I vote for Crash for the blood drive effort. You need to have high blood pressure in order to be that intense.

My homey CRASH!!!

GODDAMN  IT!!! For the love of God just give Crash a vote for Donate December. Fine. Not a full vote, but at least a half point.  Son of a bitch attempted to donate blood at the Puget Sound Blood Center 2 fucking times in the last 3 weeks.  Dude has high blood pressure, so for his weak ass safety, they won't take his blood, but since I can't save my own ass, at least vote his ass a 1/2 point for this jerk's effort. GODDAMN IT!!!

Everything is Gray

Shouldn't have procrastinated on the fasting. Also shouldn't have done it on a day when I had to get up at 5. More sleep would have meant less hunger. If you hear about someone slaughtering any coworker that tried to heat up lunch in the microwave, or brought back an aromatic lunch, that will probably have been me. 7 hours to go. I'd ask you all to wish me luck, if I wasn't so pissed off with hunger. Instead I ask you to hate me for being so incredibly, incredibly good looking, and now, that much skinnier. For the record though, Champagne and Heroin is okay on the fast right? Cuz I was reading Kate Moss' Blog...

And the NMN Winner is...

aka - First Class.  Other first place votes go to Pig & Dog.  

NMN Participants:

Cow: First Class

Pig: Ventoux

Dog: Carlo

Rat: Crash

Cat: View From the Sidelines

Hog: theGuth

Owl: Jeff

Cow's Playlist:

1) Down By the River Neil Young

2) The Weight The Band

3) God Only Knows The Beach Boys

4) Thunder Island Jay Ferguson

5) Is She Really Going Out With Him Joe Jackson

6) Easy Commodores

7) Everybody Wants You Billy Squier

8) Too Much Time on My Hands Styx

9) If You Want My Love Cheap Trick

10) Kennel District Pavement

11) One Horse Town The Thrills

12) Get Off This Cracker

13) Common People William Shatner

14) The Homo Rainbow Ween

15) Korean Parents Randy Newman

Rock On!

Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid

Dear Davis Challenge Competitors,

What is Team Newcastle up to? Well, when Crash isn't running 20 milers, swimming at the YMCA, or practicing his pull-ups & crunches, he is busy cooking. Cooking what? Well, this weekend it was a batch of Hungarian beef stew. When he's not spinning, he's busy making amazing pasta sauce like this:

In between bike rides, somehow he finds time to turn this:

Into spectacular homemade fresh pasta like this:

So where's his teammate Gerald? Oh, just running a marathon in Arizona. Training in Seattle has become too easy, so she has been dispatched to South America to train in Patagonia over the next ten days.

Oh, by the way. Gerald has been training ALL year long for the beer competition. She has been permitted to not drink alcohol only when she's been on call, but other than that, Booze, Booze, Booze. Imagine the discipline required for that. Oh well, at least you guys can compete for 2nd place in Manzanita.

Be afraid.  Be very afraid.

I win a point for fasting!

I meant to post this quite a while back, but forgot till now. Here's one way to win the fasting point - gluttony. On the weekend of Jan 3, I was on a mini-vacation at the Salish lodge perched up above Snoqualmie Falls. The restaurant at this place is apparently known for something called the "Salish Lodge Country Breakfast", an overpriced four-course breakfast. I decided to go for it since I was feeling a little hungry that morning.

Course #1 was an assortment of freshly-baked muffins and scones. Not too bad, it's hard to beat freshly-baked goods. After eating that, I was pretty much ready to face the day, but there was more to come.

#2 was 2 pancakes with fresh fruit, devonshire cream, and what they called "maple syrup". Now I make this kind of stuff for breakfast quite often and I'd like to think that I know what grade A maple syrup tastes like. What they served to me was maple-flavored syrup, quite a disappointment for an expensive breakfast. Nevertheless, after some muttering, I ate my pancakes with the fruit and creme (skipping the syrup), and was now pretty full.

#3 was a bowl of steel-cut oats with a side of cinnamon brown sugar and vanilla-infused half-and-half. I've never had steel-cut oats before. It turned out to be quite good. It's now on rotation as one of my pre-work breakfasts. I just set my rice cooker to have it ready for me when I wake up. At this point, my stomach was starting to tell me that it can't hold any more food.

#4 was a big plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, ham, potatoes, and a biscuit. I had a sample of everything and told them to box up the rest. It was okay, but I'm not that much of a savory breakfast person in the first place. That, and I was distended and feeling disgusted with the amount of food I ate.

