Early

I'm usually late to everything. I need to change that. Just this past week, though, part of me has been early. Frequently. Not sure why I've developed a sudden PVC but I spent Christmas Eve afternoon in the ER 'cause it was concerning me. Had been fluttering for about a week and I'd never experienced them before (that I was aware of).

Anyway, they seem harmless enough. Go to see the Cardiologist in a week to get a specialist's POV.

On a positive note, my bloodwork while in the ER came back showing high levels of billirubin. I've had this every time and always wondered if my liver was bad, because if you've ever tasted liver it IS bad. But the ER doc mentioned Gilber't Syndrome. This explains so much. Now I have to search for other athletic individuals that have had the same muscle tightness problems post-exercise — likely due to my body's inability to filter out some of the sugars. I've been trying to figure this out going on 10 years now, and it looks like I may have stumbled on the answer thanks to a tired ticker.

Time to ride the trainer for an hour and taunt the heart some more!

Bed and Brunter stuff

Although my creative outlet tends to be the paintings and cycling related design, I still enjoy the jobs that pay the bills to give the kids warm beds to sleep in. Here's a photo that the client wanted changed from the brick pavers to concrete. I printed off a copy of the original then ran outside and shot a few photos of my work's sidewalk at the closest angle I could. Made things easier, and made a quick few bucks. I think being an illustrator makes Photoshopping that much easier - you gotta keep shadows realistic and be aware of reflected light or your subjects will look "Photoshopped".

Riding music

I don't ride with headphones for safety reasons, but mainly because nature's music is better than anything made in a studio. I do tend to have songs in my head, esp on solo rides. Beck's "Go it Alone" is a good default and the bass line sets a great tempo, but for some of those exploratory gravel adventures now and to come, I think I'll have a new (old) song in my head. A sad song, but a beautiful melody. No banjo in this live version (as was on REM's Fables of the Reconstruction recording), but beautiful all its own.

Halfassinit

I'll never be a bumpersticker type, but if you can't - or just don't feel like giving 110% each day - be proud of giving at least 50%.

Dream Cycle

Darren @ Dream Cycle in Vancouver is a cool guy with a cool dog and a cool shop that builds the coolest bicycles. Check out pics in the gallery. Not a lemon in that bunch! Stare at them for hours... Anyway, he builds his own frames now - the touring/commuting varieties with more to come I am sure - and wanted a head tube badge to adorn them. He already had the "Sedgwick" designed in an urban tag style from another artist, and wanted to go with a phoenix & wheel motif. I must have been on an art deco Chrysler Building. Rocketeer kick and came up with the following: I was impressed at the detail that the badge-maker was able to retain. Go buy one!!!

Here's a wicked (I already overused "cool" earlier) build video with a great custom track:

Gaulzetti Cicli

My magazine artwork has afforded me exposure to many ambitious startups in the bicycle industry. I've enjoyed building relationships with each and every one, and continually am inspired by their passion and creativity. Craig Gaulzetti spent years racing in Europe and contacted me to design a logo inspired by the Wallonia rooster (French-speaking region of southern Belgium). Simple, sexy bicycles he makes. I'm rather fond of this one. Those are not decals - that is wet paint. My apologies to the painter and his Exacto-cramped hands More pics here.

See Jane Ride

This original is a long time coming, part of a logo design I did for See Jane Ride Bicycle Tours. Fun stuff, finally coming together.

Fight or flight

Calories, you will burn today... Time to hop on the bicycle for a couple hours and discover new trail.

Thanks

I'm thankful for great family, friends and to all those that helped pave the way for us to afford the blessed lives we live today. Here's to the upkeep of that fresh pavement.

Babe

Got another Dirt Rag cover under my belt. This was the first large painting I've attempted since my crash/surgery, and the arm hurts, but I have a backlog of projects and images in my head from those 6 months that need to get out. The final printed piece looks a bit different because the art director tweaked the color a bit. I don't mind it, but I like this better. Let's title it Babe

Pets

Thinking it's time the kids get a pet of their own. No, not a Zhu Zhu POS - they played with that maybe 15 minutes. Something low budget and small. Fish are high maintenance, and I know I'll be the maintenancer... same with hamsters and gerbils which freak the Mrs out anyway... No, I think I'll get them a bird. Not the birds that will out live me and even them maybe - I mean a pigeon.

