Gone.... (or a silly long run on sentence)

buh-bye....



... so in these tough economic times one does what one has to do. The Vassago pretty much sat in the garage 98% of the time, instead I tend to ride my cheap-o on-one inbred franken fixie... don't know why exactly it's like driving a civic with a fart-can exhaust when you have a proper race car in the garage... maybe that was part of it. The Vassago, while very capable off road, was more of a garage/trailer queen. I liked the look of it, it would last forever, but I didn't enjoy riding it. The crappy inbred always won out... so I did what any guy who hasn't worked 8 months would do... I sold it. The other thing I found, is that as much as I wanted to love my 29er experience I just didn't. While I think it's a spectacular platform for tall, fit folks, us short, fat, out of shape folks just need a little more room for the boy(s) and need a rear wheel that will get up to speed faster. Hence the beauty of the 69er or 96er. All the benefits of a big wheel up front & all the benefits of a smaller lighter wheel out back. The funds of the chi-chi Ti race bike will go to good use as we're having a patio put in the back yard. The builder gave us a little 10x12 covered porch which is nice until you get furniture and a grill out there, throw in a plant or twelve and there's no room. The new patio will be 27x12 with a 2' bump out on the existing 10' section of the original porch. The old porch will then be enclosed with screening. We'll finish off the patio with a shade sail to give us a break from the brutal Texas sun (our house is oriented with the back facing south... sun all afternoon). I need to find an ROI model for a pavestone patio to see if we'll see any $ back when we go to sell.

Wow been a while

So yep, I've been slackin'. I haven't been on technology for a while, I think I got Facebooked out... it became clear one night when Kathy came home from work and asked where Ella was.... I just pointed out back.... Poor thing was in the back yard naked playing in the sand box. I suppose that would have been the breaking point. So after being threatened with divorce and getting it together I decided to take a break for a while. I'm not sure if I'll ever FB again to be honest, it just sucks you in and you can't let go. Blogging is a bit less addictive, and still allows me to keep in touch with friends. So that's what I'm up to.

The weight loss thing is rocky. I began eating well, and running in the mornings, but that only lasted a short while and I'm back to it. It's tough to break old habits, especially as I creep closer and closer to the big four-oh! I can do it, I just have to set it up and stick to it. The first 30 days will be the toughest, after that I'm sure I'll be loving it.

And in other news... after nearly 20 years out of school, I'm apparently not nearly as dumb as I thought. I was able to utilize transcripts from my times in school before and able to put them to good use! No math needed other than what I already have for my degree!!! So all that was left was to take an English placement test... out of a possible 100 I scored a 94... not too bad considering the last English course I took was a high school level course in 1988!!! Holy sh!t am I really doing this? I can knock out my first class in 20 days in a program called "Maymester" where you go to class 5 days a week 4 hours a day for 20 days. Now that's my kind of school.... it was as I was getting ready to sign up that my phone rings. Fate is a biotch.... Verizon wants me to come be part of the team. So now the dilemma... do I blow them off or go ahead and interview.... 3 interviews later and it's looking like I may be back in the working world. If this is the case, I'm still going to knock out my pre-recs at night and Kathy will enter the "bridge" program. It's only a year, then I can leave the workforce and go back to school full time. Two short years later and I'll be an RN... and with any luck I'll be able to convince Kathy that VA is the place to be.

Madrone trail ride

rode the madrone trail on Thursday as Kathy had the day off and wanted to spend some girl time with Ella. I had a good ride, but as mentioned in my previous post, I'm feeling really out of shape and fat. Rather than feel sorry for myself for getting to such a point in my life, I've decided to make a change. The trail is really the one to thank. As I rode along I found numerous bits of trash from people being lazy and not caring about this wonderful resource, which made me reflect on how people can be so self involved, lazy, etc...




HELLO FAT A$$, the trash that makes me sick out on the trail is no different than what I'm doing to my body! I ignore it, treat it like crap, fill it full of trash, and then wonder how I got here. Well, no more! If I can clean up the trail, I can clean myself up. It's time to awaken from the slumber I've been in. Time to open my eyes and realize that I've only got this one body and this one life to live. If I sit back and ignore it, it will pass me by sooner than I want it to, and I won't have enjoyed the ride. 2009 is my year for change. Thank you Madrone trail, you're wisdom is greatly appreciated.

from the boat ramp, my favorite place to stop and "think"... nice views too

I'm fat.....

