It is Sunday. So I have some time to update.\n\nYesterday was Saturday and was really less productive than I intended. I slept in to catch up some, made breakfast, and then almost went on a LHT ride to catch up with Thad in Fayettville, TN to camp out and watch the races tomorrow and then ride back home with him. I planned out the route and got my stuff together but then decided not to go. I decided that would have killed my weekend and all the nothing I wanted to get done.\n\nSo instead, after breakfast I jumped on my bike and rode down to check out Hennessey's new work place at cumberland transit (CT). It is a cool store. I had been there a couple of times, but that was it. I tend to avoid places that make me want to buy stuff and bike shops where I don't know people. There are enough places around where I do know people. Well, Dan showed me around a bit and then told me he was about to get off of work. So I hung around a few minutes until he was ready. Then we decided to roll back to my house, and to pick up some beer on the way there. So it was to the Harris Teeter for a 4-pack of Boddingtons and some grapes and then back the homestead. We took our time polishing off the beers and then decided it was time to eat something. This took most of the afternoon. We headed down to get a couple slices of pizza and then parted ways. Dan headed off to some more trouble and i headed home to chill out some after such a tough day. Stayed at home the rest of the evening taking care of some work stuff, some home stuff, and preparing for Sunday's ride.\n\nSunday, I woke up about 6:45 and Dan called at 7 saying he was on his way. So i decided it was time to get out of bed. Quickly got dressed and ready and then when Dan got here, I climbed on my bike to ride out to get Matt. We were planning on meeting a couple other guys down south of Nashville for the weekly pancake ride. We had never done it, but know it goes on and it is posted on the Harpeth bike club website. So we had left plenty of time to get there by 9, the posted time. Well, we got a call a little before 8 asking us if we were going to be there, and told us they were about to leave. Evidently, they had announced at the last ride or sometime that they were moving the ride back to 8am because of the summer heat. They had just neglected to post the change on their website. So we missed it.\n\nWe pushed on to Matt's, who was about ready to ride when we got there, We decided to do our own breakfast ride to the Loveless cafe. A nice 10 mile out and back with a big breakfast in the middle. There was a bigger hill than we remembered on sneed on the way out there, but isn't there always? We only had to wait about 15 minutes for a table once we got there. We stuffed ourselves on some great breakfast and then headed back. It was slow going most of the way back, and we skipped the big hill, opting to take another way around. when we were almost back to Matt's, we were passed by a couple people we know (one of whom Matt works with) and they met us back at his house for a post-ride PBR.\n\nThe original plan was to ride in town this afternoon, as well. There is a group that does a casual ride around town and ends up at a couple bars for a beer or two and then ends up at 3Crow for sandwiches and 2 for 1 beers. We planned to join them, and Matt was going to drive us and our bikes all back to town after the breakfast ride, but he bailed on the afternoon festivities. We were all pretty beat from the heat and humidity, but I think his allergies were getting to him, too. He offered to drive us back to town, but Dan and I headed home on our bikes.\n\nThe ride home was a little of a pain because we seemed to be against the wind much of the way. And the closer we got to Nashville, the more ominous the sky looked. About halfway back to my place, the road was really wet. We never got rained on, but the rainstorm had just gone through and we got wet from water being kicked up by our own tires and splashing and such. Before we got back, we were riding in wet shorts and with wet feet. I decided i wasn't wanting to ride around all afternoon with a wet butt and wet feet and sit in air-conditioned bars that way either. I decided to pack it in and headed home. Dan was planning to go by and see the guys who typically ride, but intended to head on home. Not five minutes after I got home, it started raining outside again.\n\nThe bike rode great today. Continuing the SS-style riding on my geared bike. The only time I shifted today was when Dan reached over and up-shifted my bike while riding along. I quickly shifted back and then threw a stick into his front spokes. (Just kidding - about the stick.) The Brooks saddle is breaking in nicely and is super comfortable by now. I wouldn't call it luxurious plushness that I just sink into, but it is all-day support that makes my butt happy and doesn't have any discomfort from excessive time in the saddle. I think I will keep it. In other bike part acquisition news. One of those bottles of Colorado whiskey that I acquired last week was traded to ol' Hennessey for a Thomson stem that will go nicely on the Gunnar when I get the Midge handlebar I am eyeing.\n\nThe weekend is not over, but I don't intend to do anything else worth mentoning. (Unless you consider a nap newsworthy.)

!!Trans Iowa 3 weekend\nHmmm... where to begin....\n\nMy life was a whirlwind leading up to the weekend. I presented at a conference for work the morning of and attended a work dinner the night before leaving for TI3, so I was a little frazzled which resulted in me forgetting both my mtb gloves and my baggy shorts. In the end, I think I was better off without both.\n\nWe (Thad, Dan, and I - Werle had to bail because of sickness) drove to Galesburg, IL on Thursday to stay at Thad's parents' house. Hanging out with them is always a good time. I can't say I was in the right mood for a good time, though. I was in a foul mood, which isn't unusual for me before a big race, especially one I am unsure about. Friday we rolled into Decorah, Iowa and checked into the hotel. We met the guys from Colorado when we first got there and things were at first a little daunting because those guys are super tough and have some good experience with long rides and have put in a ton of training miles. So I was wondering what we had gotten ourselves into. We rode out bikes into town to get some grub before the planned pre-race meeting and such, and that's when we met Joe and started meeting some other riders. That helped relax me because it was obvious that there were more riders like me (under-trained, somewhat average guys who just like to ride) than the other.\n\nThe race meeting included some basic info and a roll call. We got our race bags which included our cue sheets and race numbers. My number was 65. Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel to do final preparations for an early-morning ride start. We were in bed around 10-10:30 and I was finally able to fall asleep, mainly due to some help from a couple of beers. Up early in the morning for the race, but you can read about the race here: http://troyef.googlepages.com/transiowa3\n\nSo, to pick up where that report leaves off.. when we got to the hotel about 4am having bailed, we each showered and went to sleep. I was first to shower and probably first to sleep. Up again about 9:30 to pull our stuff together and check out. We headed to town to find some food and then relax and wait for the awards at 2:30. We went to the awards to honor the guys who made it through, and then hung out for a while and talked to other guys about the race. Good times. We then went to have a beer with a couple of the CO guys before heading back to Galesburg to crash. Dave N., who is a distiller for [[Stranahans|http://www.stranahans.com/]] hooked us up with a bottle of their finest. This stuff isn't easy to come by, so this was quite a gift. We sipped on some stellar CO whiskey back at Thad's parents' place and then crashed for the night. On Monday, we took our time getting back, stopping at a great diner and tossing the Frisbee some at a rest stop.\n\nWhen we got home, Thad and I decided to head into town on our bikes to get geta couple beers and some food. It's always nice to relax some after a long drive, and after the weekend's ride, it was really good to pedal the bikes again in town some. On our way home, I had the genius idea of attempting to bunny hop over this curb. I was riding platforms, and my bunny hops are not so great... so in typical T-roy fashion, I cased my Rr wheel on the curb, pinch-flatting my rear tube. I typically don't take tools with me on these rides, so I was not prepared. Thad had a tube and co2, but we had no allen wrench to take the wheel off. I rode across some grass some, but then decided I was not ready to trash or compromise my only good rear mtb wheel just to get home a couple miles away... so I started carrying my bike. Thad sprinted back to my house to get what I needed. We met about halfway (or maybe not quite), and I was able to fix the flat and get on home.... funny way to end a long weekend of riding.\n\nWell..... Trans Iowa 3 has come and gone.... but [[MoustacheMay|http://www.moustachemay.com/index.php]] is just beginning...\n<html><a href="http://www.moustachemay.com/staches/troy/"><img src="http://www.moustachemay.com/_img/staches/2007/17/17_050107_l.jpg" alt="another may, another 'stache"></a>\n</html>

Nursing a minor muscle injury in my hip area, so my riding has been light to non-existent. That is disappointing since I had an open weekend with tons of free time to ride. In a week or so it will be time to start a period of recovery/rest leading up to [[TransIowa3|http://transiowa.blogspot.com/]]. "Recovery and rest from what", you ask.... That's a very good question. One to which there is no good answer.\n\n

!!ORAMM is coming\nSo the Off Road Assault on Mt Mitchell is coming up in about a week and a half. I am barely thinking about it. I need to get ready for it, but it isn't really on the radar right now. That is probably for the best. So when it comes time to show up and ride, then I will do just that. I need to think about what I will be needing and such before that time (like food, supplies, beer, a ride out there, etc.). I also need to build up the bike I will be riding that weekend and hopefully even ride that bike off-road a little. I don't remember the last time I went mountain biking or the last time I rode Nepolean. Thad probably remembers... he seems to always remember stuff like that.\n\nWork is pretty surreal right now. A sinking ship on which everyone is trying to make their liferaft. I will hopefully be otherwise employed next week, but that would be a pretty quick move. Possible, but not likely here in Nashville. I could go back to my previous employer, but it would be a disservice to them and myself since it would be only temporary. I do not want to go back to such a cubicled, low-energy, personally depressing work environment. I have a couple leads around here, but the trick is balancing the urgency and my pickiness.\n\nIn other news, the weekend with Emma was spectacular. Nothing like a sweet daughter to lift one's spirits. Also this weekend, Sharpie of the beer team became a dad. Vivian Sharp Emmons is a beautiful baby girl, and I was lucky enough to hold her and meet her when she was only a day old. Cheers to Sharp, Beth, and little Vivian.