My older bro and I each had a pigeon as a pet as kids. My cousin raised them for what I don't know but we got them when young and they were our pets. They were "outside" birds. Mine used to land on my shoulder while I was mowing the lawn on Dad's old Sears rider. His name was Dusty. Our black cat, Coco -- the one with the limp, dead tail because it almost got cut off by the fan blade in the engine bay of the '65 Chevy 3/4T -- ate him.

Fear of Needles in Haystacks

I once found somebody's contact lens in the gravel parking lot of the old high school. Another time, found a tiny eyeglasses screw dropped in the grass that somebody was looking for. I think it has to do with my ability to see detailed pictures in my head - and as I scan an area I can align the mental image transparency with the actual thing - so it stands out. Kinda like 3D movie glasses. Annette says it's a gift. I say it's a curse.

Almost Full

It appears I've gotten my fill of this blogging thing. Somewhere I read most blogs never see their 100th post and mine, also, may very well become a statistic.

Meanwhile, I'll think of projects to post to get caught up on documenting crap. I'm not racing CX so there ain't much to talk about on the cycling side. It's been a busy summer and my lack of August post solidifies my belief that the entire month of August should just go away. 85° 6am rides, $350 electrical bills, no holidays, back-to-this and that... Enough already. Perhaps the decay of Autumn will fertilize some thoughts. Yeah.

Above's a pic I took w/an old 4MP camera, holding 8x binoculars in front of the lens and having a steady hand. You can see the crater Tycho and its rays pretty well.

Let the camping weather begin.

Just to get up that hill...

A year ago this week I was on top of a couple mountains.

Colorado is calling again. No MTBing for a while (arm still healing) but I could knock out a few more 14ers, no problem.

Persistence

These cardinals are setting a great example for me as I continue getting my arm strength and range back. This male and his lady friend are in a jihad against every window reflection on the back of our home. They are pissed, but persistent. One could say perpissedent. Starts at 5:20am until 9pm every day for the past couple weeks. Take time to reflect. Look in the mirror and ask if this is who you really want to be. Do whatever it is you know you need to do to become the person you want to see. Then go ride your bike!

temporary fixes

Discovered my tire was injured the other day, so I did some physical therapy. Not quite through the radial yet but I can ride w/a little more confidence. Life's full of patches.

Lucky Charms™

Despite my positive intake of pink hearts, yellow moons, blue diamonds, etc, I still managed to hit a squirrel on my second bicycle ride back from broken-elbow surgery. Squirrel and I both fled the scene with only emotional scars.

Ride yer brakes!

I went for the first morning ride today since my accident. It was GRAND. Speaking of grand, here's a pic I took on a flight to Vegas. I will never grow tired of getting a crick in my neck from gawking out an airplane window like a ten year old boy.

Comeforths

I'm not really sure if you can consider it a comeback if you never quite reached the back to come to, so I will call this chapter of life my "comeforth". I never attained my year's goal on the bike of category-ing up to 3s, but I must admit right before my deer accident I had been riding better than in all of my 15 years of amateur cycling. I gave racing a go in several of those early years - mainly mountain bike racing - but always experienced a minor setback with injury or time or money constraints. Then kids came along and energy was devoted to more important things. I'm lucky all my injuries were minor and after the hip bruise swelling subsided I am back on the trainer. Summertime trainer sessions have their pros & cons - yeah it's awesome to set up on the patio and feel the breeze and listen to birds and absorb some vitamin D, but it's still a trainer. Fortunately, no deer have jumped my fence. But I'm focused on my original goal again and just may have to do it a little later during the cyclocross season. I may have a new Edwin Cycles SS CX built up by then, or I'll use a Surly Cross Check frame I acquired. Those details are trivial to me now, I will just be glorified to be back on two wheels!

So whatever your personal goals are for the year, I wish you a successful comeforth.

Ride yer trainer!

New Bike Smell

I've had this frame for everal months but not the means to build it up properly. As I was in the hospital, I got word that my Edwin Cycles Round Valley 29er SS was finished by the good folks at Bicycle Shack. Something to look forward to when I'm back up on two wheels! She's a beauty. Rust patina clearcoat mixes well with the green ano bits.

