Friday, January 27, 2006
Dead Poets Society
If you have not seen the movie Dead Poet's Society, I highly recommend that you do so this weekend. I thought that I might explain a little of the title that I chose for my blog, since not everybody knows what that means. "Carpe Diem" is Latin for "seize the day." For those of you who didn't know, it's not just the title of a Metallica song off of one of their sweet metal albums. It is also a kind of running theme to the movie Dead Poet's Society. If you haven't seen it, you were perhaps like me, thinking it to be some sort of weird movie about the ghosts of long dead poets, which by the way is very false. On the contrary, it is about a group of high school boys who, more than being alive, are very much full of life. The movie follows them through the better part of a school year where they are all boarding students. It is very interesting to watch the movie all the while thinking to yourself, "which one of these guys am I most like?" Also asking "what would it look like for me to seize the day, make the most of every moment, where I am in life right now?" Hence, "Carpe Diem."
Monday, January 23, 2006
A good January weekend
-I'm not really sure where the weekend went, now that I think about it. Both Saturday and Sunday seem rather blurred in my 20/20 hindsight. Saturday, at least most of it was taken up by going down to the Philly Rock Gym in Valley Forge for a bouldering comp. I didn't finish as well as I hoped - 8th I think, but Seth took 3rd out of about 15-20 guys in the intermediate class. I would have liked to have done a little better, but I know my endurance simply is not there. It was probably one of the most fun times that I have had climbing in a long time. The problems were good and there was a good variety of stuff. Sometimes it's just good to climb on stuff that somebody else has set, someone other than what you're used to.
-Friday I got out for probably the last beautiful day of winter, it was about 60 and sunny, I couldn't have asked for a sweeter January day to pound out some road miles. Again, my endurance just isn't there, but it's coming. I've been doing the same road loop consistently, and I've been consistently dropping my times in completing it. Right now it's about an hour to do the loop, which is a good lap for me.
-Yesterday was an altogether different day. I skipped church because I went to the climbing comp Saturday, which meant I had only Sunday to pound out a 10 page research paper for school. I had all of the research done, but I didn't even have an outline yet. I wasn't too worried, though maybe I should have been. The downside to this was that I knew I couldn't sit down to watch any of the football games on, as much as I would have liked to. I also forgot about a meeting that I had at 12:30, after church to start some team-building stuff for going back to Ireland this summer. All told, that took a solid 2.5 hours out of my typing time. When I left for the meeting I at least had a rough outline done to go off of when I got back. Well, I finished my paper, all in good time, enough to do some reading before I hit the sack- I finished the reference page with some help from Lauren at a bit after 10. Not bad for ten pages. I think it's a good paper too. I hope my prof does-
-Friday I got out for probably the last beautiful day of winter, it was about 60 and sunny, I couldn't have asked for a sweeter January day to pound out some road miles. Again, my endurance just isn't there, but it's coming. I've been doing the same road loop consistently, and I've been consistently dropping my times in completing it. Right now it's about an hour to do the loop, which is a good lap for me.
-Yesterday was an altogether different day. I skipped church because I went to the climbing comp Saturday, which meant I had only Sunday to pound out a 10 page research paper for school. I had all of the research done, but I didn't even have an outline yet. I wasn't too worried, though maybe I should have been. The downside to this was that I knew I couldn't sit down to watch any of the football games on, as much as I would have liked to. I also forgot about a meeting that I had at 12:30, after church to start some team-building stuff for going back to Ireland this summer. All told, that took a solid 2.5 hours out of my typing time. When I left for the meeting I at least had a rough outline done to go off of when I got back. Well, I finished my paper, all in good time, enough to do some reading before I hit the sack- I finished the reference page with some help from Lauren at a bit after 10. Not bad for ten pages. I think it's a good paper too. I hope my prof does-
Thursday, January 19, 2006
A little mud on the tires
Well now that it's been about a week since that ride, and it's supposed to be 50 degrees again tomorrow, I suppose I ought to clean off my bike so it looks presentable again. I'll have to see whose garden hose isn't frozen. I'm looking forward to this upcoming season, though I am wondering where all the training is going to fit in. The '06 schedule is out, you can check it out at www.masuperseries.com and as it turns out, I am actually going to be gone for what would be my home course advantage on the 21st of May. Which is also the day before my 2nd anniversary, crazy to think about. There are 12 total races to score in, so that gives me plenty of time to find that time to train.