... yes, this is nothing new, but I'm finally feeling fat. I've reached a point where I either need to accept the fact that I'm going to be fat forever or I need to really step it up and stop the current lifestyle. When we lived in Atlanta (Roswell actually) I got on a running kick and did really well. Lost ~ 20lbs, but more importantly lost 3" around the middle and was gaining muscle mass again. I need to get back to that place. I stayed pretty well on course even after the move, but once we moved to the second temporary house, and my work schedule kicked in, I lost all interest in working out, and my attitude went downhill with my fitness.

The challenge I face: a picky eating 3 year old. Like most kids these days, she's hooked on pop-tarts and the like. This is a serious challenge in that when she eats, I eat and I've ballooned to maximum capacity since being the stay at home dad. The upshot here is that I've never known a kid who likes fruit as much as she does, so maybe I can coax her into a better nutritional regimen via fruit, and slowly introduce more veggies. I also feel it's important to influence her life with healthy eating and exercises as we only have a few good years left before the outside influences take over.

The plan.

Slowly introduce a healthier diet. I'm going to start off by trying to change breakfast from pre-packaged refined foods to whole foods. Once this is in place for a few weeks, we'll incorporate lunch, a few weeks later dinner. Loads of research to do on this still as I have no clue what a growing girl really needs.

Exercise... this one is easy. The one thing I have going for me is my 3 y.o. would rather be outside doing anything, she's an outdoor nut. The plan here will be daily walking with the dogs, weekly hikes (2 places close by that are perfect & fun), bike rides... new walking bike should help here, and as fast as she's going I can probably ride the wife's cruiser next to her. Solo runs... ugh, this is the part I love/hate. Once out there and doing it, I love running (well, jogging really but that's as much as you get from me) the part I'm not going to love is the 5am wake up to achieve this goal. I know I'll get used to it, but it will be a challenge given my current physical condition and lack of motivation.

My dream is to get down to 140-5 lbs. My goal is a more realistic 155-158 lbs. The time frame for all of this? Well, back in the day I could drop 20 lbs no problem in 2-4 weeks, now pushing 40, the weight doesn't like to come off as easily and I know a crash diet won't do me any good. So, from what I've read, a healthy weight loss plan is 1-2 lbs per week. My current weight of 191 lbs with a goal of 155 lbs means that if I go it slow, as is recommended, and I lose 1 lb a week, I should be to my goal in 36 weeks or 9 months (like giving birth in reverse... interesting). If I start off 3/09 I should be to my goal by 12/09 or for my 40th birthday. Now, should I achieve my goal, I will have to reward myself with some sort of gift (and since I'm not much of a gold chain/corvette kind of guy) I'm thinking a killer mountain bike (think the wife will go for it?)

Anyway, wish me luck and follow along is you're that bored. Hell, if LFOAB can do what he's done I can achieve this goal.

Walmart*

Yesterday I was at Wal-Mart buying a large bag of Iams Dog Food
for my loyal pet, Remy, the Wonder Dog and was in the checkout line when a woman behind me asked if I had a dog.

What did she think I had, a fuckin' goat? I told her no, I didn't have a dog, I was starting the "Iams Diet" again. I added that I probably shouldn't, because
I ended up in the hospital last time, but that I'd lost 50 pounds before I
awakened in an intensive care ward with tubes coming out of most of my
orifices and IVs in both arms.

I told her that it was essentially a perfect diet and that the way that it
works is to load your pants pockets with Iams nuggets and simply eat one
or two every time you feel hungry. The food is nutritionally complete so
it works well and I was going to try it again. (I have to mention here
that practically everyone in line was now listening to my story.)

Shocked, she asked if I ended up in intensive care because the dog food
poisoned me. I told her no, I stepped off a curb to sniff an Irish
Setter's ass and a car hit us both.

I thought the guy behind her was going to have a heart attack, he was
laughing so hard i expected him to pee his pants. Long story short, Wal-Mart won't let me shop there anymore.















* Originally a version of this story appeared on CL, but I thought it was funny enough to re-post to my blog

67*'s and foggy

And Kathy has Ella, this could only mean one thing. I was going to get my fat arse out and ride... wow, have I lost a ton of fitness in the last month and a half. Gotta get back on some sort of program, even if that means early AM runs on the treadmill.