Slow the *(&% down

A week ago today my life flashed before my eyes... so I smacked right into it.

My philosophy already tends to lean toward less being more, so I'm not the type that gets caught in the tail-chasing rut of working to keep up with the Joneses. Modest house; utilitarian cars; back yard staycations... No, my life was simply getting too busied with work projects, freelance I never can say NO to, kid activities, home repairs and trying to sneak as many bicycle rides in there as possible. Things were piling up. They're still piled up, but I've been given reprieve to step back and sort them so I can better tackle each one.

Last week my buddy Joe and I set out at 5:30am for one of our morning rides. A great 30 mi loop out around lakes Lakewood, Blue Springs & Jacomo. It had rained out several mornings before so we were anxious to get the miles in. About 16 miles in, heading down the hill to the west of Blue Springs Lake, she darted out across my path. A backlit brown blur was all I saw. A couple hoofclaps on the pavement was all I heard. I braced for impact turning in my right shoulder. A clanking mass of metal and man finally came to rest on the slope of asphalt. I did the "that f@©#!ng just happened" in my head as the pain quickly seeped in. Instinct for me is to hop up & walk it off - I laid there a moment to catch my wind and then stood up as Joe helped me and my pieces off the road. At first inventory check it appeared all my parts were there and all were good. I've never broken a bone before besides my nose, so I didn't really know what to expect but as my right elbow sprouted it's own spherical fruit I began to assume my arm might be broken. I think Joe called his neighbor to bring his truck to pick us up as I was deciding whether or not I needed emergency attention. Slipping into shivers & shock I told Joe we'd better call the ambulance. I ended up going to Centerpoint trauma center and xrays showed a busted elbow. Surgery needed to pin & screw all the loose pieces back together, but my hip scan and CT scans came back clear.

It could have been so much worse. So what - my race season is done, but I am not paralyzed and have been spared the gift of life. I'll be back on the bike soon enough, and the piles of stuff won't all go away, but things are a bit clearer now.

I needed this.

Dumbspringa

Rumspringa (also Rumschpringe or Rumshpringa, derived from the Pennsylvania German term for "running around")[1] generally refers to a period of adolescence for some members of the Amish, a subsect of the Anabaptist Christian movement, that begins around the age of sixteen and ends when a youth chooses baptism within the Amish church or instead leaves the community.

As much as I wanted to believe Floyd Landis was innocent, I sensed the way in which he 'fought' allegations always seemed transparent that he was guilty. I first shrugged that sense off and credited his guilty conscience to his lack of PR skills, shyness & his general Amish-upbringing / yearn for privacy. But he was doped and fans were duped. Another great negative lead-up to another TDF. That won't keep my TV from suffering Versus logo burn-in again this July. I may still be recovering on the trainer at that point (story to follow).

Ride yer bike

Joseph Sheehan RR

Been busy. Working a lot & getting a ride in when I can. Rides seem faster, work seems slower.

Anyway, Sunday was my first true road race since I did Froze Toes (30mi) one time back in 2000. The Joseph Sheehan RR up in Leavenworth KS (50mi)... I spent the past few weeks mentally preparing for this race, visualizing how it may go down, and it pretty much played out to my expectation. I knew from Spring Flings that I had decent enough legs to chase down most any attack, but not good enough legs to go on my own - knowing the Cat 4 competition. So the plan was to sit tight and hang on and be there w/the front runners when we hit the final long hill to the finish.

Let's back up to the start: It was cool & windy out of the NW, and our course fortunately headed west then north for the first 25 miles. In-A-Tub/Cycle City had 8-9ish riders in a field of 31, so I knew they'd pretty much control the race up front with any other given team only having 2-3 at most. Bicycle Shack had me, Kyle and Mike Saif. Knowing Kyle's stronger & been tearing up the hills & sprints, I liked our chances with the hill finish. In-A-Tub guys pulled most of the first half of the race. Once we made the turn, as expected one of them took off up the road with the aide of a 16mph tail wind. This stretched out the field nicely and busted a few off the back finally, but several were easily able to hang on until we hit Atcheson. Once we made the turn back to the South and started the long hill out of Atcheson, a couple SKC riders (a fast junior racer - Cameron Rex & teammate Tom Bondurant) mashed it up. I about lost it here, hurting bad, but knew (& hoped) there would be some sort of recovery point at the top. These guys had to be hurting too I hoped!!! Once we peaked it was down to six riders. Kyle, me, a Monster drink jersey, the two SKCs and one other. I can't believe no In-A-Tub guys made the break! I was sure they were saving one or two of their fast guys for the trip home.