So now back to the original point of this posting.. Eating so much food ended up messing with my sense of fullness and I didn't eat anything else for the rest of the day. The next morning, that sense of fullness was still with me, but since I had already gone 24 hours without food, I had a banana for breakfast. The end. ONE BRS POINT PLZ!!

BUI: On Being a Poser

I propose a new BRS policy- all blogs must be posted while Under the Influence....

I remember the day I met Gerald (sigh, romantic music). My first. I didn't know a thing about road bikes, everyone had an idea of what was best for me, a slow person who aspired to long distances. Carbon off-the-rack package with low end components. Gerald's blue and black tones matched my hair perfectly, it felt a little like what it must be lift the veil at an arranged marriage to find with relief and surprise that I liked what I saw. I mentioned to a friend of my brother's what type of bike I was getting. "I just love smoking those posers on their $5000 bikes and their fancy gear on my $150 tin can" came the blase macho voice. The implication clear: I'm a poser, buying beyond my abilities.

Fast forward to post-Tour de Mukilteo 2008. Now a few hundred miles under my belt, but can't keep up with the Boys on the Big hills. I'm too fat, I'm not fit, I just need to get stronger. Crash says a triple crank would make a big difference. It would take too much to put a triple on my current frame, so now I have to buy a new bike. I sent out my polls, and got a variety of responses. Guth says carbon. Robin and Toby (my Capitol Hill Ironman friends) say Ti. Not just Ti, but custom. That is what Robin rides now, a Davidson. Ti is light, absorbs shocks, is indestructible, travels well. Crash says, "I know you, you will feel like a poser and hate yourself. You do not need a $million bike, it's like getting a diamond encrusted platinum flute" or some version of that. Robin says, everyone else is doing whatever they can to have an advantage, why not? you can tell the difference, it's like turning a fine faucet, it's just solid. it makes riding easier, more fun, and if you put the hours in the saddle, it's worth every penny". And as for my bizarre sentimental attachment to Gerald? "It's not like cheating on a partner, it's like getting a 2nd child... you love each child for their individual traits". As a selling point, Toby introduced me to each of his 5 bicycles.

So what is a poser?
I raised the question to Robin and Toby. Is it like the middle-aged weekend warrior Suburban Koreans who buy the Most Expensive Tennis Raquets or the Newest Golf Clubs but couldn't really tell the difference beyond what they read on the web. After getting a few well-deserved Middle Aged jokes (I forget they are >50 yo because of their extreme fitness), I am talked into believing it doesn't matter how good you are, if you love it and spend the time on it. that is as close to "deserving" as you need to get. Who deserves the diamond-encrusted flute more, the kid who is talented but doesn't give a crap, or the grind to lives for flute but who sucks? Or perhaps more aptly, the poor talented kid or the fat rich kid (me?). Other people who work all day but don't have families buy clothes, a car, or a boob job, why not a sweet ride?

So I went to Elliott Bay Cycles yesterday with the Ironmen. I see this beautiful Ti bike that comes apart and fits in a suitcase. Sold. I went back today with Gerald and talked pedals, saddles, handlebars with Bill Davidson. He watched me ride and took measurements. He asked me what I was looking for and what problems I encounter with Gerald. This guy clearly knows his bikes and loves/ takes pride in his craft. I felt like I was being interviewed at a doctor's appointment and being diagnosed, getting my ignorant questions patiently answered.

I put a down payment and I swear I was not this excited when I signed for my condo, my car, or my marriage license. I feel like a kid in a candy shop. If I let fear of poserhood stop me, I would not have tried a marathon, wouldn't have gotten a Powell flute in high school, wouldn't have applied for my job. COULDN'T face people every day. It's OK to be a poser as long as you're honest about it, right?

Oh Tacoma!

Congrats to theGuth who just completed his very first 20 mile run! Great job. Gerald & Crash were there too, but today was really about Guthrie joining the 20 mile club, and also experiencing the beautiful surroundings that only Tacoma, WA has to offer.  Again, great job, and just remember that in the marathon, they call the 20 mile mark the halfway point!  Keep up the great training.

Jersey or Jainism January

Wow.  It's already 2009.  So this month's challenge will borrow from the Jainism religion.  Fast for one day, and get a BRS point.  You may drink only water during that day.  Why?  I say why not.  

Now for Jersey January. You can also receive a BRS point if you submit a design for a BikeRunSwig cycling jersey.  We want to make team jerseys this year, and the winning design will receive an extra BRS point.  Bring your entry to the Davis Challenge.  

Finally, due to inclement weather last month, Donate December will be extended this month, but only for donating blood.  I tried to donate, but got turned away for high blood pressure, so I donated sperm instead.  I was amazed at how many people donate blood.  Do it.  It will definitely save a life.