Went to the Madrone trail, weather was down right brilliant, 67 degrees, no sun, loads of fog. Visibility as I pulled up to the lake was maybe 100 yards. The fog, while great at keeping the sun off my poor skin, didn't do me any favors on the rocky terrain of the Madrone trail. The rocks were super slippery and I felt like I was back east... it was wonderful. Of course, my chums back east are out riding in 20 degree weather, so I am spoiled... for now. No great action shots as it was too wet to take chances with the new camera.

A few parking lot shots to show off the Texas equivalent of mud.




Which reminds me, I need to see if Ricky has any more of those 1 beer stickers or the artwork so I can have some printed up

To Protect & Serve....

.... so a blog that I follow recently had a post about being attacked by some junkies while riding his bike. He was lucky in that the would be assailants had to scale a fence before reaching him. The first junky slipped and fell on his head, the second attacker got up to him and tried to strong arm him, but got knocked down due to the momentum of the 24 mph bike. I responded to his post by saying that I was glad he was not injured, and that I didn't see violence as his style, but should he choose to defend himself moving forward I thought a particular fire arm would be a good choice.

Responding back a bit later, a poster gafalled at the notion of protecting ones self and said the poster should have called the police. This made me think for a moment, what would I do? As a younger and single male, I would have given these two a shake down. As a husband and father, would I take a chance like that and go Mano y Mano? Not likely. If I had a weapon would I take their lives?

My argument for yes... In a large City/Urban environment the police are overwhelmed with violent crime, and an attempted "mugging" would be put very low on the priority list. This is why drug attics take advantage of such situations. Also, since the would be robbers failed on this attempt, what if anything did they learn? Certainly not to get off of drugs and to lead worth while lives as productive members of society... more than likely they learned that trying to scale a fence prior to an attack is a bad idea, they also probably learned a little bit about physics. So the next time they decide to attack an unsuspecting bike commuter, they'll hide in the shadows, and will utilize a blunt object as a means to dismount their victim.

My argument against... I'm a father and husband, do I really want to tangle with two dumb ass druggies? Would I be justified had I used a weapon against two men who meant to do me bodily harm and take my property, or would I spend a decade or greater away from my family in jail? Could they take the weapon away from me in a struggle and make my wife a widow and leave my daughter with out a father?

What would you do?

Gone, but not forgotten...

... I write this with a heavy heart for I have suffered a loss tonight. A good friend, who never asked anything of me other than time and care but gave back more than I can describe in words is gone, but not forgotten. I will miss you old friend, you deserve more than I could provide.



A bit of my cycling soul has been sold, but the new owner looks like a good lot. Take good care of him Jonathan, and if you decide it's not working out, don't hesitate to let me know.

Possible solution to my job situation....

...Australia offers 'best job in world' on paradise island
Buzz Up Send
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Digg Facebook Newsvine del.icio.us Reddit StumbleUpon Technorati Yahoo! Bookmarks Print Mon Jan 12, 10:16 pm ET AFP/File – An Australian state is offering internationally what it calls "the best job in the world" -- … SYDNEY (AFP) – An Australian state is offering internationally what it calls "the best job in the world" -- earning a top salary for lazing around a beautiful tropical island for six months.

The job pays 150,000 Australian dollars (105,000 US dollars) and includes free airfares from the winner's home country to Hamilton Island on the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland's state government announced on Tuesday.

In return, the "island caretaker" will be expected to stroll the white sands, snorkel the reef, take care of "a few minor tasks" -- and report to a global audience via weekly blogs, photo diaries and video updates.

The successful applicant, who will stay rent-free in a three-bedroom beach home complete with plunge pool and golf buggy, must be a good swimmer, excellent communicator and be able to speak and write English.

"They'll also have to talk to media from time to time about what they're doing so they can't be too shy and they'll have to love the sea, the sun, the outdoors," said acting state Premier Paul Lucas.

"The fact that they will be paid to explore the islands of the Great Barrier Reef, swim, snorkel and generally live the Queensland lifestyle makes this undoubtedly the best job in the world."

Lucas said the campaign was part of a drive to protect the state's 18 billion Australian dollar a year tourism industry during the tough economic climate caused by the global financial meltdown.

"Traditional tourism advertising just doesn't cut it sometimes and we are thinking outside the box by launching this campaign."

Queensland Tourism Minister Desley Boyle said some people might question whether it was risky to let an unknown person become an unofficial tourism spokesperson for the state.