After a couple rollers, Kyle got the group organized to work together to maintain our advantage, and we rode the last 20+ miles at a nice tailwind clip in a rotating paceline. Monster Energy guy sat out a couple pulls leading into the final stretch, so I was hoping for him to be tiring out, but figuring he was just saving up the legs. The final hill seemed to come up quick with the speed we carried back, and Kyle made the first move- a little early he admitted, since he thought the line was closer. But a strong jump nonetheless. This got me out of the saddle a little sooner than I wanted but I figured I sat up most the other climbs and I was hoping my standing-climb muscles still had a little reserve to get me up to the finish fast. Monster drink guy hopped on Kyle's wheel and they rode away as the hill steepened. I sat back down and found a gear I could motor at my pace since there was still a ways to the top. I hung in 3rd until 150yds or so and the two SKC guys came around me. I caught a wheel for a moment but cracked hard when I stood up to sprint again. I finished 5th & Kyle 3rd (Tom B of SKC took the win in a well-timed move). Great, fun race! I missed the money by one position, though.

My next planned race isn't until June so I know that I just need to work on hills & sprinting & hills and sprinting. Looking forward to back to back weekends of the Tour of KC and the Tour of Lawrence. Then it's cyclocross season!

Ride yer bike!

Perfect Storm

Woke up at 5am this morning to ride. I texted my buddy late the night before so I didn't give much notice, but since I hadn't heard back I figured it was going to be a solo. Normally I pound the SNOOZE if I find out my option is solo... but I have another race on Saturday so I needed to get a good effort in.

I usually glance at temp and radar to know what to wear and what route best suits a return tailwind, but I skipped all that and just stepped out on the deck. 48°. A little haze over a half-moon waning. Dead calm. I could see two deer in the back field under a faint reflected city glow. Let's do this.

I headed out on the road and ramped up the effort pretty quick. Worked through the inevitable mile#4 gluteus tightening and then I was flying. Headed straight east to Lake Lotawana with only the 20+mph self-induced wind in my face. I looped down in and around the lake and attacked all our usual hills feeling good - but when I returned topside something had changed. For some odd reason I REALLY felt like I was flying back home, just knocking out each little rise like it was nothing. I could see w/o my lights at this point, but they remained on for safety. Looked unusually dark in front of my to the west, but I didn't think much of it since I'd ridden in the dark for 45 min already. Then I made a little jog back to the south and realized the source of my feelin-goodspeed. A whipping flag indicated at least a 10-15mph wind was at my back - now smacking me on the left. Turned out to be inflow from the fast approaching Tstorm to my west. She took a HUGE inhale that made my ride home sheer bliss! Not until I rolled home & cooled down a bit did I realize the storm - the front hit and her exhale switchymarooed to 45mph gusts from the west. Those COULD have been headwinds if I didn't time it just right.

It was a good ride.

Finishing Midas Touches...

Doing some minor alterations to the golden Nishiki Olympic (1977?) dumpster mixte I rescued a couple years back. Some more chrome polishing, final bathe & some bar tape this afternoon... This will be my lovely wife's ride for tomorrow's Tweed Ride. It's going to be a smashingly glorious day for a stroll about town sipping wine & whiskey. :)

Friday!

Another Spring Fling race tomorrow. Might be raining. I like rain. Some rainy music to get me in the mood here - this guy covers U2 better than the original. Definitely some Jeff Buckleyesque sound going on, too.

High Societweed - final(ly)

Finally got this thing done. Now to get my & my lady's bicycles tuned up for the stroll about town on April 3rd! And some knickers...

No racing this weekend...

