Bloggin from the Hammock (or, Bloggin from Vacation)

Well... I've not updated my blog much recently. That comes as a bit of a disappointment to me. I really intended to use this space as a means to do some thinking and creating. Sadly, I've just not had the time to keep up on it lately.

Nonetheless...I've got time today. So, here we go.

Vacation this week. Score. Or, more like STAYcation (to borrow a term I heard MC use), since I'll be spending the week around the house. Lots of time to spend with the kids in the pool. Lots of time to watch TDF coverage. Lots of time to ride my bike. And, by all appearances, lots of good weather in the forecast. So...what can I say? Life is pretty good right now.

Plans for the week?

Sunday (two days ago) - Pseudo-JDRF ride. Sadly...I had a mechanical issue before we even left. Which, of course, caused us to be late and basically threw the whole day off. Bummer.
Monday (yesterday) - MCC Monday Night Ride. Had a blast again last night. Beautiful weather, lots of good people. Fun ride. We hammered it for the last few miles on Grafschaap, which I think is a lot of fun. Some people got dropped, I think, but most of the group was together. Plus, this was just in the last couple miles coming in to town...so, it isn't as if anyone was going to get lost.
Tuesday - VCC Tuesday Night Ride. I get to borrow the tandem from MC again...and, I'm so excited. My son Davis will be my stoker for the ride....it should be a blast. Nice, low key, laid back ride would be ideal...I need to recover from the little bit of hammering last night, and I need to be ready for tomorrow.
Wednesday - Grattan...arrgghhh. I'm still a little nervous on this topic...but, I've committed to it. This will be my first ever race (other than cyclocross), and I'm very hesitant. I'm not sure I've got the fitness to keep up, and I'm definitely not sure I've got the chops to run in a tightly packed group around corners. I guess we'll find out.
Thursday - The morning recovery ride followed by a very civilized bagel at The Good Earth. Should be a nice way to spin some of the lactic acid out of my legs as I'm betting they will feel like lead after Wednesday night.
Friday - Bagel ride in the morning. This will be my first ever bagel ride...and, it was hinted to me that I may be invited to participate in a little pre-bagel ride endeavor that would bring the mileage for the morning to about 100 miles...yikes.
Saturday - Holland Hundred...my first "Official" century ride. Berger sounded like he was interested in riding with me on Saturday morning. So, I'll probably roll to the start between 6:30 and 7:00 AM and see who is there. Hopefully Berger and I will find a few more to ride with....it would be nice to have a few more to share the pulls at the front. I'm thinking we'll be doing something in the 16-18mph range. Nothing too serious.
Sunday - Great Norther JDRF ride...nice long training ride. Brats. Salsa. A pool...and the chance to bring my kids along. Should be a fund day!
Monday - a repeat on the MCC Monday Night ride...the last ride of my vacation. Then, I'm off to work again.

Doing some rough calculating and I come up with about 450 miles of riding from Sunday through the following Monday. Wooo hooo. I'll need a vacation from my vacation!

Anyway...I'm feeling a lot stronger on the bike lately. My LT has been going up a little...and I'm getting faster staying within my LT. I feel like I can pull at the front more comfortably on the group rides...even at higher speeds. Speeds that would have caused me lots of pain last year. So, even if I am a complete failure at Grattan tomorrow night, I feel like I've made significant progress this summer.

Speaking of progress. I'm excited about cross season getting started in the fall. I'm still working out the bike situation. But, I think the Volpe is going to get stripped down a little and be my cross bike. I'm figuring out, with the help of Aaron and MC, how I can convert my Lotus to fixxie...and I'll probably put that in to use as my commuter for a while.

I've been talking to lots of people about the riding I did while I was in North Carolina...and, the more I talk about it, the more glad I am that I did it. IT was well worth it. Of course, it didn't feel like it at the time...it just felt like misery while I was trudging up the mountains. But, now that I've returned and had some time to think about it...I'm really glad I did it. Especially the Blue Ridge Parkway...that was a totally unique experience. And, now I can't wait to go back. I want to go do one of those week-long tours of the parkway....bring a tent and some gear on the bike and ride the whole thing. It would be a blast!

Ride through the Rockies...John Jasker came to me with this idea. Sounded like a good idea...and, now that I've been thinking about it more, it sounds like a really good idea. Not too expensive, I think. But, still well beyond my means at the moment...and, my lovely wife isn't too interested in hearing about how I'm going to spend more money on bike stuff right now. Especially when we've got plenty of other bills to pay. But... I don't know...I really want to go. And, it sounds like John does too. So, I'm going to have to figure something out. Maybe I can make a special bonus at work this year, or get a part-time job, or something. Who knows...I've got plenty of time to figure it out. Registration doesn't even open until February, and even then it isn't guaranteed.

JDRF fundraising has been at a bit of stand-still this past couple months while I've been busy at work. It's time for me to get my act together...I still haven't sent out a mailer to the people I know within my company. So, I'd like to get that done this week. I think I'd probably put myself just about at my budget if I get that mailer done....we'll see.

The kids are calling...time to go to the library and pick out some books. I'll post up more tomorrow!