After a long day of meetings in Colorado my boss and I went for a run along the Devil’s Backbone. This is my favorite run of all time.
We pounded out 4 miles in about 40 minutes. The elevation is brutal, 6,500 ft and you feel it every stride when climbing hills. I think the comparison would be to smoking a pack a day for the last 5 years. It probably wasn’t the best idea for me to pig out at Chili’s after. Fajita’s are so good! So are boneless buffalo wings! So are boneless Shanghi wings!
Last night Dave and I met up at Sand Canyon Cyclery for a work out on their new spin bikes. It’s called The Inside Track. To be honest with you, I thought it was going to be pretty lame. Well, it’s not, it is actually super fun and an incredible work out. It is absolutely perfect for bike geeks like Dave and very fun for more so geeky guys like me.
The room is set-up with 10 or so bikes and a big mirror. In front of the mirror is a stage with a bunch of high powered fans. The beauty of the set-up is the bikes. They are all heart rate compatible and have a super smooth spin. Once the entire system is set-up with instructors, etc I am going to check out a class. Good times.
With all of my depressing posts lately I thought I needed to lighten the mood. Just in case you haven’t already seen this, here it is again. The next time you see Dave ask him about the time I stuffed him the corner by the hotel room bed and beat the crap out of him because he was popping off. It was a great day for me and Brian Morales because Dave would never pick on us again.
I was driving to meet Brian Morales for lunch at Chipotle when he called and cancelled. Typical. I deceided to change up my lunch plans and got a Juice It Up instead. As I was driving back to the office I knew I had a few extra minutes and did a detour to see the fire damage. I stopped at a park that overlooked all of Whiting Ranch. On a normal day this view would have been amazing: clear skys, beautiful greens trees, and snapshots of my favorite trails hidden by the brush and wild flowers. Today was different though, the sky was filled with smoke and the beauty of Whiting Ranch was hidden by black ash with no sign of any living plant life.
As I walked back to my car an older woman drove up in her Camry and asked me how bad the damage was. I explained to her that everything in Whiting Ranch and along the Modjeska Grade was destroyed. Her response back was interesting. As she pointed to her house that was directly next to the fire break she said, “So by all of this being destroyed I’m able to still have my house. I’ve evacuated 3 days ago and I’m glad to be home.” We then parted ways.
The take away from this conversation for me was that people matter so much more than anything else. As sad as I am that Whiting is gone, I am so happy that this woman still has a home to live in.
I am proud to announce that there are a number of people that are actually choosing to read the blog on a daily basis. Most of the new traffic is due to the hard work that Dave has been doing with the Southern California Cyclocross Prestige Series race coverage. You can check out the race coverage by clicking below:
The last 2 weeks have been strange. One of the weeks was spent in San Diego at a conference for work. I got in one 30 minute run. This week was spent trying to stay indoors as much as possible because of the fires which equals zero exercise. On Sunday I leave for a work trip that will have me gone for 8 more days to Colorado and St. Louis. This will equal zero exercise.
I know myself well enough to understand this is not healthy for me. It’s obvious that I am already slipping into really bad eating habits. My typical style is to only eat healthy when I know that I am exercising. That’s a bad habit.
As I write this I am going to make a promise to all my friends that are reading this post. Starting today, October 26, through when I return November 5 I am not going to drink any diet soda. Only water and iced tea. If your reading this and thinking this guy is nuts, you’re right, but diet soda is a huge crunch for me when I am tired and on the road.
Tonight Dave and I are going to spin on the new bikes at Sand Canyon Cyclery. I think they are calling it Inside Track. I can’t tell you how excited I am to do this.
I have been needing a pair of training fins for my Master Swim program for quit a while now. A few weeks back I received a gift card to Amazon.com and picked up these bad boys.
It’s going to be about 30 days before I can use them due to the fire and travel for work but come December 1 I am on a four month mission for the Ironman 70.3 in Oceanside. My only goal with this race is to not drown in the 1.2 mile swim.
Julie and I did a little driving today to get a better view of the fire. From our perspective Whiting Ranch is 100% whiped out. It did not appear to have a single patch of unburned vegatation. It also appears that the Modjeska Grade (Old Camp and the Luge) is getting hit pretty bad. I don’t know this for sure and I could be wrong but from where we stood it appeared to be getting hit.
This fire is larger than I ever imagined, it has destroyed hundreds of homes and peoples lives. Its very sad.
THE INSIDE TRACK- Training Center at Sand Canyon Cyclery
Hello all,
Seems like most of us got off easy compared to our neighboring counties during the fires, but we’re left with air far too unhealthful to ride in. Therefore, we’re opening our brand new indoor training center, named The InsideTrack, a little early to anyone who wishes to spin a little over the next few days at no cost. As many of you know, we’ve put in ten Commercial Spin bikes, complete with computers that track heart rate,effort, and cadence, etc. Our official sessions are a week away; however, since everything is up & running, we thought we’d open it up to encourage people not to ride outside right now.
The bikes are brand new from Star-Trac, and have double-sided pedals which accept SPD-style cleats on one side, and have a flat pedal with cage on the other. Additionally, we have a few sets of Look pedals on standby, and you’re always welcome to bring your own pedals in to use as well.
This offer will remain throughout the work week, and possibly into the weekend. Spin for free, but keep others in m ind if demand is high and limit your time to one hour. We have a High Def big screen up on the wall, and plenty of fans to keep you cool. Don’t be shy - it’s a great way to check out the new set-up!
Below is a mass email that I received from my friend Kimberlee Staff. She is a docent for the Irvine Land Conservancy and leads regular rides through parks in Irvine.