"I think the biggest risk will be that the successful candidate won't want to go home at the end of the six months," she said.

"This is a legitimate job which is open to anyone and everyone."

Applications are open until February 22. Eleven shortlisted candidates will be flown to Hamilton Island in early May for the final selection process and the six month contract will commence on July 1

This place is a zoo....

... since I'm the official stay at home dad, the riding has been significantly reduced and more family friendly activities have ensued. On Sunday our friend Simona and her son Noah asked Ella and I if we'd like to go to the zoo with them. Ella's been sick, but she forgot all about that when we got to the zoo. While the San Antonio Zoo is nice, it has nothing on the National Zoo in DC.


Ella & Noah feed the sheep

NYD ride....

Today was the annual NYD ride @ Madrone. I brought my friend Alan H. who is quite fit, but could use a little more work on the MTB skill department. This was the perfect opportunity for him to work on his skills as it's a very social ride. 1/2 way through I got a pinch flat and didn't have a proper tube.... long walk back to the car. I did catch some (sh!tty) video of Alan S. cleaning the boat ramp via cell phone camcorder... gotta remember my snazzy little digi cam next time as it's got a better resolution... I think?

Sick....

.... been too sick to ride, need to get out there. Weather dropped down into the 30's and is now hanging in the mid sixties... the sun is also less intense and I'm jones'n to either ride or run. Soon enough. For now, just been doing the Mr. Mom thing.

And the cold returns...

.... back down to the mid twenties overnight, high today in the mid thirties. It will be 81 by Friday. If I've said it once, I've said it a million times. If it's going to be cold, it might as well snow! Freaking Tex-tard weather. Only one thing left to do....

Fra-gee-lay....

....That must be Italian























































* Photo stolen from here

New Camera...

...finally! So for my birthday Kathy bought me a new Camera. If you've been following along you know I lost my old one @ the Madrone Trail. Initially she bought me a really nice Canon. It was super fancy, 12 Megapixles, not an SLR, as I'm no where near good enough for that, but rather an Elph of some sort. There was the problem... it was too nice for what I was going to use it for. Really the majority of its use is going to be for bike trips, there's no point in owning a nice point & shoot, especially if you knew how lousy my bike skilz are. So we decided to return it and get a lesser camera. Well, as luck would have it, we were at Target (Tar-Jay as we and about a billion other people say ) and saw a Nikon S202 for $97! Wowzers, I realize it's no Canon, and doesn't have all the bells and whistles, but that makes it perfect for a non camera nerd like me. I just want small and easy to use... Check & Check



Thin eh?



Picture quality is a little fuzzy, but then again my subject matter wasn't exactly being all that patient. I'll have to get used to the shutter speed, but for under $100 what do you want?

Dear Santa...

... below is the list Ella wrote Santa today (I may have helped a little, can you tell?)... it's off to the post office to express it to the north pole, hope he gets it in time!

Dear Santa,

My name is Ella ________ , and I have been a very naughty girl this year.


Please, please, please bring me


Ten (10) Dalmatian puppies (with spots please)


One (1) Kitchen


One (1) pony by the name of "Sally"


One (1) Kitten by the name of "Iga"


One (1) DVD of "The Grinch who stole Christmas)


One (1) Garmin Edge 705 GPS


One (1) Pair of Swobo "Fenster" Knickers size large... I'll grow into them


One (1) Pair of Swobo "Minkman Combo" in black, size large... see above


One (1) Jeff Jones 3D Spaceframe with an ETT of 23" and a matching Truss Fat Front Fork

with a Black Anodized Paul 135MM Disc Hub laced to a Speedway rim (and a matching Paul

Hub laced to a DT Swiss XR470 rim) your modified XTR Cranks with Chris King Bottom

Bracket, Boone Ti Chain Ring (32t), Chris King Rear ISO Disc Hub in SS with your

modified XT Cassette, and an assortment of Boone Ti Cogs 18-21, Ericson Ti Stem and Seat

post, Brooks "Swift" saddle in Honey



Finally, One (1) Moots Gristle (3" travel) in 16.5 or One (1) Moots Cinco with an XTR

Build Kit... your choice, I'm not picky.


Thank you Santa, please accept these cookies and this glass of milk as payment in full

for above said items.

It's beginning to feel a lot like....