On a different note, I did find out what my next vehicle will be, or at least what it should be. Jeep just released specs on what the 2007 Wrangler will look like, and I think it rocks. Check it out yourself(they wouldn't let me steal any pictures) at Jeep.com (http://www.jeep.com/07wrangler/index.html?CMP=AFC-Autoshow). So what if it isn't all that practical? How many of the things that each of us do in a given day are all that practical aside from eating and defecating?
On a different note, I did find out what my next vehicle will be, or at least what it should be. Jeep just released specs on what the 2007 Wrangler will look like, and I think it rocks. Check it out yourself(they wouldn't let me steal any pictures) at Jeep.com (http://www.jeep.com/07wrangler/index.html?CMP=AFC-Autoshow). So what if it isn't all that practical? How many of the things that each of us do in a given day are all that practical aside from eating and defecating?
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
An Epic
The whole thing about an epic ride or an epic something is that it really is epic. I don't know I've ever heard of anything else being called "epic" except for a lot of old classic stories like Homer's Odyssey and so on, and here and there a few storied bike rides. Well, I wouldn't exactly call this story the Odyssey, but it was really long and certainly was odd.
As I started out before, it was a 60 degree day in January with the sun shining high overhead, quite a contrast to today's weather of pouring rain and 35mph+ winds. It felt more like September than January.
Jason(J-Core to those of you who know him) and I had planned this the week before, knowing the weather was supposed to be so fantastic. There is a sweet loop of mostly singletrack all the way around this lake called Blue Marsh that makes for a 30 mile loop. There is one spot about 10 miles into it that you can cut of 10 miles and make it a 20 mile loop, but that is the only shortcut. We had tried to organize a trip to do this loop in the fall, but it got rained out, so here we are in January, stoked that we get to do it.
So I took off first thing in the morning, well it was close anyway, to meet him up at his apartment in Kutztown about an hour away. I got there right about 10am. We load up and head out to the trailhead, driving separately so that I can head home for dinner right when we're done. With a lot of putzing around and some minor getting lost, we finally hit the trail at 11:30, a bit later than I was expecting, but shouldn't be a problem right? 30 miles of track, I figured 3 hours optimistically, but no more than 4, taking into account that neither of us are exactly in tip top shape.
Well, we hit the first 10 miles and we, relatively speaking, tear it up. It was a gorgeous day, I just couldn't comprehend that it was possibly January. The trail was a bit soggy from some rain the day before, but it wasn't too bad, just a little slow. All told, with one break for a breakfast bar, one hour and thirty minutes. I sort of wished we were moving a little faster, but no big deal, we had plenty of time and it was a sweet day.
We decided we were feeling pretty good and we weren't going to get a better shot at doing the whole trail probably until May or June, so we skipped the shortcut and hopped on the 2nd section of 10 miles. This is where I started to get worried. It started with about 3 miles of mostly flat singletrack close to the lake that was just really soggy. You know, the kind that just sucks the energy right out of you. As we continued, I began to watch my cpu record the steady and slow decline of our average speed. No big deal, I just figured we took too long of a break at the road so, I suggested we just keep on plugging away to keep some of that momentum. It turns out that the oatmeal that Jason ate for breakfast wasn't really cutting it, nor were the Combo's he brought along for lunch. Granted, Jason has only owned his bike since August, but this was bad.
Next up, now that we were half way through was a section up and around a small ski hill, but nonetheless it was a ski hill. I was stoked and ready for some good long technical climbs. Jason was dying a slow death. Here is where the walking began. His technical skills really weren't matched up yet with how strong his legs were, which isn't saying much. We made it through, got back to the road, 10 miles to go. Time passed, now three and a half hours. That puts it at 3pm in the afternoon, 10 miles to go, and the sun sets in 2 hours. Uh-oh.
