providing for the business, we'll continue to give to those in need. I don't think there is any better feeling.

The weight loss contest is going well. I thought I would win fairly easily, but now I'm barely hanging on to third place. Pissy and Small & Beautiful are kicking some major butt. Their progress has been a good inspiration for me.

My wife heads out for a 4 day mountain bike trip to Moab on Wednesday so the boys and I will be on our own for a few days. Her parents are going to come over to help out with the kids so I won't be totally exhausted.

I guess that's about it for now. Sorry to bore you. Hopefully the posts will be more interesting as the riding season picks up here in the mtns of Arizona.

Thanks for reading

WTF

Current Weight 165

It's been a good week so far as riding is concerned. I already mentioned the 70 miles I got in on Sunday. Monday was only an hour but it was an hour of intervals. Not much for quantity but the quality of the ride was great. Then on Tuesday, I had to drive over to Eagar to set up a hospital bed. They have the best climb around so I took my bike and did the Big Lake climb. The original plan was to do the climb twice. We've been swamped at work so before I headed up a second time, this crazy sense of responsibility came over me. It's only a 30 minute climb (the road is closed at the 4 mile mark) but I decided I really needed to work so the bike was loaded back in the van after only one climb.

We started little league practice on Monday and have practiced everyday so far. I've actually been pleasantly surprised at how good the boys look. Don't get me wrong, were far from great, but were off to a good start. We've got one more practice today before I give them 3 days off (maybe). I've been told before that I practice a lot and being the first week I really don't want to burn out the kids or the parents. So far I've had a good response. Most parents have been very appreciative at the time I put in with their kids. I can only hope that support continues through the season.

And so comes my rant. We were watching American Idol last night. This was the special "Idol Gives Back". They use celebrities to speak for various different causes around the world. AIDs in Africa, Malaria, The Poor in the U.S., etc... It's definitely a heart wrenching show. My wife had tears in her eyes for most of the show. I think it's awesome that these celebrities give their time to such issues. The U.K. donated 200 million dollars for Nets in Africa which helps with the fight against malaria. That alone will purchase 20 million nets. Now that's impressive.

Then this morning when watching the news, I saw that Elton John did a concert in support of Hillary Clinton. Tickets were $5000.00 each and the show was sold out. They raised 2 million dollars in one night. Hillary is averaging 1 million dollars a day in donations! That's 1 DAY!!!!!

W.T.F?????

How can we have money like this floating around and still have suffering throughout the world? Do these wealthy politicians really give a crap? I wonder how many lower/middle class blue collar workers were at the Elton John concert. It's so frustrating that we as Americans allow this stuff to go on. I don't have an answer to the problem but if I ever have any extra money, it will definitely not go to a presidential campaign.

One more rant before I go. After watching the show last night and seeing those poor people in Africa, how dare anyone complain about America. We are so blessed to live where we do. To have the opportunities that we do. It's not perfect, we could make a lot of improvement, but we really are the best country in the world.

Ok I'm done complaining for now.

Thanks for reading.