I hate when I forget the camera

I did my first group ride since moving into the new house and managed to forget my camera. I'm mad at myself because the group stopped along the way to tour the North Mississippi Fish Hatchery. It was really interesting. I never knew Koi are used as feeder fish. Anyway, I managed to get 80.67 miles at a brisk pace and a pretty good tan line on my legs.

It's not going to happen

I had planned on upgrading my component group to a Sram XX 2x10, but it's starting to look bleak at the moment. The plan-B option of even going to the new Shimano XTR 2x10 is on hold. It's not that my current parts are lame or even all that worn out. I run a mix of 9-speed XTR and Sram XO. It works well for me, but I want to shave a little more weight off the bike and run something better for race season. However, the economy is still in the tank and the employment numbers continue to drag everything else down, so I'll hold off on the upgrade and just stuff money in the bank in case things get even worse.

Man vs. Food

Everytime I watch Man vs. Food on the Travel channel, I'm amazed at the amount of crap Adam Richman shoves in his face, and I'm even more amazed his heart hasn't seized up on camera or that he hasn't at least puked on his shoes. For those of you unfamiliar with this show, Adam travels around the country taking on various "big food" challenges like eating a 7 1/2 pound hamburger in 30 minutes or devouring a pizza the size of a card table. It's insane! The daily recommended fat intake is around 65 grams for a 2000 calorie diet. I can't even begin to calculate how much fat, cholesterol, and sodium Adam is eating in one sitting. It has to be enough to last months. By all accounts, Adam Richman should have died last year.

Another One.

Is anyone really shocked that Alberto Contador tested positive for clenbuterol? Let's face it, the Tour de France is a magnet for doping cheats. They all deny it after testing positive, of course. Landis denied it but later confessed. The same holds true for Tyler Hamilton and a host of others. Has anyone ever witnessed someone saying, " Okay, you got me. I doped."? I don't know if Contador's story about tainted beef is true or not, but I'm getting damn jaded with all this nonsense.

Heroes

I've given a good bit of thought lately about the people in cycling I most admire, my heroes if you will. It took several lists and a good bit of revising, but I've settled upon these fifteen for reasons not exclusively related on on the bike performance.



Georgia Gould: In our age of prima donna athletes with massive egos and an inability of stay out of the criminal justice system, Georgia Gould is living proof nice people can win. In Georgia's case she proves the good guy can win big. She exploded onto the racing scene in 2006 with a national title. In 2007, Georgia swept all six events in the National Mountain Bike Series and made the Olympic squad in 2008. In 2009, she won the National short track championships as well as the US Cup mtb title. Not content with mountain bike dominance, Georgia is also a force to be reckoned with on the pro cyclocross circuit as well. Not too shabby for a reformed smoker, huh? Her skills aren't limited to the race course either. Georgia also graduated from culinary school and often posts recipes on her blog. What I admire most about Georgia is her total awesomeness. She's one of the best athletes you'll ever meet, and her success hasn't gone to her head. She just rocks!

Willow Koerber: What's not to admire about Willow Koerber? She is not only as one of the best American mountain bikers on the pro circuit but also one of the world's best. Just to add a little icing on the cake, Willow is the first pro mountain biker to make the World Championship podium on a 29er. That alone is enough to put her in my hero book. Still, Willow Koerber is one amazing racer. After struggling in the 2008 season both physically and mentally, Willow wondered if it was time to quit racing. Fortunately for mountain biking fans, Willow found her center of gravity, a new focus on life, and moved to Durango, Colorado, in June 2009 to work with Rick Crawford who owns Colorado Premier Training. Once in Durango, Willow pushed the reset button oh her life and career. It wasn't long before Willow started making regular podium appearance again with a bronze in the 2009 World Championships and again in the 2010 championships. This what I admire most about Willow; She was able to bounce back after her career and life appeared to hit rock bottom and find her place on the podium again.

Mary McConneloug: Mary McConneloug is the quintessential mountain biker. She travels around the country with her husband, Michael Broderick, in a ford van which also serves as team bus and a camper trailer which is home. In fact, Mary and Michael are the entire Kenda/Seven team. I'm not talking about just the racers but the TEAM - mechanics, logistics, cooks, EVERYTHING! How freaking cool is that? What is even more special is Mary represented the U.S. at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens and again in the 2008 Beijing games. She has also won national titles and made World Cup appearances all without the benefit of massive team/corporate support.

Katherine (Katie) Compton: Simply put, I admire Katie Compton for her uncanny ability to suffer. When it comes to short track and cyclocross, Katie Compton is a runaway train rolling down hill without brakes on greased rails. She attacks from the start and keeps her head down until she finishes or explodes in a ball of fire. She's the legend. It's hard to believe she has asthma and still destroys the competition.




Gary Fisher: Gary Fisher is the father of the 29er movement. Enough said.













Others I admire:

Lance Armstrong: Seven consecutive tour wins and beat cancer.
George Hincapie: America's premier classics rider.
Levi Leipheimer: Founded the animal-welfare group Freedom Hill.
Geoff Kabush: Gotta love the sideburns.
Tinker Juarez: Racing for over 30 years and still going strong.
Heather Irmiger: Marathon champ & SSWC champ.
Todd Wells: Probably the best male U.S. mtb racer.
Catharine Pendrel: Always a threat.
Alison Dunlap: Put U.S. mtb racing on the map.
Major Taylor: A true hero. Raced in the 1800's & constantly battled racism.

What I hate about Blogger

Editing text and images in Blogger is beyond annoying. It's just downright cumbersome and anything but editor/designer friendly. I'm seriously tempted to pull up my blog and move somewhere else with better tools and more design options. Seriously!

I have Columbines!

I tried and tried all summer to get some Columbine seeds to sprout but nothing ever happened. Two pots of Columbines and one pot of Shasta Daises just sat there looking empty day after day. I figured it might be too hot for anything to sprout, so started a new pot of Columbines inside the house, and they finally came up. Now all I have to do is keep then alive all winter so I can transfer them to a shady spot on the side of the house. My big plan is to create a little piece of the Rocky Mountains on one side of the house. It remains to be seen if I can make it work.