!!Knees\nMy knees are still hurting me. And I no longer think it is a bruise or anything, but I am now thinking it is related to the transiowa ride. They are sore when I am just sitting at my desk, even. Very annoying. Not sure what the deal is or why they are so bad. I know my bike was not set up so well for the ride, but I have never given that much attention before and have never had sore knees like this before. The nuisance is that it could be one or more of any number of factors, one of which being the sheer length of time I spent pedaling, which was far longer than ever before in one day. I think that having spent minimal time on my bike leading up to the race didn't prepare my body for the abuse. I need to work on that, but first, I need to work on getting my knees back to a good working state. I am not sure how to do that other than just resting. Maybe I need to work with my legs inclined so my knees do not have so much blood pressure on them, maybe allowing any inflamation to subside. This is all theory, though.\n\n!!Pricks and Prods\nLast night was my first day of participation in the Vandy study on asthma. I went through prick testing, lung function testing, and a methacholine challenge test. And that was just day one of the preliminary tests to make sure I qualify for being a part of the study. So far I am a prime candidate.\n \nThe prick tests consisted of pricking my arms in 25 different spots. 15 of those were with 15 different allergens and 10 were with one specific one using different strengths to see how much I require to trigger a response. This test itched. Imagine 25 mosquito bites on your arms and all you can do is watch them swell up with no scratching. It ends up I am allergic to everything that was used to test. The funny thing is that they use a histamine control which all people are supposed to react to. That's prettymuch the only prick I didn't react to at all (besides the blank control). Very odd.\n\nThe lung function test involves me exhaling as much as possible through a tube to determine my exhale capacity. By performing this test while introducing inhaled allergens, they can measure the amount of bronchial obstruction (ie, asthma). The methacholine challenge works in conjunction with this test by creating asthma symptoms. They monitor the symptoms and produce about 20% obstruction, which to an asthma sufferer doesn't amount to much discomfort at all. That much obstruction is just the beginning. Not a big deal.\n\nSo anyway, they also took some blood and performed basic medical checks like blood pressure and resting heart rate. My blood pressure was spot on and my heart rate was about 55. I question the heart rate because I think it was elevated due to the hot nurse that had just taken my blood samples.\n\nMy next test is an all day inhaled allergen challenge where they are making sure that my asthma reacts to the allergen of choice (bohemian grass for me). I will be at the clinic about 8-9 hours for that one. I wonder if it is kosher to ask to schedule that test when hot nurse it working....\n

Updating has been spotty. This is mainly because so much stuff has been going on that I need time to digest and internalize things. One of these days the frequency will pick up again and I will update with some of the craziness that has been my life lately.\n

!!Exposure\nLast night, I accepted an offer for a new job. Starting on May 29, I will be working for an advertising technology firm called Zoi Interactive Technology. My new position will be as a Senior QA Engineer. This is definitely a change of pace for me and should involve a lot of learning, both of new technologies and of some ins and outs of running a business. This company can be correctly characterized as a start-up. I am looking forward to the change and the opportunity to explore another industry. My last day at Integra is May 25, so I am not taking any additional time off, but will have a typical 3-day Memorial Day weekend between jobs.\n\nOne of the personal advantages of this job is that I will be both working and living in Nashville. No more relatively long commutes down to Franklin, burning a gallon of gas each way. For many, this may seem trivial and like a simple commute, but to me it will make a big difference. I will live about 3 miles from work, and it's even downhill most of the way to work in the mornings. So I will be able to ride my bike to work most days and will have the pleasure of urban riding with bike lanes and safer roads for most of the rides. The convenience will be terrific and the lack of having to rely on a vehicle will be satisfying. Thad is questioning whether I will actually ride when it gets down to it, but the benefits of driving are now minimized so it shouldn't be a difficult decision each morning.\n\nFor the purpose of explaining my reasons for shaving my moustache, mainly to the Moustache May participants, I wrote an essay on the topic. This can be read [[here|http://troyef.googlepages.com/argforshave]].\n

"Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature and you will find that, behind all the discernible laws and connections, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Veneration for this force beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion. To that extent I am, in fact, religious." - Albert Einstein\n\nToday is picture day. See below.\n\nOn a personal note...I need to drink more water. Too much coffee, coke, beer. Or, rather, not enough water consumption to go along with those. Last night, my liver was hurting somewhat. (For those concerned, my alcohol consumtion last night was limited to one drink... my body was parched for water...) This will be especially important for my strength build-up and preparation for [[death|http://transiowa.blogspot.com/]].\n\n!!!Kurt Vonnegut ceased to create yesterday. A sad day.\n<html><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/12/books/12vonnegut.html?ex=1334030400&en=5f47f4f343376a1f&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss"><img src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/04/10/arts/vonnegut7.jpg" width="379" height="240" alt="a sad day"></a>\n</html>\n\n!!!Other pictures from the outside world...\n<html><a href="http://cellarrat.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_ojcMX1uR-ks/Rh2PaRbmnmI/AAAAAAAAAd8/1eXiRvDqrLI/s320/DSCF0507.JPG" width="379" height="240" alt="sweet old bike"></a>\n</html>\n\n[img[kinda gross|http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20070412/capt.tpe80404121015.taiwan_crocodile_attack_tpe804.jpg?x=380&y=240&sig=0iI67fIVbnJ2ENDB8D0meQ--][http://news.yahoo.com/photo/070412/481/tpe80404121015]]\n\n

!Sometimes (or maybe often) a bike ride is good relief for what ails you.

!!New things.\nWithout going further into more detail than I should out here on the information highway, the company I work for here in Nashville is lighter than when I started by about a dozen people, and I am the new QA manager. Fun times. With the old people went some processes built around their skill sets and the number of people here. Also leaving was a good bit of knowledge. Some people call it tribal knowledge. I call it them making decisions based on their knowledge and leaving others to pick up the pieces. What has really happened is that we have been finding new ways to do things using methods we know. As to why they are no longer here... all I can say is it's no one's fault but their own. At least that is how it was presented to me, and things are making sense,\n\nSo work for me has been super busy for the last few days and doesn't look to slow down much in the near future. I have been re-creating processes related to QA within the organization, learning how to use tools, figuring out a game plan for the future, and laying a groundwork for recording metrics for the quality of our software. It is cool being the one to make decisions. There is some truth to the idea that I just fell into this position, but I do have the support of the leadership here, and i may be better to have in this position right now than a seasoned QA veteran. The process here will be grown somewhat organically out of business need. I certainly don't have many preconceived notions as to what this testing process is supposed to look like.\n\n!!Asthma Complications\n(Personal medical stuff - read at your own risk)\nThis morning I went to the Vandy research clinic for a broncoscopy which would involve several tests down in my lungs. It was to be about an hour-long procedure, but it didn't last that long. There were two main problems. The first involved my nose. I have had nasal issues for a long time, including a deviated septum and almost constant internal inflammation. It is something I have learned to live with. I don't experience much sinus trouble and more than average nasal problems on a daily basis. Well, a broncoscopy procedure typically goes through one of the nostrils to gain access to the lungs. The doctor and nurses use a good bit of local anesthetic, but it never seems to be enough; or at least it would wear off super-quickly. So I ended up experiencing a good bit of pain (instead of the discomfort they talked about) from the instrument that was being used. They tried to use more of the anesthetic gel, but it was never enough.\n\nThe other problem I had was that my asthma flared up in the middle of the procedure. Essentially, when the instrument made it past my vocal chords, my bronchial tubes became very unhappy and started to close up around the instrument. I made it known that it was uncomfortably difficult to breathe and they started looking into it. They listened to my lungs, but said it didn't sound too bad and asked if i wanted to stop or keep going. I hated to go that far into the procedure and quit, wasting my time and theirs, so I wasn't ready to call it yet. I was trying to decide if I could carry on that way for another 30 or so minutes. But the breathing was so labored that I was somewhat lifting myself off the table with each breath. I was getting exhausted and it wasn't getting any easier. The doctor made the call and removed the instrument. They sat me up, gave me some oxygen (for the amateur chemists out there, that doesn't mean they burnt me), let me cough up some of the fluid that had collected, and gave me an inhaler. That relieved things a good bit, and about 5 minutes later, I was breathing freely again. I was pretty tired, though. The interesting thing was that all along, my vitals were perfect. I think they could see my heart rate rising from the stress of the happenings, but otherwise my blood pressure and oxygen saturation were fine. I am glad the doc made that call because I was in no shape to continue. When I think back on it again, I might have indicated I wanted to stop. I just don't remember completely at this point.\n\nUpon finishing, we talked about where to go from here. The doctor said that it would be possible to take the asthma inhaler just before starting without skewing the results, which I am confident would prevent another asthma attack like before. Additionally, he said the operation can be performed through the mouth, though he also said it is typically a little tougher that way. I think with my nose issues, that is how I will have to do it. If it doesn't work out next time, then I will probably bail on the study, and the doc would probably advise that anyway. So I'll just have to see.\n\n!!!Pumptrack night tonight. Woohoo.

!!First, the good news...\nI managed to get out on my bike for about an hour and a half yesterday and rode the gunnar (with smooth, comfy tires) out to the park and rolled a lap and my knees didn't give me any problems. This morning, they were still feeling fine, so hopefully that sore knee situation is over. I guess I needed to give them more rest. On the ride yesterday, I had limited time, so I hammered pretty good. Nothing crazy, but I did stick it in a good tall (for me) road gear and left it there for the day, hills and all. So that meant hammering up the long hills and the steep ones. I felt pretty strong and was able to turn a good lap time (it seems - i didn't actually measure). It felt good to feel strong on the bike again. And I think it is rides like that, shorter rides with some hammering, that will make me faster in the long run. I will still be mixing in some longer, slower rides, too.\n\n!!And then the rest...\nFriday night, I went to Emma's art show and production at her pre-school. That's a good time seeing her sing with her class and playing one of the quintessential roles of being a dad. Then it was home for a quiet night of relaxing. \n\nSaturday morning, I got up and made a breakfast of champions. No bacon or sausage, so I fried up some bologna and followed that with a couple of fried eggs. The weather this weekend was absolutely beautiful, so I decided to roll across the river to check out the new shop, [[Eastside Cycles|http://www.eastside-cycles.com/]]. I was also wanting to time myself riding the low-geared SS to my new job. That took about 20 minutes of moseying along. That's about right. So the shop wasn't quite open yet. The windows were still covered and no sign of life anywhere. So maybe their grand opening is actually an opening. Who would've thought.\n\nOn the way across the river on the pedestrian bridge and then on the way back, I could hear some music. I recognized it as coming from Cake and then remembered that there was a riverfront festival that weekend. What I heard was Cake doing soundcheck in preparation for that night's performance, and the sound was really good, even up on the bridge. With a little internet searching when I got home, I found that Son Volt was playing at 8 that night and then Cake soon after. So a roll back to the bridge for some free music was in order. I spent the afternoon at the house working on Matt's bike so he could roll in that night, too. That evening, we met Hennessey down on the bridge and rolled around some and hung out sipping a couple beers and other adult beverages while listening to music. Then at the close of the show, Sharp and Justin found us trying to decide what to do. Timing was impeccable.\n\nThe five of us crossed the river and made our way to 2 different new bars. They were both nice, but the second, Niko's, had a vibe that was a perfect fit. Niko even made sure we knew about the impending bike racks going in. Nice place, and maybe a block from Sharp's house. Very convenient for those guys and not a bad roll for us westerners... Rolled home about 2 and crashed until the morning.\n\nSunday was Emma's 4th birthday. So I got up, wrapped her presents, and met her and her mom at a park for a picnic. I think Emma had a great time. I went home for a while and made it out on the ride mentioned above, and then Emma came over to spend the night. That's a good way to end the weekend.\n

Today I am at a Vanderbilt research facility for a day-long inhaled allergen test. Not overly intrusive nor troublesome. Nice to have a change of scenery; though, by the end of the day I suspect that I will be ready to vacate this room.\n\nLast night I ate a supper of champions consisting of 3 eggs, 2 potatoes, and a PBR, and then I went out for a joyride on the kona. It was a beautiful evening and the riding provided a cool breeze. I explored a part of the city I haven't been to much. That was the Edgehill area. There is a cool looking cafe there and some small shops with a bunch more going in. Pretty cool area and convenient to everything else. I continued on to the Centennial Park to ride a lap around the duck pond once. This was really nice, calm, and quiet in the evening. I rode about 1-1.5 hours. I think I need more rides like that in the evenings when I have the time. Very pleasant and relaxing while getting some saddle time in.\n\nRiding the Kona is always a joy. This weekend I installed a chainring guard on it that I had won at the last team alleycat. This lasted about a mile, full of chain slap and other unpleasant noises, before the guard shifted and was almost ripped off by the crankarm. So I took a minute to remove the guard and stuck it in my mussette. I guess the Kona doesn't want to be caged in any way. No extraneous parts.\n\n