Aside for the obvious pain that the fires have caused people in our community much of the land that we use everyday for riding/running/hiking is now destroyed. Please read her last paragraph as it is something that we can help assist with.
I just got off the phone with the Irvine Land Conservancy who
manages Limestone Canyon for the Irvine Company. IRC said Limestone
is pretty much a complete loss as far as fire damage. There may be
some pockets remaining inside, but until all the fire is out, they
will not know for sure. The fire has also spread into some areas of
Whiting – as much as 1/3 is what they estimate right now. As you
may or may not know, Limestone and Whiting back right up next to
each other.
The fire started up by the spur gate area around where Santiago and
Silverado meet and went up Hicks Haul Road. It eventually jumped
the 241 and then spread south consuming all of Limestone as it
burned. All future activities in Limestone for the next two or
three months have been put on hold until the damage can be
assessed. New vegetation may need to be planted, i.e. seedlings and
seeds to assist in regrowth.
We can only hope the animals found safer places to be with all
this. Cameras will be set up again as soon as possible to monitor
activity. There were at least four active mountain lions in the
area, including one mother with two cubs.
Please check with the rangers at Whiting on when the park will open
again and do not ride in there until the park is open and ready for
us. If it ends up getting burned anywhere near like Santiago Oaks
did a few months back, it could be quite a while before it is open
to the public again.
Those who know me understand that my caffeine addiction is the downfall to my exercise (I don’t like calling it training- it take the fun out). I would rather drink coffee (warm, hot, cold, it doesn’t matter) all day rather than anything else.
I found my new favorite coffee:
If you love me, are feeling nice, want to thank Andy and I for doing this site for free so that you are not bored out of your mind at work all day, or if you have someone in mind that you need to get that little something for the holidays, then go to their site (click the picture above butt-head)!
Kinetic Koffee has a nice little gift sampler, good brewing tips and Organic Coffee:) The two-samples I have tried are great (breakfast buzz rules)!
2007/2008 Southern California Cyclocross Prestige Series www.socalcross.org
CLICK THE GREEN TO READ…
The Next Races are this weekend:
Saturday, October 20- Hansen Dam, Lake View Terrace, CA SCPS #3- CICLE Cross
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Sunday, October 21- Hansen Dam, Lake View Terrace, CA SCPS #4- DAM CROSS **UCI (C2)**
The series has been a bunch of fun. Go to the event coverage section to read more!
A few weeks back I posted that Julie and I were competing in the Scott Tinley Triathlon Series at Lake Lopez near San Luis Obispo, CA. It’s taken me a while to circle back to this race but time has finally allowed.
The entire weekend was a blast. Perfect weather, easy race to get to, our good friends Matt and Becky Smart hung out (Matt raced with me on Sunday) and we were in San Luis Obispo which is one of our favorite places.
Julie’s race was on Saturday at 7:45 am. You could say she brought her “A” game.
On-Road Sprint Triathlon details:
Swim - .25 mile open water lake swim
Bike - 12.4 mile road ride
Run - 3 miles
Julie ended up getting first place in her age group by over ten minutes and 33rd out of 104 overall, including dudes. Not one person passed her on the bike or run. The most impressive part was that she ran 8 minute mile splits. Her run was so strong that day. We stayed and watched her get her medal and stand on the podium. Super cool and you can see the pictures on Flickr.com above.
Matt and I raced was on Sunday at 7:30 am.
Off-Road Extreme Triathlon:
Swim - .5 miles open water swim
Bike - 17 mile mountain bike
Run - 6 miles
Ok, Matt beat me by 11 minutes. He creamed in on the swim and had a better run than me. The swim was my most disappointing part. I felt like I floundered which is frustrating because of how hard I worked on it. But I can say that this was by far my best race. I left it all out there and was exhausted at the end.
My final time was 3:11. That’s a long freakin time to be on course. The mountain bike was by far the biggest shock. The day before the race the entire MTB course was not open and the part that was closed off was the 2 mile 1,000 vertical feet butt kicking climb leading you into miles of single track climbing and descending. My ride time was 1:50, that was the 9th fastest time of the day, small personal victory there. The ride was awesome and the course would be fun to ride without a race. My run time was 57:43 which is 9:37 mile pace. I know for a fact that I negative split the last 3 miles which I am happy with.
My 2 biggest areas for improvement are the swim and run. If I can shave 2 minutes off my swim and 1 minute off each of my miles I have a competitive time for next year. I’m excited to race it again next year. If Julie has her way she won’t be racing but will be supporting with Carter and new child in her belly.
Thanks to MooseJaw.com my new shoes are here and I did a super fun 60 minute run through O’Neil Park tonight. The lacing system is pretty unreal and the fit is wonderful. By reading a customer review on MooseJaw.com I was able to learn that the shoe runs a half size small…which is true. I went with the 11.5 and I am glad I did.
Fine print: *The discount will show in the cart. If an item is already on sale, you’ll receive the better of the two discounts. Discount does not apply to Western Mountaineering, The North Face, Burton, Nixon, Patagonia Footwear, Arc’teryx, sunglasses, skis, ski boots, ski bindings, snowboards, snowboard boots, snowboard bindings, and lift tickets.
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Andy B outsideallday.com
I was just playing around on MooseJaw.com and noticed their newest sale. All Patagonia is 20% off! How could I resist to post about my favorite outdoor company? I couldn’t, the urge was way to strong.
You MUST use coupon code 921 during checkout to receive the discount.
Andy B outsideallday.com
I currently have 3 buddies signed up to do the race with me. Matt Smart, Bill Daily and Alex Omel. Any other takers? If you’re interested reply to this post and let me know.
After this race I am going to do the race at Mission Gorge on February 3, 2008.