Snow is coming down. I'm not on a bicycle, but I'm finishing up a few paintings along with painting some scrambled St Patrick's Easter eggs with the kids. I needed a Saturday like this.

Tweaser#3

Crap! I need scissorhands...

Spring Fling Crit #2

Made little gain from last week's 10th place effort. Legs felt real strong. It was cool (42°F) and windy again, so the field was a little smaller and the pace was quite slow. My legs were twitching and I headed up front on the first sprint lap but teammate Rick slapped the reality back in my and told me to save the energy. Good call! Not much action going on although there was enough strength in the group to cover each of Velotek Zach's attacks - I gotta give him most aggressive rider on the day because he tried several times to make something stick. A Colavita rider headed up for a couple laps to set a good tempo, but it was pretty much a Sunday ride until each sprint lap rolled around. Zach punched it one last time on the last lap into the wind with 1/2 lap to go and I was sitting 5th wheel in the group of 8 of us. Rick & Kyle were together and jumped up to match him, and I first intended to hop in front of them to bust the wind up, but my momentum had me going right past (I think Zach sat up after seeing Rick on his wheel) them all so I pinned it. I should've called out to the team as I went by so they didn't lose any momentum either, but the opportunity was there. Both Rick and Kyle have some great sprinting legs - probably the top in our category when looking at the first 3 weeks' results - and they were right on my tail in no time. I rounded the last turn and held it down for as long as possible, saw the others breaking around me again and watching Kyle time it perfectly for the win. His first sprint lap was perfect, too - just accelerating through everyone at the precise moment to cross that line first. Rick was in good form on the day, too, and took 4th overall.

I then lined up and raced ~14 laps of the 3/4 race... Got dropped after the first sprint lap (Lap 10?) and couldn't get back on. Legs just too shot from the earlier race. It was good practice and gave me a good sense of the next level. Had I not just raced, I may have been able to hang with the main pack (not the 6 that broke away), but I was pleased with getting out of there before the crampede* hit my legs.

I am addicted to this schidt! Next weekend looks snowy. WTF? Time for a 10:30pm trainer session...

*crampede: cråm-peed' — noun. (pl. charlie horse)

Order

As an artist, I get paid to observe. I love to observe, so good for me. I rarely pick a side in a conflict because I usually see both sides. Perhaps I come off as a fence-setter, but I think I get my laid back pacifistic nature from my Father. Next to life, I can't think of a greater gift!

Anyway I was observing the other day on my way home from my bicycle race in Lawrence. I had noticed earlier in the week that I'd rolled 90,000 on my Ford Focus. I'd always wanted to capture the EXACT moment when a car turned 100K, so with this on my mind I started looking at the numbers on the odometer. It's been a year at least since I'd touched the trip odometer, but about 9 miles before this happened I did the math in my head and realized that my odo would reach a palindromic 90109 on the same mile my trip odo hit 899.8 .... The symmetry fascinated me, but what surprised me as I kept glancing at the dash so I wouldn't miss this event, it happened to roll 90106 and 896.8 - which on a digital readout were the same number flopflipped. Coincidence!?! I don't always think so. I think these things happen so often each day - call it alignment or synchronicity or flow or what have you - you just gotta be looking for it and it's always there. Fascinating!!!

Be still for a moment each day and open your eyes and take it all in. Then go ride yer bike!

Goats & Barley

Probably not the best thing for the training table, but...

Another productive week of working, painting & training. Weather kept me indoors on the trainer but had a few good intense sessions in hopes to improve my sprint finishes. Gonna TRY to race tomorrow if workload allows, and if I do I'll try the Cat3/4 race after my 4s race for some extra exercise. Supposed to be cool and possibly rainy tomorrow so that'll keep the pace down on the corners at least. This may make the yo-yo effect even worse in a crit, I suspect, but I love riding in the rain! Bring it on, & GO FOR THE GUSTO!!!

Slow day...

Timewise, anyway. Usually when I'm this busy the day flies by — but not today. Hoping to get on the bicycle and get some dead end sprints in this evening before the rains so I don't have to set up the trainer again. Of course, there's the 1/2 dozen design projects that need finished, too. Enough rambling, here's a picture of a worm, on a sidewalk, in the rain, on a Monday morning.