Yesterday, after getting home from Vanderbilt, I jumped on the bike and rolled across to the east side. Rolled past Justin and Sharp on the way there; they were heading to a tour de nash volunteer meeting. I rolled on to check out the goings on at Eastside Cycles since I was a little early for the yoga. Scott and a couple other people were busy counting inventory and preparing the shop for the upcoming opening next week. He has some cool bikes built up already, and the place is coming together, though there is still a lot of work to be done.\n\nWent to yoga and stretched alot in the hot room. This wasn't "hot yoga", but the air conditioning unit is not yet working in the studio, so it was certainly warm yoga. The yoga was pretty difficult since I am far from flexible. Today, I am sore from the sometimes awkward-feeling postures and movements, but overall I feel pretty good. Last night, on the ride home, I felt very loose and relaxed, but also pretty exhausted. The exhaustion was probably a combination of the tests I did all day and the yoga, which lasted probably about 75 minutes. Leah's new yoga studio is pretty nice and she does a good job of guiding people through the class.\n\nTonight I am hoping to make it to the taproom for a couple pints before returning home to cleanup and such for my family visiting this weekend. Haven't been up to the taproom in a few weeks, so it will be nice to make it back.

It is bike to work week. I didn't participate. I probably could have, but I am planning to get in my fill of biking to work in another week when I start my new job. [[Corey|http://hollowsupplanter.blogspot.com/]], up in Iowa, mentioned in his blog that Skunk Cycles, also up there in Iowa, is having breakfast for morning commuters this morning. Genius idea. If shops want to show support for things like commuting by bike and such (as well as drum up some patronage) that is a fantastic way to do it. Celebrate the fact that these people are riding their bikes to work and give them a chance to see all of the other people that are commuting as well. Bring the community together.\n\nIn other news, the ride to the taproom last night was good. Back to old (3-4 weeks ago) times drinking some good beer and hanging out with the guys after work. Last night we then headed to Calypso for some dinner, which was a great choice. Not smoky, good healthy food, and on the way home. Very nice. Score one for the West side folk.\n\nMy family is coming into town this weekend, so most likely a relaxing weekend in store.\n\nAnother social networking site. [[Virb|http://virb.com/]]. Just another way to waste time. Much cleaner than myspace. Still mostly unknown it seems. [[My profile|http://virb.com/troyef]].

Allright. So I have been slacking. But..... My job has been less than stable, I have been overly stressed, I was down and out with some crud for a few days, ............. Anyway. Some level of stability has returned to the job situation (for now), Nepolean is once again ridable, and there is beer in the fridge. So here we go again...\n\nSo [[ORAMM|http://www.mtngoatepics.com/offroadassaultmt_mitchell.htm]] is this weekend. This is one of the highlights of the year. Some NC singletrack, some long climbs, some crazy decents, and a long time in the saddle. Rolling this one SS in a 34x20 config. Will be very spinny on the roads, flats, etc., but should be good and doable on the climbs, with a little grunting at times.\n\nSo the trash-talking started this week in force. Thad, Dicky, and others are all about diggin in and seeing what the others are made of before the riding even starts. Since Dicky just did the BC multi-stage race, he is the odds-on favorite. For myself, I like to dream of going fast and contending, but once i get there, i tend to settle for riding a comfortable gear and having a good time of it, LHT style. \n\nSo I am leaving tomorrow night, heading to Asheville with Fred and Libby. It will be nice to have the trip out there out of the way so Saturday can be a day of relaxing before Sunday's death ride. That means tonight will be about laundry and last minute bike enhancements. I am thinking helium in the tubes of my frame AND my tires. Need to get some ensure to go with my vienna sausages for in-ride sustenance. Also need to figure something for breakfast that won't be gone within the first 10 minutes. In other words, something other than donuts.\nMay have to start the day with ensure, too.... but if i can find some eggs somewhere, that would be prime.

Back at work today. Mondays can be rough.\n\nIt looks like that old Apple ibook is a lost cause. It's the logic board that is failing, corrupted, broken or whatever. Not worth the cost of replacement. So I guess I am needing to find another play space for web stuff. The cheapest way may actually be to pay for some web space somewhere and play that way. That's cheaper than buying a computer, and I don't have to worry about computer breakage, either. I have my work machine to access the stuff; I just don't want to load much more in the way of personal stuff onto my machine... especially things like web servers and databases and such. So we'll see what happens. I guess that's the nice thing about the web. It is getting to where it is a piece of cake to store about everything online. When it gets down it, to do it right, I would pay for a couple premium accounts online for storage and such. But for now I will make do with what is offered for free.\n\n!!!Camp. Ride.\nThis weekend was one of some great riding and some disappointing rain. The trails at Chilhowee never disappoint. It ended up that Eli, Thad, Hilary, and I were the only ones to make it. It was nice to be in the outdoors and good to spend a chilled-out day riding.\n\nI don't think my fitness is particularly hurting right now. I do need to get 2-3 longer rides in during the next 2-3 weeks. Maybe then, the first 12 of 30 hours in the saddle won't be a total shock to my system. But at this point, there's not much I can do to improve my chances... Except maybe keep a positive attitude...\n

!!Thoughts on SS riding.\nI built up a single-speed mountain bike for the first time about 7-8 years ago. I loved the simplicity of it, the lightness of it, and the coolness of it. I had a surly singulator and some surly wheels. I raced against the geared guys once and I was leading the pack by about 15 seconds about halfway in until I struck a cactus and damaged a nerve in my leg. \n\nI don't remember why I went back to gears. I think it was a combination of not being so strong and wanting more versatility on steep trails. I think this lack of strength and being able to hang on my SS bike also was related to a more elementary disposition towards riding, especially when it came to distances. In those days, a 12 mile mtb ride was considered long and 20 was epic. A standard road ride was 25-30 miles. I wasn't in great shape and I didn't have the know-how to go longer or faster. I rode gears for years. I was afraid of the steep hills taking away from my long-term ability to push the pedals on a longer ride. I seriously doubted my strength to push the gear in tougher sections, and I wanted to be able to gain more speed on the flats.\n\nSo now, I am once again riding my bikes with a single gear. It's no longer the cool or new thing to do. SS riding is very firmly established in bike culture. My reasons are more practical. The clean drive train that is free form chain suck. Less maintenance. Lighter weight. I guess there is still the cool factor. One of the biggest reasons, however, is because of the increased overall efficiency and speed. A SS rider ends up hammering up a hill that a geared rider will typically drop down and spin over. The flats are about spinning (which improves your form), and the downhills are all about the rest. This rest is really a crucial part.\n\nI have recently decided that single speed riding is more about the style of riding than about the bike or the setup. A SS bike is just one set up to be dedicated to this style of riding, but any bike can be a single-speed bike if ridden that way. I realize this is obvious, but it's not always so easy to practice. \n\n1. The trick is finding a comfortable gear that will work for the ride. Once a gear is settled on, it's all about discipline. \n2. Hopefully you picked a gear that will allow you to climb the hills on your ride. So stay put in that gear and hoof your way up and over the top. If you find you need to shift down, then you picked the wrong gear or your resolve is not there. You are better off walking at this point than shifting down. If you do shift down one, then leave it there for the remainder of the ride.\n3. On the flats, spin, spin, spin. But if you are spinning such that your body is bouncing and your pedal stroke is not smooth, then slow down. You don't need to be going so fast. If you are racing and you do need to go faster, then shift up one and leave it there for the rest of the ride. (If you are performing the shift in step 2 and step 3 in the same ride, then you cheated and are not following the SS style - this is fine, but you no longer qualify for the benefits listed in this post.)\n4. On the downhills, just let if go once you pass that speed of comfortable spin. It will be tempting to shift up and gain more speed and fly down that hill, but that's cheating, and mainly yourself. This time is recovery time from your climbing and this time is crucial to reeping the benefits of riding a singlespeed. If you shift up to hammer down a hill, then you are burning the wick from both ends and should be racing crits or something.\n\nAnother advantage to riding a dedicated singlespeed is that you can enter events in that category and then you are against other people riding with your same style, interests, etc. This is a good thing. Of course, you can ride with whoever at most events (depending on start times, etc.), but it is a tough thing for geared riders and SS riders to hang together because the times of increased speed are different. I am a believer that the SS way is much more efficient and better for the long haul. And most of the time, people who have gears and beat me while SS would probably have beat me if the bikes or riding styles were swapped, but by even more time. It doesn't take an investment to ride a singlespeed, only a little confidence and a little resolve.

So maybe I haven't updated in a week, but you haven't missed much. More putting off of rides. More long days at work.\n\nThis whole VA Tech thing is messed up, and while it didn't touch me directly, it hit kinda close to home in more ways than one. Suffice it to say I have family within close proximity to Blacksburg now as well as historically. Add to that having a sister born in South Korea, the speculation of possible backlash against Asian people, while not probable, has been something I have tried to keep an eye on up that way. My sister is in school elsewhere in VA.\n\nAnyway... The Team Re-max/Yazoo Brew 420 Alleycat is tonight on the east side. That should be a good time of bike racing in Nashville and general partying. Tomorrow morning is a planned ride at Hamilton Creek, and then its time to take it easy until the trip North to Iowa.\n\nCheers.\n\n\n

!!Dogs, leather, and some hair loss\nThe leather is a new mount for the Gunnar. For my birthday, the Mannondale was kind enough to spring for a new saddle for me. I am the proud owner of a Brooks special edition B17 in the British Racing Green with hammered copper rivets. This weekend, the plan is to join in the [[Harpeth River Ride|http://harpethbikeclub.com/Rides/CenturyRide/Century.aspx]] to get in a leisurely century. That should aid in the breaking in process nicely. Check it.\n[img[brooks.JPG]]\n\nSo yesterday I left work at lunch on my bike to stop by the bank and maybe find some food. While finding the exact location of the closest bank, I stumbled across a little hotdog stand. So after casing the bank, I stopped to get a dog. Had a jumbo spicy dog with the fixins outside under an umbrella by the hotdog stand. Excellent dog, nice vibe. I'll be back. I am tempted to head there again today. They have ice cream sandwiches, and a wall to lean my bike against.\n\nIn other news, it was that time of year again.....\n[img[hairloss.JPG]]

!!Update\nThis weekend, my family was in town. So no riding, just some minimal entertaining. It was nice to relax, though. Tonight I am planning to go to the Man Man show at the Mercy Lounge. It is a shame that it's a 21+ show, because my sister is in town and will not be 21 for about 3 more months. She wouldn't pass for 21, either.\n\nIn other news, this is my last week at the old job. Trying to get a project done, but I am running out of time. Today my boss announced to everyone I am leaving, so people are stopping by to chat all the time, too. Funny that people come by now when most never did before.\n!!Plans\nSo I am putting weekend plans together. Looking at a solo bike camping trip to Mousetail State Park. That is probably roughly 100 miles away, and they have mountain bike trails. So I think the plan is to ride the old classic Kona out there so I can ride the trails while there. I am looking at taking a minimalist approach to packing for the trip, so a blanket, small pillow, plastic sheet, food, some personal items (toothbrush, chamois butter, etc), and water. Will also take a $20 bill to get some food, cokes, etc. out on the road. Plan to roll it a combination of 34x18 free and 34x17 fixed. Will also probably take a book, matches, and a few other survival items. Planning on a long, quiet ride and experience out on my own for a few days.