... winter! Yippie, we finally got a break from the blistering sun. Most would say that today is a gloomy day... not me. After too many months of scorching sun we finally got a break from the heat and sun. Lovely gray clouds, cold air freshly blown in from Canada... temps to make me want to go play. I ended up sneaking out while Kathy & Ella were out doing their thing. Got a single loop in. The temp thingie in the Audi said 36* but with the wind blowing off of the lake it felt a lot colder. If there were any moisture in the air we might even see some white stuff falling from the heavens... one can dream.

The new cell phone has a built in (crappy) digi cam so I'll be taking a lot more pix now, it can even take short video, however I have to figure out how to x-fer the video from the strange .3g2 format to a more standard .mpg or the like (anyone have any suggestions, besides google?)... research for later I suppose.

Fixing Government Canyon...

... John a.k.a Austin Bike called a hooky day ride today in San Antonio, at Government Canyon. Small group, with a new to SS rider joining in. What a perfect opportunity to try to ride Government Cheese fixed (That and the rear wheel on the Vassago needs to be trued and the front hub adjusting). The flats & climbs were fine, no issues there. I hung more towards the back and passed when I was able or the trail allowed. The running and exercise are beginning to pay dividends as I had more strength and a stronger core.... until I got to the downhill sections. GC is pretty rocky, and not being able to just coast and let gravity do its thing really show the weak area of scorching (at least for my skill level). I meant to take some pixs with the new camera phone, but there is no direct way to upload from the phone to my PC, I have to text or email the pix and I'm too cheap for a data package... oh well maybe santa will bring me a camera.

Cheers,

GPS/HRM....?....

... so I've been doing a lot of running and getting out more. The guy who's been helping me get in shape suggested I get a HRM. I used to have an old Polar, but it's gone missing or is somewhere that I can't remember at the moment. In any case I started looking and thinking about electronic toys. I'm already way behind the curve and need a new digi cam, but maybe Santa will bring that if I'm good. So now the HRM comes up. I can get a cheap one from a mega-mart type place cheap, but I've also been thinking about a GPS type unit since I'd like to start exploring more of Austin's off road and don't want to constantly rely on others... so what I'd like is a GPS with up loadable maps and a HRM. The Garmin Edge 705 looks like it would fit the bill, but is quite pricey and bulky for off the bike jaunts. The Garmin Forerunner 305 will give me the HRM and down loadable GPS, and will work if I'm lost to get me back to the beginning, but lacks the ability to upload maps. So then I start thinking maybe a GPS and an inexpensive HRM. I like the DeLorme PN-20 (free maps) and since a new model is scheduled to launch any second they can be had used for under $150...

So to those who are GPS/HRM gadget geeks speak up.

The DeLorme PN-20 I'm thinking about

Case of the "Mondays"...

... 6:30 up and out the door. One of my neighbors has taken me under his fitness wing and has me working out 5-6 days a week. Nothing fancy, no expensive equipment, no gyms or computerized this or that. Just old fashioned sit ups, push ups, jumping rope, and dumb bells (the iron/metal kind not just me). We've been at it for a couple of weeks, and it's horrible. My fat lazy body hates getting out of bed early, my lethargic lifestyle groans with each push up and sit up. The neighbor is good spirited and tells me pain is weakness leaving the body... of course he's an ex-Marine, now Army guy so fitness for him is a way of life. This morning was cold for TX 45ish degrees. I was in shorts & a long sleeve with a wool hat... still overheated on our 4.25 mile run. Our time is what most who run would call leisurely 4.25 miles in 40 minutes is not going to win any records, but it's amazing how much better we are now than 3 weeks ago. Tomorrow is a bike day, so it should be a nice recovery. Wednesday has us doing intervals with full on sprints then a slow jog for 1/4 mile then strait to push ups, sit ups, pull ups and so on each 1/4 mile for 2 miles. It's a lot harder than it sounds, but with any consistency will have me in better shape for the spring. This is normally the time of year when I hibernate, eat way too much, drink too much and hate myself in the spring.

In other news, I was in touch with a former colleague who knows of a position back up in the Mid Atlantic. With any luck it will be the right mix of $ and location, and will be a good fit for me to get Kathy over the hump and agree to move. Down shot is that the position is going to be open in a few weeks which may kill the deal as selling our house here is going to be a challenge, and trying to sell it in the dead of winter is going to mean either a loss or letting the girls stay here while I play couch commando over at my sisters. We'll see....