B Shower Announcement - 5 months

Fellow STPers,

I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I may be inviting y'all to a B-Shower in five months.  That's right, a shower for a new bicycle sometime in June.  It all depends on Bush's Economic Stimulus Package, but according to the News, it looks really promising.  

If our government approves the tax breaks, I will not be un-American and save the money or put it towards Weiss' college education.  I've already informed Mi Yong that saving money would be irresponsible and unpatriotic.  Finally, I plan to register at Gregg's Cycles in Alderwood.  So far my Registry includes:

First Hill

And I don't mean Pill Hill. Harbour Heights in Mukilteo. After being out of commission last week from a herniated disk and leg injury and subsequent psycho roid rage, I am somehow talked into doing an army PT training session followed by Harbour Heights Hill in the rain. Had not been with Gerald since the 61 miler but had to admit, instant joy on getting back on the saddle. You feel like flying. Brian a.k.a. "the Sheepdog" would hear none of my whining and gives slightly annoying though still encouraging chatter without a hint of panting throughout the climb, throughout which I felt on the verge of coming to a standstill before plowing backwards, unable to clip out. My obituary would say, found wearing neon, spandex, and lobster claws on Harbour Heights Rd. And that is the "easy" leg of the Tour de Mukilteo. A few minutes of coughing up the other lung, then a trip to Gregg's Cycle shop in Alderwood (mmmm GEAR) to get a fender and new tubes. That is a good day. You cannot pay enough for the privilege of coughing up a lung in such fashion.

Watched American Flyer again. What happened to David Grant? Can you imagine working at Home Depot for 4 years, then the government boycotts the Olympics. It beats having to blame yourself. Nothing like a good battle against burly bearded Soviets with '80's music beating in the background. Res firma mitescere nescit (hope I got that right).

Wu-Tang is for the children

Forgot to include this in the last post for the Wu-Tang fans:

Candy wants new shoes damnit

I'm trying to alternate lunch runs and bike rides up the nearest butte so that I don't dissapoint Sgt Hulka Brian too badly (This is in between the literally dozens of sit ups and push ups I'm doing). I went to grab the single speed commuter this morning and heard a funny rattle, so I think I'll look for a loose spoke. It was pretty easy to spot the one that had snapped and was sticking out to the side. I'm guessing it was the Jan Ullrich like amounts of force I applied mashing up the hill and had nothing to do with metal fatigue. I've been promising her new shoes for a while, so I guess we'll head to the bike store this weekend and get a new rear wheel built up. I hope they have the pink hubs in stock. Or maybe Isabella cut the spoke so she could get out this morning.

But when does it get Easy?

So Bri and I took Crash and Chugg out for a 68 mi trip on Sunday and it was great. We were mighty hungry by the end, but it was an overall very enjoyable ride. Can't wait to do more LSD trips. We took it easy Monday (apart from the hundreds of pushups/situps I'm doing daily to prep for the upcoming Davis Challenge, naturally). On Tues Bri made me run again (ugh). On Wed I rode in to work with Chugg.

But now I'm confused.

When is this going to get easy?

I was struggling, the long climb up the speedway was achy, and I was nearly at the top when I realized I was in a gear two clicks up from where I thought I was. Demoralizing. Then, at lunchtime we took Crash and Chugg out for the ol' D2D-1 route, and it was painful. I granny-geared up Picnic Point, granny-geared up the switchback and it took everything I had to granny-gear it up St. Andy's, and I turned in a terrible time to boot. I won't even bother logging in the time (I forgot to keep very accurate times anyhoo).

We've been cycling casually a few times a week, with longer rides every other weekend or so: shouldn't we be Lance by now? Or at least a Hincapie? What are we doing wrong?

I have a theory:

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--[whispered: I think St. Andrew's Blvd is actually evil.]









It must be. There's just no other explanation. Somebody must have rustled the bones of an old Team ONCE rider or something. And now the hill itself is conspiring to bring down any rider that dare attempt the fool ascent.

Either that, or all the pro riders are doping. Which I'm sure isn't the case.

On the way home though, I did have a more pleasant ride. The fell spirits left me alone and I felt fast for once in the day. Course I did have some help. Someone was buzzing in my ear the whole way and urging me forward.

hint: It was the Wu-Tang Clan.

Carmex Haikuish

Direction: Apply freely to affected areas.
Warning: Use only as directed.

Props

When Weiss was just a little rugrat, whenever he said "T", that meant "Thank You". I will do the same...

T Jen. T for enrolling at the Univ. of Oregon in Eugene, to pursue your PhD. By doing so, lazy Chris discovered the world of cycling and then introduced me to the cycling bug.

T Michael Guthrie. T for convincing me to buy beer after our ride today, when you said incredulously, "I can't believe you aren't going to drink any beer tonight"!

T German lawmakers. T for enacting such strict water purity laws for your beer makers that makes St. Pauli Girl beer taste so delicious.

T Mi Yong. T for having a big pot of chili on the stove, waiting for me when I got home.

T Snohomish Park & Recreation Committee. T for allowing horses on the Centennial Trail. Today I saw a horse trotting for the very first time.

T Puget Sound Area. T for being absolutely gorgeous today. From the Puget Sound, to the sunlit Cascades, to the raging Snohomish river. Unbelievably scenic.

T Chris . T for being my biking Muse. I am training so very hard to beat you in the 2008 Tour de Mukilteo. Again.

T Crash. T for taking me 68 miles. That's approximately riding from Mukilteo to Olympia. You only had one unlucky puncture, with that stoopid piece of metal. At least it happened near a bench overlooking the river. T for giving me the most enjoyable ride I've had so far on a bike!