!!Man Man\nThe show last night was pretty incredible. Not sure if I have seen such a high-energy show before. They went on stage about 10:30 or so and played for about an hour. That may seem short, but there were pretty-much no breaks between songs. They just got after it the whole time they were on stage. At times, all 5 of them were banging out beats with an incredible amount of aggression. They set up their stage areas in very close proximity to each other so the communication and cohesiveness was very tight and the organized chaos was amazing. My ears are still ringing this morning, but it was a great experience. I don't attend very many shows, but when I choose to go to one like this, I don't feel like I am missing out on anything else.\n\nMy sister didn't attend because the website said it was a 21+ show. There were, however, kids there under 21 that were admitted with big X's on their hands. I called Tori, but she was mostly settled in for the night and not wanting to drive down to the venue in an unknown town. It ended up that I easily had enough time to ride home to get her, but I had no idea when they would start. The were billed for 9pm. At the same time, since they only played for about an hour, missing 20 minutes of it could have been a letdown.\n!!!Other\nMy family is leaving nashville this afternoon, but I seem to still be pretty busy. Tonight is yoga club again, and then I need to ride to Hennessey's house to change out f/w cogs and mount up a fixed cog on the ENO. Then it's home to try to find some of the sleep i missed out on last night.\nStill planning on a long haul truckin' ride this weekend, so tonight's gear work is part of the prep for that. Considering skipping the Thursday night taproom meetup this week in the interest of saving money and doing some last-minute machine cleanup on the laptop I surrender to my employer Friday upon my resignation. I will be without access to a computer until Tuesday, so I am trying to get any pending things wrapped before I am offline for a few days. Hopefully I can hit the ground running on Tuesday with a machine I can use for some personal stuff. I could sure use a computer at home, though.

!!So.... a weekend.\n\nFriday night found me stopping by the taproom for one beer and then heading home. I planned on getting an early night because of the early saturday morning to do the Harpeth River Ride. Instead I procrastinated and then worked on my new (to me) pumptrack bike until about midnight. And then I decided it was time to prepare for the next day's ride so I wouldn't have to do it in the morning. I got the gunnar ready and got my clothes and stuff together and then got to bed by about 1 or 1:30 in the am. Up the next morning at about 5:45, I made and ate a pb&j sandwich and banana and headed off to pick up matt to go to the ride.\n\nIt is nice that we live so close to the ride. We got there at about 7, so we had plenty of time to register and then prepare for the ride. This was to be a long haul trucker ride for me. Nothing too fast. I was continuing my experiment of all things singlespeed by riding this in that manner. I have gears on the gunnar (for now) but i didn't use them. I keep the bike in one gear around town, and I kept it in that gear for this ride because it just feels right. I think it is 39x17, but I am not entirely sure, and I don't feel like counting teeth tonight. At any rate, it was a good comfortable gear and I was able to keep a decent pace. I had no intention of trying to keep up with the guys up front, I just wanted to have fun and roll a comfortable 62 miles, so that's what I did. The hills were a little challenging, but I never had to shift down and I tended to blow by anyone else on the hill. They would pass me on the downhill or shortly after, but I couldn't have cared less. I was just enjoying rolling my gear at my pace. When i finished, I felt like I had ridden the miles, but I was by no means warn out. They had pizza and taco stuff and cokes at the end, which was good, but I wish they had had that stuff at the rest stops. I would have felt much stonger at the finish. Most people are used to eating things like cookies and pb&j and pretzels and such during the ride. I say bring on the supreme pizza and burritos and sodas during the ride. Let's make a day of it........\n\nAnyway. I am pretty proud of Matt for finishing out this ride. He is not used to riding much distance, so this was quite an accomplishment. Doing a 60 mile ride makes the 40 milers pretty easy and doable. A century makes the 60 milers seem easy, like a regular saturday ride. It is all about perspective and confidence. So hopefully this will prepare Matt for increasing his miles and doing more on a bike. To me, it was an enjoyable way to spend a saturday morning.\n\nAfter the ride, I headed home to shower and prepare to get out to the pumptrack. I still had work to do on my new little kona. I had all the parts until i made a bonehead move. I had a brake cable to use, but I was thinking of other things and cut the wrong end off the cable. After a good bout of swearing and laughing at myself, I jumped on my bike and headed a few miles away to Nashville Bike to see Pete and Shannon. Pete wasn't there, but Shannnon was working with some customers. When he was free, he hooked me up with a cable and some cable ends (ferrols) and I was back in business. I picked up some good brew on the way home and went back to working on my bike.\n\nBy this time, it was getting to be time to decide whether or not I was going to head to the pumptrack or not. About this time, I got a call from Thad, who was heading south to Georgia for a ride on Sunday. He needed me to meet a guy in town at some point to get some [[colorado whiskey|http://www.stranahans.com/]] for him. Scott Hodge went out West with this guy Joe Polk to ride the [[Great Divide Race|http://greatdividerace.blogspot.com/]]. While out there, they met up with [[Dave Nice|http://www.cellarrat.blogspot.com/]], who we knew from [[Trans Iowa|http://transiowa.blogspot.com/]] and is a distiller of the aformentioned whiskey. Anyway, Thad had requested some whskey since it can only be found in Colorado. Joe got some from Dave and was bringing it back and driving through Nashvegas. since Thad was heading out of town, I was the choice for meeting up with Joe for a whiskey transaction. So I called Joe and arranged to meet him at the flying saucer, where he had been before. So I figured at that point the pumptrack was out. I finished the little bike anyway and decided to make its maiden voyage (with me) down to the saucer (fitting) to get some whiskey (also fitting). I headed that way (and figured out that the cantilever brakes i was trying to salvage and use are trash) and finally met Joe.\n\nJoe looked familiar, but I wasn't sure, so I exchanged the whskey for some cash (of course, this blog is all made up, so there is no proof of interstate alcohol transactions) and we headed into the saucer for some beer. Come to find out, I recognized Joe because we were both at the Chilhowee mtn bike festival last fall. so we chatted about the GDR and bikes and mountain biking and a possible trans-georgia and all of that over a couple of beers and appetizers, all sponsored by his employer (he had managed to work some while traveling, so they paid for some of his expenses..... nice). Joe is also the host of the [[mtbcast|http://mtbcast.com/wordpress/]] podcast. Check it out. After that, I went home and crashed. I was in bed by 10:30 and slept for about 11 hours.\n\nSunday, I got up and made myself a good breakfast of eggs and potatoes. Then I went to the auto parts store to get some brake pads for my automobile. I proceeded to spend the rest of the afternoon figuring out how and then replacing the brake pads on my Honda Element. The ramp up time was maybe a little excessive, but once I figured out how, it was a piece of cake. I ponied up for the premium pads, but that made the process easier (no need to lube the pads that way), and I still saved a lot of money over having someone else replace the pads for me. That was a pretty good feeling. It was an even better feeling that when driving home in the rain, I was able to stop when i needed to and there was no squealing.\n\nSunday night found Matt and I at 3crow for a couple beers and sandwiches with Hennessey, crazy johnny, and Ron. We then headed over to Dan's for some chocolate cake that Hollie had made. We ended up hanging a while chatting and eating a tomato/cucumber/onion salad and drinking some wine. Then, being the early night it was, there was still time for a couple PBR's and shuffleboard at the ol' Red Door saloon.\n\nGood times.\n\nOh. And i would like to introduce my "little Kona".\n\n[img[little kona|little_kona.JPG]]

!!!Last Day Eve\nToday is the day before my last day at work. So this could sort of be considered my last day of doing work. I have been impressed with how gracious the Integra people have been throughout my employment and especially upon my decision to move on. Hopefully the work I accomplished while here at least paid for my time, but with all of the additional expenses to get an employee rolling, it is a little doubtful. They do seem pleased with what I produced, though. They have another developer starting on Tuesday who will just adopt my computer as their own. Kind of makes me want to leave a few surprises on the machine here and there for the new guy.....\n\n!!!Dope\nSo, just a brief blurb about the situation in international professional cycling... (if I wasn't sitting in front of a computer all day, i couldn't care less, but since i have the time...) So riders are coming out of the woodwork to admit doping these days. The comical aspect of it is riders coming out and admitting to "trying" it way back in the mid-90's but it never working out and them being clean since, as in [[Zabel|http://sports.yahoo.com/sc/news?slug=reu-germanydoping_picture&prov=reuters&type=lgns]]. Or, in the case of Basso, admitting to having "plans" to dope, but never getting around to it. Weak, and most likely a lie in both cases.\n\nTo me, the heart of the matter is that all of these doping scandals and court cases and ruining of people's careers and such is just a pain in the ass. When it comes to professional cycling, I am sitting somewhere watching it, and I enjoy watching herculean efforts. Doping may help riders, and maybe a lot, but when it comes down to it, all things being equal, the best/smartest/most prepared riders are going to win and they are all still incredible athletes and still work and train like crazy to get where they are. In my opinion, Lance probably did dope, but I also think he trained harder than everyone else along with his doping. This can't be proven, but when he is head and shoulders above everyone else who is doping, it is hard to understand that much ability. I suppose it could happen, but I am a skeptic. I did, however, always enjoy seeing Lance win. I would watch those mountain stages at every broadcast possible just to see him fly up those mountains, passing the other dopers. So, I guess what I am saying is that the doping doesn't bother me because it makes for good entertainment. But entertainment on the road and not in the flying accusations and in the courtroom. I am not saying cheating is OK or that doping should be allowed, but I am saying that the doping scandals are hogging the cycling press and making the whole thing not much fun. It is probably too late, but I guess I preferred when there were token rules that were weakly enforced and the riders were taken at face value. I liked having superheroes in cycling.\n\n!!!Fixed\nLast night I rolled to Hennessey's house to do a little bike work. It is always nice to visit Dan and Hollie at home because they are both so relaxed at home, making for a chilled, comfortable visit. (The type of situation where they don't make a deal of the visit at all.... as if you belong there... always nice and comfortable.) There were two main purposes for the visit. One was to use Dan's vise to remove a couple freewheels from a couple wheels and the other was to borrow and mount a fixed cog on the flop side of the ENO. I had planned to hit up some yoga on the way over, but ran out of time to get there. So I put my rack on the Kona, secured my old surly wheel to the rack, and rolled eastside.\n\nDan's vise was not secured, but was on the floor. So the protocol was to sit on the floor, brace the vise from rotating with my feet and then attempt to remove the freewheel by turning the wheel. What ended up happening was this times two. The f/w was so tight that it required both Dan and myself sitting on either side of the vise, both bracing the vise with our feet, and both turning the wheel. We finally got the f/w removed. After removing one side of the ENO axle, we were able to remove the f/w from that wheel as well. So next was the fixed cog. Dan graciously removed the cog from "number 3" to let me borrow it and he installed it on the flop side of the Kona for me. With the smaller cogs, I had to remove a link of chain, but then everything worked great. After a beer and some beans and rice upstairs with Dan and Hollie, I was on my way home. \n\nDown the hill, I check my phone messages for a call I had missed. It was Emma's mom, who was sick and asked me to pick Emma up to keep last night and take to school this morning. I am always on the ready for Emma to stay with me, so I high-tailed it home to get my car to pick her up. It was already 9pm, which is Emma's typical bedtime, so I needed to be quick. It was a good thing I had a smaller cog in the back, but it was also fixed. Good for speed, but I am just not very used to fixed riding. It took me about 45-50 minutes (i think) to get home. I never had any problems, and I only attempted to quit pedaling a few times before being jerked back into motion by the rear wheel rotation. I also took my feet off of the pedals to roll down Shelby to give my legs a break about halfway. I was riding platforms, so I think it will get a little better when I can clip in, but I did go a more standard route up 17th instead of jumping curbs and winding through the Vandy campus and Hillsboro village. I think fixed will be fun, but I don't think I am quite ready to roll it on my long haul trucker ride this weekend. I think that will require some working up to. This makes me respect even more the guys who have done Snake Creek or transiowa on fixed bikes. No rest for the legs can really take its toll.