I knew I couldn't say much of anything to him, I've been in his shoes before, I just hoped we could make it out by dark. Well, we began counting down the last of the miles as Jason slowly seemed to disintegrate before my eyes. I had to really try to go as slow as he was, especially on the hills. I never thought I would see the day where my granny gear on a 27 speed bike wasn't low enough. With about 7 or 8 miles to go, he started walking every hill. I mean every single one. He hardly had the energy to stand on his pedals to coast through the downhills. I knew we were sunk, and I could see it in his eyes. I gave him my Clif Shot, my Gatorade, my breakfast bar, and I think all it did was help him keep his eyes open. We started out with an average speed of close to 8, we were now under 7mph and dropping fast. In case you don't know, it really is faster to pedal your bike, even in granny gear, than it is to push it. Trust me.
We're down to about 4 or 5 miles to go, and it is now nearing 5pm. I suddenly don't need my sunglasses anymore, and there is now a chill in the air. Jason's legs are starting to twinge and threatening to cramp. He tells me to just go on, go back to the parking lot and leave, he'll make it out sooner or later. Well, from the looks of things it was going to be a lot later than sooner. Though I was tempted to take off, I wasn't about to leave somebody who has no energy, whose legs are nearly cramped solid, who doesn't have any food and only a little water, out in the woods by himself, now that it is nearly dark. We did have one thing on our side though, it was a totally clear night, and from the looks of things we were going to have a full moon.
I hit the next section, a long winding downhill that I just had to bomb through, I couldn't take it anymore. I probably could have fallen asleep at the bottom waiting for him, but I had an idea. It was going to be dark soon, no doubt about it, so I trashed my way back to the parking lot, the last 2.5 miles, opened up my Jeep, grabbed my headlamp and my Maglite flashlight, and headed back down the trail to find Jason. When I left him, he had totally given up on riding altogether, that means he is now walking, pushing his bike, probably at about 2mph. I found him, riding while holding a Maglite in my hand, and we walked out the last 1.5 miles. The last section of road we climbed to get back to the parking lot, Jason was so drained I pushed my bike up the hill, and I pushed his bike up the hill. He was nearly delirious from not having any energy. He was really looking forward to going to the gas station and buying fruit roll-ups, pop tarts, and Gatorade!? Nobody in their right mind eats that combination. He really sounded like he was talking in his sleep, I wish I could have recorded it.
We finally reached the parking lot at 6pm. On the trail for 6.5 hours. That amounts to less than 5mph average, which is painfully slow, but to Jason, it was just painful. I felt bad just leaving him, I couldn't drive him home because we had two cars, but I think he made it. I assume so, but come to think of it, I haven't heard from him since......
As I started out before, it was a 60 degree day in January with the sun shining high overhead, quite a contrast to today's weather of pouring rain and 35mph+ winds. It felt more like September than January.
Jason(J-Core to those of you who know him) and I had planned this the week before, knowing the weather was supposed to be so fantastic. There is a sweet loop of mostly singletrack all the way around this lake called Blue Marsh that makes for a 30 mile loop. There is one spot about 10 miles into it that you can cut of 10 miles and make it a 20 mile loop, but that is the only shortcut. We had tried to organize a trip to do this loop in the fall, but it got rained out, so here we are in January, stoked that we get to do it.
So I took off first thing in the morning, well it was close anyway, to meet him up at his apartment in Kutztown about an hour away. I got there right about 10am. We load up and head out to the trailhead, driving separately so that I can head home for dinner right when we're done. With a lot of putzing around and some minor getting lost, we finally hit the trail at 11:30, a bit later than I was expecting, but shouldn't be a problem right? 30 miles of track, I figured 3 hours optimistically, but no more than 4, taking into account that neither of us are exactly in tip top shape.
Well, we hit the first 10 miles and we, relatively speaking, tear it up. It was a gorgeous day, I just couldn't comprehend that it was possibly January. The trail was a bit soggy from some rain the day before, but it wasn't too bad, just a little slow. All told, with one break for a breakfast bar, one hour and thirty minutes. I sort of wished we were moving a little faster, but no big deal, we had plenty of time and it was a sweet day.
We decided we were feeling pretty good and we weren't going to get a better shot at doing the whole trail probably until May or June, so we skipped the shortcut and hopped on the 2nd section of 10 miles. This is where I started to get worried. It started with about 3 miles of mostly flat singletrack close to the lake that was just really soggy. You know, the kind that just sucks the energy right out of you. As we continued, I began to watch my cpu record the steady and slow decline of our average speed. No big deal, I just figured we took too long of a break at the road so, I suggested we just keep on plugging away to keep some of that momentum. It turns out that the oatmeal that Jason ate for breakfast wasn't really cutting it, nor were the Combo's he brought along for lunch. Granted, Jason has only owned his bike since August, but this was bad.