Leaving tomorrow for Trans Iowa 3. I am not ready. I am under-trained. And I have not gotten my chocolate covered espresso beans for the trip yet. This is going to be a long weekend.\n

!!Last Day\nToday is my last day of going to work for Integra Software Systems. They have good coffee. I am going to miss the coffee. Some of the people, too. It's a shame that the culture is not more conducive to teamwork and interaction.\n\nSo today I am just wrapping things up and preparing what I have been working on to pass on to the next person. Then I will be clearing off my computer of all remaining personal stuff and then plan to jet soon after lunch.\n\n!!!Other\nLast night I didn't get as much done as I had hoped, but not a big deal. Matt and I rode our bikes to Krystal and then ended up heading to Red Door for some shuffleboard and beer. We stayed long enough for two games on the table and then headed home. On the way to the Red Door, I passed by Fred and Libby's place and they were out in the courtyard enjoying the nice evening, so I stopped and chatted with them for a few minutes. I saw Fred's new team-logo tattoo. Very nice. I think it was a wise decision to leave branding off and just include the cog and wings, and it appeared to be very well done. Looked painful though.\n\nWhen I got home, I spent time loading more music onto my shuffle to have while I am without a computer. So with that and doing a little bit of reading on some new job topics, I did get some stuff done that I needed. If I do get out of this workplace early today, then I should have plenty of time to finish preparations for my weekend of bike camping. There's not really much to do, mainly just some bike work.\n\nOn the way to Krystal last night, I went by the library to get a book. Nashville has a great library system. There are many branches around town, and all catalogs for all branches are online. So I can sit at home/work/wherever online and find the book, cd, etc. that I am wanting/needing. When I find it I can request it online. I usually use the Green Hills branch because of proximity to my house. So if my requested item is at the Green Hills branch, then they will pull it from the shelf and reserve it for me. If it is at another branch, they will get it from that branch and transfer it to the Green Hills branch and send me an email when it is ready and waiting for me. The same holds true for any items currently checked out. When it is returned, they will send it my way and let me know. Then, when I visit the library, I just go to the hold shelf and find the item(s) with my name on them. Then I take them up and use the self-serve checkout system. Then I am back out on my bike. So it takes maybe 3 minutes to pick up my library items. And the bonus is that they have good bike racks outside.\n\nI will hopefully be able to check in on Tuesday and give a first day report for my new job. The following is what I have gotten so far regarding work hours and such:\n//All teams here work from 10 to 7, some leave in the afternoon and pick up their children and bring them back here. I don’t know what your situation is, but if you ever have to bring Emma in, that is OK, you will have to watch her, but she is welcome. The 10 to 7 hours are flexible to a small degree, you will get a feel for the team you are on and things will work out.//\n\n!!More Dope\nSo I have been thinking more about the doping thing and discussing it with [[Thad|http://j5marsupial.googlepages.com/]] some. I think back to the Tour of last year, and I think about Hincapie and even Landis. Hincapie had a disappointing tour by some standards. He had a couple good days and some downer days. I would bet he was clean. The ups and downs is just natural. Quality training can minimize it some, but it is not really possible to be on an A game everyday. Even Landis had ups and downs. And anyone who has done much riding, or any athlete in general, can testify that it is not far-fetched to have an incredible day immediately after a lackluster or even bad one. I think that his having that bad day is even more evidence that he was riding on his own ability.\nThen you come to a racer like Lance, and any bad day he ever had was usually due to bad planning, lack of eating, dehydration, whatever. He never seemed to have a lapse in strength. I still hold that he trained harder than most others and has an amazing natural capacity to perform, but the lack of seemingly natural waves of strength is a little daunting.\nI guess it needs to be an all or nothing thing. If the field was full of people whose strength would come and go, then the long tours would be exciting to watch because someone different would be strong on any given day. But can we ever get back to the all (clean) or will we have or settle for the none and who can do the best job of avoiding getting caught. All I know is that the way things are going now, cycling is losing out on both spectators and sponsors.

I am going to be experimenting with a new site design for a while. Going to see how this works out. I will most likely turn what I have so far into additional archives and work in this format from here on out, or until I find something I like better. In addition, I may play with this some and change things up a bit just to experiment and such...

!!Management\nI got a promotion at work today. I have been the only QA person for a couple weeks, but now I will officially be the manager of QA as well. What this means is that in the next 60-90 days, a QA department will be added to and I will be the lead. Cool stuff. A good challenge. And it is nice to work for someone I respect and see eye-to-eye with (the CTO).\n\n!!Bronchocopy\nA bronchoscopy is a procedure that isn't much fun, but i am finished with it for about 6 months. I went through it yesterday and it was pretty bad. Because I have nasal issues, they went though my mouth to get down to my lungs. Yesterday was like an almost non-stop session of gagging and coughing. Today was much better. But i am warn out and glad it is over. In a few weeks I do an inhaled allergen challenge and then I start taking the vitamin E. It's no wonder they pay for participation in this study, but i am beginning to wonder if it is enough. At least maybe they can learn something about how to treat asthma and allergies.\n\n

<html><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nR2ygFn-yR8"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nR2ygFn-yR8" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object></html>\n\n!!!Back on the horse\nYesterday I intended to ride into work and then back home. Having been up late Sunday night, I opted to drive in and ride home. So that meant I rode back to work this morning. I really need to mount my computer because I still don't have an exact mileage for the route. I guess I could drive it this afternoon, but that would be too easy.\n\nI am definitely not feeling more confident about TI3. Even these short (<20 miles) commute rides are noticeable. And I guess they always will be, but still.... Hopefully it has something to do with not having been on the bike much lately. My butt hurts, too. I really need to work on the saddle situation before the big ride. Also, I think I may save my money and not mess with that brevet next weekend. Since I have that Saturday free, I may just plan a long deathmarch-type ride and save the money instead of joining Harpeth and doing their 'organized' ride. On a more positive note, the other 'losers' are now starting to come out of the woodwork on the [TI forum|http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?p=2879628#post2879628] indicating that I am far from the only one who has not been religious about preparing for this killing machine. So we may have two main groups.... those intent on winning and those intent on having a huge rolling party. That is probably a stretch, but there will definitely be alot of disparity among the peloton.\n\n!!!Ubuntu\nIn other news, I am working on loading ubuntu linux on an old apple ibook I have in my possession. This I hope to use as a testing ground for some web work and other stuff to maybe develop some different skills so that maybe I can one day do more interesting work. The setup is not going so well yet, but that is mainly because I can't get the machine to fully boot up. This was a problem before introducing linux to the situation. I finally figured out how to get the machine to boot from the cd drive (hold down the 'c' key when pressing the power button), but it won't fully setup still. It also appeared to be running the OS from memory instead of writing it to the harddrive. So I need to look into all of that. Hopefully I can get further tonight. I will have my work machine home with me so I should be able to find online reference material if i do run into more issues.\n

!!!Ubuntu update\nWell, attempts to update the Apple with Ubuntu have thus far not worked. Last night, I burned a new image of Xubuntu, an alternate disk, that should be better for installation on machines with limited resources, but the disc would not work. I think it was a bad burn or something. Weird. But after many tries I gave up on it. I did manage to get some additional memory to register in the old laptop so that the available memory went from 64MB to 320 MB. Pretty sweet. So I threw the old standard Ubuntu disk in there to try booting up. It got further but still seemed to get stuck and stall out with a blank screen. One issue I did see was a message that popped up early on about an unavailable resource. Not sure about that.\n\nAnyway. I'll try again tonight. My next plan is to use the original Apple system repair disks to try to get the system to boot up before trying to switch things over to Linux. I did run a diagnostics disk and it reported that the hardware was working.

!!!Ubuntu\nIt's not working. I think the hard-drive on that old laptop may be corrupted. In fact, when I ran the apple restore cd, it told me this. And it took the machine hours to get to a point of displaying the desktop. May be worthwhile to look into a new drive eventually.\n\n!!!Walmart\nI read an interesting [[article|http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/29/business/29walmart.html?ex=1332820800&en=691d2805e2ea2d50&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss]] about Walmart this morning. Probably won't be interesting to most. It is about the strict corporate governance within Walmart. They have ex-FBI and ex-CIA people working there to uncover rule-breakers from within. On one hand its cool for them to supposedly be consistent across the board, but when it gets down to it, that is only an implication and the reality of that is doubtful. Additionally, the rigidity of how they enforce their rules is a little too much for me. Most people know I am not much one for rules. I see their value, but the spirit of a rule is what matters. So any entity that enforces a rule in spite of its original intent has lost site of real life.

!!Zoi\nWell, I started my new job today. It was a ton of information and new things and getting a computer set up and all that jazz. I think this will be a good situation. They have encouraged me to take my computer home in the evenings with me for security purposes, which works well for me and my no tv, no music, no computer having self. And it is a quite nice machine they have given me to use, too.\n\nFunny, but the standard hours for this place are 10-7, and things don't really seem to get cooking until about 2 or 3 in the afternoon. That may have just been today, being the day after a holiday, but we'll see. This morning I got up and sort of waited until it was time to go into work, and i got here today around 9. I may have to change my schedule of doing things. I have always preferred waking up and heading directly to work.\n\nSo anyway... the weekend was good, but i will give a more full report at a later time. I didn't bring a bag appropriate for carrying my computer home today, so I think I will be leaving it here.

Looks like [[MoustacheMay|http://www.moustachemay.com/index.php]] is happening again this year. Since I am somewhat primed for it, I think I will jump in again this year. Should be a good time. But I think it is mainly just a warm-up for Whiskerino 2007. I hope to get in on that action this year.\n\n\n!!!Computer stuff...\nWell, I put the Apple up on craigslist this morning since its no use to me. Maybe get a little cash out of it. I think I probably put a larger price than I can get, but, you know, I have to have standards.\n\nIn other news, I think I will end up setting up a web 'playground' on my local machine. There's this [[site|http://www.devside.net/]] that packages an open-source toolkit for Windows users to be able to do just what I want to do. I haven't delved into it yet, but either this afternoon or tomorrow sometime I will jump in and see what it takes to get this stuff loaded. Hopefully it will be just as easy to remove as install if it comes to that.\n\n!!!Narrative\nLast night was a good ride. But first, the pre-ride...\n\nI got home and was rather ravenous. I don't typically eat much during the day anyway, but meeting Thad and Eli for lunch at 11:30am leaves a long void of an afternoon without any sustenance. I got home and I think I ate a little bit of everything I had on hand, including a hot dog, 2 eggs fried over easy (yokes broken), zebra cakes, a spoonful of peanut butter, and a popsicle. Then, after a couple minor bike adjustments ([[Gunnar]]), I headed down the road to get a couple of things at the store. I made a quick stop by Fido for some espresso for a quick pick-up, and then headed to the grocery.\n\nIvan came by about 9:45 or so to pick me up and we made out way out to the farm where Thad and Hilary were waiting with lights and stares glaring. I guess we planned to ride about 10 and it was probably close to 10:30 before we rolled. The ride started out kinda chilly, but then eventually warmed up as we rose in elevation. I think it was a combination of the effort required to make this rise as well as the increased temperature. We did about 27-28 miles with some good climbing in a very clear and bright night. Riding down the Trace under a full moon is always a treat. Visibility isn't much different than during the day. Home found me surfing the internet some to settle myself for bed. I may have made it to bed by 2am, but not so sure about that. Tonight I will sleep great, that's for sure.\n\n

!!Bits\n[[MoustacheMay|http://www.moustachemay.com/index.php]] is a bit overwhelming this year. So many people. Entertaining, to say the least, but I am still on a buzz from TI3 so I am splitting time between following comments on that and trying to see what is going on in the moustache world.\n\nLast night, Thad and I met at the park to do a loop. Percy Warner park has this paved 11 mile loop that has some good climbing. It doesn't have much traffic and is one way, so it's great for riding. It's is also about halfway between out houses, probably about 9 miles or so for each of us, so we will sometimes meet there on our bikes about halfway around. So anyway, it hurt. I could still feel some residual pains in my butt, but the main problem was lack of strength. I could turn the pedals, but I didn't seem to have much deep muscle strength. A couple more days of rest are probably in order. Tonight we plan to ride down to the taproom, but then I'll probably rest for most of the weekend.\n\nLast night I talked Thad into rolling back to my house with me, promising i would drive him home. My main motivation was immediately clear. Thad still had a growler of some of Ivan's Irish Stout homebrew that needed taking care of. So we rolled back to the farm in my car. Damn that is some fine beer that Ivan brews. I think this may have been my favorite of his so far. Very tasty from start to finish. I had some good Boulevard Irish Stout at TI3 this weekend, but Ivan's trumps that stuff easily. It was just so smooth. So anyway... Thad cooked a pizza and we turned on a new movie he had gotten that day. As soon as it was released, Thad ordered the movie "24 Hours" (or whatever it was called), which is a profile on Chris Etough and 24 hour endurance racing. We were pretty stoked to watch it. It was very well done with some great coverage of riding. We saw Team Dicky (from the neck down) and his bike a couple times. And we also saw professor Bill from Georgia who races for the Terrapin brewery. He is a cool guy who did the Snake Creek races this year with us. There was a good shot of him. As far as Etough and the other solo dudes.. I can't imagine doing 24 laps of the same course in 24 hours. Seems to me the boredom of doing the same trail that many times would do me in. I guess being in a position of potentially winning would provide some motivation.\n\nSo I have had some communication with Julie from TI3 and [[Team Pegasus|http://www.bikeblackribbon.com/pegasus/]] since I have gotten back. That team is the competitive arm of [[Bike Black Ribbon|http://www.bikeblackribbon.com/]], which is essentially a group of people who like to ride and party and generally have fun. Sounds like a cool crew. I plan to try to keep track of what they are up to so that maybe team yazoo can get a crew up there for one of their events sometime.\n

Busy, Busy, Busy. I had a deadline today at work. That means the last 2-3 days have been busy trying to meet that deadline. Now I am waiting for a code review, and then I will have met my deadline and can go back to not-so-busy days until I face that deadline again. Great.\n\nLast night was a ride into town with Thad, Ivory, Hilary, and Kevin (co-worker of Thad's). We met up with Justin and Sharp about halfway to the taproom. We got to everyone's favorite brewery to find it packed. We found a relatively open area in the back courtyard area and had a great team gathering of drinking some beer and just hanging out. Good times.\n\nI learned two handy bits of information at the gathering. \n1. It is the logic board that is the expensive part of an Apple computer to replace. Other stuff can be switched out, but if the logic board or its parts fail, then it costs alot of money to replace and generally isn't worth it.\n2. When in training, one has about 75 hours between workouts before one starts to lose the effectiveness of his workouts. So that means about every three days is a good training schedule. Over-training is a reality. Rest is super important. One can make major improvements from just 3-4 days per week of training. And only a couple of those need to be hard workouts. And those can be pretty short. Then the other day or two can be mid- to long rides. One long ride is important to teach the body to burn fat efficiently. People really do over-train alot. And it really isn't that tough to be compettitve about riding while still having a life and not spending all ones time preparing.\n\nAfter the taproom, it was to pizza perfect and then on home to bed. Good times.\n\nChilhowee this weekend for camping and riding.\n

Just an update.... (I am still planning to give an account of my long haul trucker ride from last weekend, but am still trying to get the time and opportunity to do so.)\n\nThe new job is going well, keeping me busy. I came into a QA "department" that is just now forming. There was a QA manager that hired me, but I am the first QA engineer hired. So I am doing a lot to try to get things caught up. so we can move forward in a more process-oriented way. As it is, we are just trying to clear a huge backlog of things.\n\nThe bike commuting is going well, though the weather has been very cooperative to this point. In an effort to re-enforce my own decision to ride everyday, I even turned down a parking pass. I can still get a day pass anytime I drive, but hopefully that will be minimal. Maybe on days when I have Emma (like tomorrow), but even that will depend on arrangements. My 20 (or so) minute drive each morning is barely enough to cause me to get at all moist from sweat, though I am sure that will change once summer is raging in full force. There is no problem here with me rolling my bike inside and storing it during the day, and since t-shirts and shorts are standard work uniforms around here, commuting is not really a problem at all. I could really use, however, a better bag to carry the laptop in.\n\nLast night I meandered over to the east side for yoga and then some food and beer at 3crow. The yoga was tough. Yoga club is typically a 75 minute class. After about 45-60 minutes, I am typically ready to be through with it. So the last 15 minutes or so, I have a hard time staying focused. The meditation at the end is kinda nice, though. I tend to spend some time everyday just chilling out anyway, though. Whether it be layign in bed awake for a while in the morning or just chilling in my recliner at night. I don't currently have a tv or even a way to play music out loud, so things are pretty quiet and peaceful in my apartment. The leads to a lot of "thinking" time. So I think the rest and meditation of yoga is not so imperative for me personally. Still nice, but not quite essential.

!!31\nThis weekend I turned 31 years old. Emma was with me, and we started the weekend coming back up to work after I picked her up from school. Since "official" work hours are til 7pm, I needed to at least hang around until near that time. When we got here, she was super-well behaved and stayed with me and colored in her coloring book and such while I tried to get some work done. I was waiting for a new build to complete on the test server, so there wan't really much for me to do at the time. Then a couple of the guys I work with started showing Emma how to use the nerf guns that are hanging around the office. So before long, she was performing sneak attacks on a couple of the guys here. I like working at a place that is welcoming to kids hanging around for a while if need be.\n\nMost of the rest of the weekend was spent in a very low-key fashion hanging around watching disney movies and playing chutes and ladders. Sunday was my birthday; so after taking Emma home Sunday night, I headed out to get some mexican food with some of the guys (and Hilary) and then to Thad's workplace for some ping-pong, darts, and midnight frisbee in the parking lot. Home about 1:30am or so, but no matter to me... I don't have to be at work until 10, and even that is flexible. I prefer my birthdays to be mostly low-key, so it was a good time. If only I had been able to win another ping-pong match or two...\n\nCheck out below, I finally wrote out my spiel from my long haul trucker ride - [[LHTR - Mousetail]].

I think I have found what will become my next bike, but I am going to keep it a secret for now. I only mention it to make Thad more curious and have something to wonder about while he is working down the road. Also, not sure when this purchase will take place because I have several good bikes already, no money, and other more important things to throw money at. I am planning to participate in this medical study at Vanderbilt University which may foot the bill eventually, but we'll see. (I am also hoping that the study does not cause me any long-term damage. It shouldn't, it is mainly a test to see the effects of long-term ingestion of Vitamin E on mild asthma sufferers.) Anyway.... Some may be wondering why I need a new bike if I have 3 good bikes already. I am looking for a new mountain bike that fits just a little bit better. Both of my mountain bikes are on the larger end of the range of bike sizes that work for me, and I would like something a little bit smaller and more agile for general trail use. Also, the "custom" aspect is something that would be worthwhile to pursue. There's nothing quite like having a bike that was built for one's specific size, body proportions, and riding style.. or so they say anyway. Makes sense to me. I have had the Kona for 12 years, and while I love it, it is warn out. I have had Nepolean for 2 years. Nepolean is a great bicycle that was acquired in a used condition (complete with small dents and such) but has the best ride of all my bikes. It is an Indy Fab Deluxe, but it was built for someone else. It is a bit tall for me. It is actually pretty good for me for the long ride and it handles great, but if it was sized for me a little better then it would definitely make the ride better and me more capable. I especially like riding technical trails, and while I am getting better at maneuvering Nepolean, I can definitely sense some deficiencies. So that is what I am looking for in considering the purchase of a new bike, and I have decided who I want to build it for me.\n\nLast night we headed across the river on our bikes for our weekly [[team]] gathering. Red Door east for some PBR and a chicago dog. Good times. The ride there was a bit longer than the usual jaunt to the taproom, but a ride through downtown among all the fancy people going to the symphony is always fun. Justin showed up on his Pugsley which I rode around a bit. That thing feels like it could be ridden over anything. Probably can, especially if one were to lower the air pressure a bit. I'm thinking someone needs to do ti4 on a pugsley next year. That probably won't be me, though. The ride home is always a challenge since it's almost all uphill. I was glad to gear down to the Kona which is setup at 34/20. This is way too easy for the road since it is my gearing for a climbing offroad course. On the other hand, I get some good spinning in which never hurts form.\n\nSo I think I need to work on my fit on the gunnar some. At ti3 I had some serious knee pains, but I took some advil and tried to minimize my mashing. On the kona (and also Nepolean) I never feel it at all. Riding the gunnar again on Wednesday night, I felt that pain once again. So I am thinking Sunday night I am going to work on that. I have never gotten fitted, and I don't much like messing with stuff like that on my bikes, but when my knees start hurting, that's not a good sign. Continuing to agitate my cartilage stores is a quick way to expensive surgery, therapy, or worse. Must stay away from the knee pain.\n\nGood weekend coming. Some time with Emma. A wedding to attend. Emma's birthday party on Sunday. But for now I need to see about that work thing.....\n\nOh, and check out my new [[team]] section....\n\n