Next up, now that we were half way through was a section up and around a small ski hill, but nonetheless it was a ski hill. I was stoked and ready for some good long technical climbs. Jason was dying a slow death. Here is where the walking began. His technical skills really weren't matched up yet with how strong his legs were, which isn't saying much. We made it through, got back to the road, 10 miles to go. Time passed, now three and a half hours. That puts it at 3pm in the afternoon, 10 miles to go, and the sun sets in 2 hours. Uh-oh.
I knew I couldn't say much of anything to him, I've been in his shoes before, I just hoped we could make it out by dark. Well, we began counting down the last of the miles as Jason slowly seemed to disintegrate before my eyes. I had to really try to go as slow as he was, especially on the hills. I never thought I would see the day where my granny gear on a 27 speed bike wasn't low enough. With about 7 or 8 miles to go, he started walking every hill. I mean every single one. He hardly had the energy to stand on his pedals to coast through the downhills. I knew we were sunk, and I could see it in his eyes. I gave him my Clif Shot, my Gatorade, my breakfast bar, and I think all it did was help him keep his eyes open. We started out with an average speed of close to 8, we were now under 7mph and dropping fast. In case you don't know, it really is faster to pedal your bike, even in granny gear, than it is to push it. Trust me.
We're down to about 4 or 5 miles to go, and it is now nearing 5pm. I suddenly don't need my sunglasses anymore, and there is now a chill in the air. Jason's legs are starting to twinge and threatening to cramp. He tells me to just go on, go back to the parking lot and leave, he'll make it out sooner or later. Well, from the looks of things it was going to be a lot later than sooner. Though I was tempted to take off, I wasn't about to leave somebody who has no energy, whose legs are nearly cramped solid, who doesn't have any food and only a little water, out in the woods by himself, now that it is nearly dark. We did have one thing on our side though, it was a totally clear night, and from the looks of things we were going to have a full moon.
I hit the next section, a long winding downhill that I just had to bomb through, I couldn't take it anymore. I probably could have fallen asleep at the bottom waiting for him, but I had an idea. It was going to be dark soon, no doubt about it, so I trashed my way back to the parking lot, the last 2.5 miles, opened up my Jeep, grabbed my headlamp and my Maglite flashlight, and headed back down the trail to find Jason. When I left him, he had totally given up on riding altogether, that means he is now walking, pushing his bike, probably at about 2mph. I found him, riding while holding a Maglite in my hand, and we walked out the last 1.5 miles. The last section of road we climbed to get back to the parking lot, Jason was so drained I pushed my bike up the hill, and I pushed his bike up the hill. He was nearly delirious from not having any energy. He was really looking forward to going to the gas station and buying fruit roll-ups, pop tarts, and Gatorade!? Nobody in their right mind eats that combination. He really sounded like he was talking in his sleep, I wish I could have recorded it.
We finally reached the parking lot at 6pm. On the trail for 6.5 hours. That amounts to less than 5mph average, which is painfully slow, but to Jason, it was just painful. I felt bad just leaving him, I couldn't drive him home because we had two cars, but I think he made it. I assume so, but come to think of it, I haven't heard from him since......
Friday, January 13, 2006
Truely an Epic Ride
Yes, I will tell you about it. Soon. But not yet. It starts with a 60 degree day on January 12, 2006. What a beginning. You should hear the rest....
Verizon Sucks
I could use up way too much web space to go on and on about that topic. I have had nothing but problems with their crappy customer service and entire business infrastructure. I can't say anything bad about their cell service because I can't speak from experience with that. Anyway, long story short, I moved almost a month ago, and called Verizon to move my phone and DSL services, but they screwed it all up and totally canceled my DSL account. Though this temporarily leaves me with sporadic internet mooching off of friends, I took it as a sign from God to switch internet providers. So when this is all said and done, whenever that may be, I will no longer be a Verizon customer, never to be one again, and I will have unlimited local calls instead of just a dialtone, DSL that is twice as fast, all for the same price, by switching to Cavalier Telephone. Sorry for the rant, but it's my space. Well it's not myspace, but it is my space. I'll be back online soon. I hope.
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