[img[420 Alleycat|420_AlleyCat_smaller.jpg][420_AlleyCat.jpg]]

!!!Random tidbits... nothing important\nIs anything here ever really important? I think I purposefully avoid the important stuff on this here one-man forum.\n\nIt is chilly around these parts today, and it is supposed to get cooler each day for the next few days. I guess this is the last hurrah of a mild winter. That means I can pull out my longer, warmer riding clothes this weekend, which will extend the time to my next laundry day.. sweet. Wonder how many sinus infections and other sicknesses will be contracted during this sudden change in weather...\n\nToday at work, they are shutting off power at 5pm for all of the network stuff, and evidently for the rest of the office considering the emails that have been circulating to prepare us. I think I need to end my procrastinating ways. I think I need to help out the cause here at work and make sure I am off the system and cleared out in plenty of time. So I may have to clear out by 4pm today. You know, everyone needs to do their part....\n\nSo I missed an issue of Dirt Rag by waiting to renew my subscription. So now I will have to buy that one from the store. I don't think I have missed an issue in almost 10 years.\n\nYesterday I stayed home with Emma since she is going to St. Louis with her mom this weekend. We colored easter eggs and went to play on the muddy playground at Dragon Park. Emma is really proficient at finding her way around a computer. She played the games at nickjr.com for a while, and she never ceases to amaze me. She truly lives up to her last name.\n\nAnd now... some pictures for your Thursday viewing pleasure..... these are from the Chicasaw race a couple of weeks ago..\n\nFirst, a few of the guys pre-race supporting a newer teammate of ours.......\n[img[Chic Pre-race|pre-race_team.JPG]]\n\nThis is to show what Emma sees when looking up at her dad...\n[img[Emma's view of a dad|dad_view.JPG]]\n\nAnd this is what Emma thinks of that view....\n[img[Emma Pouts|emma_pouts.JPG]]\n\nI hope your day at work is as chilled as mine is today... Cheers.

I sometimes wonder about news that gets out. These 'reports' that indicate where the economy is and stuff like that. For instance, [[this|http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/06/business/06wire-econ.html?ex=1333512000&en=f7a53465b7d3045b&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss]] article about US job numbers being up. How can we be sure that its not propaganda? I definitely believe that even if the numbers are real, they are definitely arranged or evaluated with a particular slant. Statistics are such that 'they' can say whatever 'they' want with any numbers produced. Additionally, I think 'they' try to work us, the people, by releasing information like this when it is convenient; maybe when 'they' are wanting something else. It's like when, as a teenager, you bring your Mom some flowers and then ask to borrow the car to go to the beach for the weekend. The smart way is to bring the flowers one day, and then ask for a favor a couple days later. It has to be far enough away that she doesn't put the two together, but you still have to be in her good graces. I think Ol' W up there is either really good at this game or has advisors who are. Personally, I am inclined to think it is his advisors. He seems like the type who would go overboard and ask for the car 2 minutes after giving the flowers....\n\nSo, I live in a great place right now. Proof? Check out this Chevy Blazer parked there this morning. It even has temporary tags.. so it was recently purchased..... with the fly paint job...\n[img[Pink Blazer|pink_blazer.jpg]]\n(sorry about that bad quality.. i am still using my phone camera which is still broken.. needs to be replaced)

So a quick late night update.\n\nThe week started out harmless enough. It is a holiday week with the 4th of July occurring on Wednesday, so it is more like two 2-day weeks. Wednesday for the 4th, it was a pretty relaxing morning. I slept in, made breakfast and pretty much chilled out most of the day. I worked on the little kona to get him pumptrack worthy, and then i headed to Pizza Perfect to meet up with Dan and Hollie. After some pizza, we snagged some beer at the Mapco (showing our ID's of course since it is now mandatory for any carryout alcohol purchase in TN - no matter what age one looks, 21 or 81) and headed to crazy johnny's for some hanging out, bocce ball, and ice cream. Johnny has a cool place that he built up in a shop/warehouse. You would never recognize it as a home from the outside, but it's a cool pad inside.\n\nAt about fireworks time (fireworks courtesy of Nashville - or our tax dollars, however you choose to view it) I rode up and met Thad, Hilary, Justin, Sharp and others up on Woodland street bridge to watch the show. Good times. Afterwards we headed back to Johnny's for a short time, and then headed home. It seemed like a long haul home. On our way we passed a couple riding up music row. The quote of the night was the fella riding and yelling "Down with the British."\n\nUp the next morning it was back to work. Work was as usual in the morning. Daily status meeting with nothing unusual. Some great lunch and lunch company. And then all hell broke loose. So that is all I feel I can disclose out here on the internet for anonymous readers (both of you). All I can say is that this job has not yet produced a dull moment. And I will be going back to work in the morning.\n\nSo after work, I headed down to the Yazoo taproom and met up with Fred, Hennessey, and Ivan. After a couple of beers, we decided to head to the red door saloon for some food and continued good times. For some reason, heading to the red door is bad luck for Freddy. Last time he wiped just off the circle at demonbreun and division. This time he decided to see just what the pavement on Broadway tastes like. And Ivan helped him achieve his goal. Ivan accidentally swerved into Fred while crossing Broadway and they both went down. Fred felt the brunt of it, both in personal and bicycle injury. His front wheel suffered several broken spokes and he had a nice raspberry on his chin (and a fat lip and bruised knee). When we made it to the red door, we toasted that he still had his teeth intact. Fred's a trooper (even though his bride did come pick him up and take him home). But he's still a trooper.

!!Pumptracks are Fun\nLast night, I headed with the mannondale out West of Nashville to check out a pumptrack we've been hearing about. There is a fella named Jim who lives out there in the country with his family on a bit of land, and he built the track about year ago to have a place to ride his mountain bike without having to leave home everyday to find trails. What he has is an incredible setup on a lightly sloped hillside behind his house. There are numerous berms and pump bumps (not sure what else to call them) which allow a rider to choose many different routes through the course. Once one gets the hang of it, the flow can be incredible. No pedaling, only pumping your way up and down hills and around corners, around and around.\n\nWhen we got out there, we met Jim and then some other of the team guys we roll with. Diesel, Dunn, Justin, Sharpie, and Johnny Blaze were already out there catching air and railing some turns. For Matt and I, it was all about figuring out the technique and getting the flow. Just to keep the bike moving was an accomplishment. For others, it was all about clearing gaps and doubles, manualing through multiple rollers, and launching rolls while rolling uphill. Hmmmmm.\n\nOnce the sun went down, the lights came on. Talk about incredible. Then Jim and his wife brought out a bunch of hot dogs and chips and such and stoked the campfire (that is about 6 feet from one of the loops of the track) and we chilled out and ate some food to go with the beer we had brought with us. Then it was back to the track, multiple times. That is one of the cool things about being out there with a group of people. The pumptrack is a really good workout, so the typical protocol is to go for a couple minutes at a time and then stop to rest for a few minutes. So with a group of people out there, the stop time can be about as entertaining as the go time as you watch what other people are doing on their runs. So over the course of the night, you end up doing a bunch of runs to really get a good feel. By the end, I was working on riding manuals over a couple rollers on one of the loops. I managed to get it twice, which was quite an accomplishment for me. For those who don't know the history of my riding, I have been mountain biking for a long time, but when I was young, I didn't have other kids I rode with much, and I was not allowed to hit the track much, either. So I never learned to do basic things like jumping or manuals and such. Historically, when I attempt jump, I end up with broken bike parts and damaged skin. So a couple manuals in an evening was a great start. I "felt" it, and so now know more what I am looking for in the future. A pumptrack is a great place to learn some real bike handling skills, which can only add to all facets of riding. But with all the potential for learning and gaining skills on the pumptrack, the best part of it is that it's just plain fun.

!!Asthma\nI have asthma, but it is relatively mild, easily controllable, and not a big deal to me. This qualifies me to participate in a study at Vanderbilt medical center to see the positive effects of an anti-oxident, specifically vitamin E, on asthma and on allergies. (For those of you bored already, you can skip to the next heading.) I went last night to the medical center to talk to the Dr. doing the research more about the study. Essentially, this is an allergy study, but since asthma is one of the more easily measureable symptoms some people suffer from allergies, the study is being narrowed to people with asthma. Essentially, there are 2-3 main sets of tests. They are not much fun, especially the endoscopy, but hopefully they will provide good information for the medical field. First, a basic allergy test is performed to check for what allergens trigger symptoms, and then more in-depth tests to see how much of a given allergen is required to trigger responses. Then the first main tests are performed to get the control numbers. Then I will take a relatively high dose of vitamin E for 4 months, and then I will return for another round of tests to check for any changes in my response to the allergens. I do get compensated for participating, and I also get the first hand knowledge of any benefit of this sort of treatment to my body specifically. Not a bad deal, and even though it may prove to be a nuisance at times, it should be an interesting diversion. Testing starts tomorrow.\n\n!!Non-asthma bits\nTried out Brown's Diner in Nashville last night with Matt. Heard it was a meat-n-three, but ended up being more like a burger joint. Nice vibe. A little smoky. Only Budweiser on tap (but had to go with a pitcher anyway). Good burger and hushpuppies. The place reminds me of the old cheesesteak joints in Philly. And it is easy walking distance from my place. I'll be back....\n\nThe last two nights I have gone to bed early (around 10-10:30 range) and it has been much easier to get up in the morning. The last two mornings, I have woken up consistently at 6:30am feeling refreshed. I wonder if I should be learning something from this.... A little bit earlier and i would have time to ride my bike the 18 or so miles to work... or maybe just make myself some eggs for breakfast.\n\nDue to circumstances that have arisen, it is looking like I may need to bail early from [[Moustache May|http://www.moustachemay.com/home/]]. Still deciding, but I may end up calling it and will then just look forward to whiskerino 2007. Disappointing, but sometimes duty calls. It's a little funny to me, but being clean shaven is such a rarity for me that it has a novelty of its own. But it won't last; shaving gets old quickly.\n\nOh yeah... and new team jerseys have arrived...\n[img[icanfly.jpg]][img[itson.jpg]]

Monday.

Last night I tried to ride some. I spent a short while switching out seats on the gunnar and messing with seat positioning to minimize knee pain from riding. Then I left for a ride; I planned on 2-3 hours of typical T-roy riding (mostly a slow steady pace with a few charged climbs, etc.). As soon as I started off, my left knee started giving me fits. It wasn't in the area below my kneecap which would have been bike induced, but instead was above my kneecap. This pain was a bruise in my knee, and it hurt. At some point, I banged my knee on something, but I don't remember what. At any rate, after a few minutes, I decided that a couple miles was all I needed or cared to take. So I went back home, changed clothes, and jumped the fence to get in the pool in my complex. (Still not sure the protocol on the pool - the gates are locked - i need to look into that.) So I ended up swimming in the frigid pool for about 15 minutes, which actually felt really good to my knee.\n\nLast night I also took my last MoustacheMay picture for today and then shaved my moustache off. It was a little sad, but moustaches do grow back (or at least mine does). And like I mentioned yesterday, being mostly clean shaven is a novelty in itself. I did leave some soul patch. I guess that's my safety growth.\n\n

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[[Weblog Changing Again]]\n[[19 July 2007]]\n[[12 July 2007]]\n[[10 July 2007]]\n[[6 July 2007]]\n[[1 July 2007]]\n[[27 June 2007]]\n[[24 June 2007]]\n[[21 June 2007]]\n[[13 June 2007]]\n[[11 June 2007]]\n[[7 June 2007]]\n[[4 June 2007]]\n[[LHTR - Mousetail]]\n

!Mousetail Landing State Park\nLast weekend I went on a solo long haul trucker ride to Mousetail park, which I guessed to be about 100 miles southwest of Nashville. There are mountain biketrails at the park and I wanted to see what they were like. It was also a long Memorial Day weekend and the only three days I had between my old and new job. So I decided at the last minute that a long haul trucker ride was in order to think, decompress, and just have an adventure in my holiday weekend. For those unfamiliar, a long haul trucker ride is a long ride that is approached in a relaxed manner. Slow and steady is the name of the game. Riding unchartered territory (or "new places") is usually a part of it, and self-supported is the way to roll. Solo is not really typical, but was on this occasion.\n!!!Preparation\nI had just a few days to prepare, but it didn't take much. I planned to go the minimalist route. This meant food, a ground sheet, a blanket, clothes and some basic survival stuff. I decided to ride the ol' kona on this trip and that 34x18 (free) would be my gearing. This would prevent me from pushing too hard and would allow me enough gearing to climb most climbs with my small load. I planned my route on gmaps, though I didn't get an accurate distance, nor did I know how accurate the back roads I would be taking were. I just made some vague cue sheets and planned to acquire a map. The map acquisition didn't happen until 30 miles into my ride, and the map i bought was lousy and didn't contain any of the backroads I had planned to take. Luckily, I saw Thad (who was also on a ride) on my way out of town and he had a couple pages out of his gazetteer that he lent me and which came in very handy.\n!!!Saturday\nSaturday morning, I got up about 7:00 or so, showered, made breakfast, and got on my way about 8:15. I was reasonably satisfied with this departure time. I headed down towards Leiper's Fork by way of the Percy Warner Park, Vaughn, Old Natchez and then 46. That first leg of about 30 miles was kinda tough since I hadn't been on a bike much more than a few miles for a few weeks. My body was certainly not in long haul trucker mode yet. I stopped at the Shell station in Leiper's and got a coffee beverage and a gatorade. I may have eaten something at this point, but I don't remember. Those who have ridden long rides with me know that while I can eat a little something while riding, I do much better if I can stop periodically for a few minutes and eat some real calories. My body likes it much better and I am stronger in the long term by doing so. And if I don't eat substantial stuff, my energy fades quickly. I can sort of bonk. On the other hand, when I eat, I regain my strength very quickly and can get on my way. Leipers is where I bought the useless map.\n[img[LHTR1.JPG]]\nThe next stretch was where I started to fall into a rhythm. This stretch was only about 10-12 miles probably, but it is a good stretch of rolling terrain. By rhythm, I mean my body started to get the picture of what this day was all about. No extreme efforts, just a steady, comfortable ride that would continue for hours. During this stretch is when I saw Thad and his riding companions. We stopped and exchanged pleasantries, and Thad made sure I had everything, giving me his map, which is the one thing I lacked. He also took my picture for me. I continued on and stopped under the bridge where the Natchez Trace parkway crosses rt 7 at Fly. Under the bridge I stopped for some real calories from a liquid meal replacement as well as from some peanuts. I wanted to stop because everything beyond this point was new to me and I wanted to be strong in case the road proved tough.\n[img[LHTR2.JPG]]\nFrom Fly, I followed alongside the Natchez Trace some and found a road called Leatherwood road that I had been wanting to explore. I figured it would be a good road to ride, but I never expected it to be gravel. This charged me up as I found the first 5 or so miles of the road to be gravel and mostly downhill or flat. I was glad to be on my mountain bike and was amazed to find gravel roads so close to roads I had ridden so many times in the past. I followed this road for a while and it eventually became paved again. Then it turned and crossed a bridge and became a stretch with a beautiful cannopy of trees. I won't describe every road like this, but I just remember being very pleased with my choice of route and very much enjoyed the ride. Eventually the road ended at Rt 50 where I found a corner market where I could refill my water and get another gatorade and eat an ice cream sandwich. I continued on. Not much later, I came across a couple of guys I had passes a couple times already. They were super nice, in their early 20's, and driving along in a pickup. When I came across them the last time, they were stopped on a bridge (parked in the middle of the bridge - not much traffic out there) and trying to shoot fish with a bow and tethered arrow from the bridge 30 feet above the water. They weren't having much success, but they were enjoying their bud light. They asked where I was going, and one guy offered that it was "like 50 miles or something". The other guy corrected him, saying it was more like 30-40, which sounded better to me. He also added that "at least it's all down hill from here." I can't say I believed him, which was a good judgment on my part.\n[img[LHTR3.JPG]]\n[img[LHTR4.JPG]]\n[img[LHTR5.JPG]]\n[img[LHTR6.JPG]]\n\nI followed a bunch of other back roads en route to Mousetail, many which alternated between a gravel and paved surface. They were almost all back roads, though. One stretch of road I used, though, was route 100, which actually goes through Nashville. It was nice to know that if faced with a problem, I could most likely hitch a ride along 100 back to town. Also, this road went through a small town, Pleasantville, which had an open market/cafe that would be the last one I saw before reaching my destination (and the onl one other than in Leipers and at 50). I was needing some real food, so I stopped to eat some dinner. It was about 4:30, so the place was empty when I got there. An older gentleman sat me in the dining room and gave me an old menu. I miss the old days when one could afford to eat that well in the city, too. I had a good burger and fries for less than $3, and also a piece of cake and a coke and I ordered a hoagie for the road. The hoagie ended up being a steak sandwich (not too far from a cheesesteak) and was loaded up with onions and mushrooms and tons of meat. This thing was huge and only $2.50. Crazy. I also bought a can of chef boyardee, some vienna sausages, and some cookies. Additionally, I made some more of my Endurance beverage for the rest of the day's ride.\n\nFrom Pleasantville, I ended up having about 2.5 hours of riding left, but it was the hardest of the day, and not because I was tired from a long day of pedaling. The two toughest climbs of the day came in the last 15 miles, and after the first of the two, I came across a turn that I thought was probably the correct one, but it was unmarked. Luckily, just then a fella and his son came driving up and figured I was lost. They told me the best way to get to Mousetail, and their directions matched my cur sheets except for the road names (where they were posted). Ends up that was the way I planned to go, but both the gazeteer and gmaps need to be updated for the correct street names and route numbers. Anyway, I finally managed to make it to the park just before the sun went down after about 10.5 hours of riding and some stopping.\n[img[LHTR7.JPG]]\nIn the park, I found a map and headed towards the campground, but to get there, one must climb an insanely steep hill. I walked my bike up that one. I rode through the campground, which was packed, and I spotted the bathhouse. I decided to find where I would camp for the night before returning for a shower and such. Past the campground, the road heads back down a similarly steep hill. Hmmmm... I needed to plan my bathhouse visit well... no need to climb that hill again more than once. I was hopng to find and stay in a bunkhouse that was out in the park along some overnight hiking trails. According to the map, the house was also close to one of the mtb trails, so I hoped to find that trail and then the bunkhouse. Well, with the quickly fading light and my not-so-bright headlight, I was not able to navigate the trails or the back of the park very well, so I ended up back at this scout camp/picnic area. I hid behind some trees when the ranger came back there to lock up, knowing that camping in that area was probably not allowed all the time, then I was left to my lonesome. I unpacked what I needed and headed up the hill to shower and send messages back to Nashville to indicate that I had made it ok. Back down the hill, I ate my hoagie and cookies and downed some advil, water, and a few nips of B&B from the flask to help me sleep. It didn't work too well. I slept on top of a picnic table to prevent the ground insects from feasting on me (not to mention snakes), but was neither warm enough nor protected from the many flying insects.\n[img[LHTR8.JPG]]\n!!!Sunday\nAfter a few hours of sleep, I woke up to some pre-dawn light. It was about 6am. I decided that I could either get some mountain biking in while there at the park OR I could make it home that day. I decided to go on home to have some relaxation time that weekend before starting a new job. I packed my stuff and headed up the hill where I refilled my water bottles for the trip back. Most of the trip home was uneventful, but I did stop again in Pleasantville. This time, since the cafe wasn't open, I stopped in front of another place that had an RC cola machine and had an RC Cola with my vienna sausages. I then stopped at an old overlook near the Trace to eat my chef boyardee. The trip home was definitely harder than the trip out there, but it wasn't so much because I was tired. When I left in the morning, there wasn't the long warm up time from the day before. My body was already adjusted and I fell right back into my rhythm. The hard part was that there were more and harder hills on the way back. I had to walk two very steep gravel hills because I could neither keep my traction nor push the gear I rolled with the weight I was carrying. (I guess I may have been tired, too.)\n[img[LHTR10.JPG]]\nOn the way back, the hardest part was when I got back to the roads I knew. This was hard because I knew exactly what I had left and I was starting to fade. Part of this, however, was from knowing what I had left and trying to finish without the necessary stops to eat and such. I finally made myself stop and eat on the way into Percy Warner park and it made a huge difference. Once in the park, I tried to avoid a couple of the hills on my cut-through by taking an unfamiliar shortcut, but I ended up getting lost. So I did end up riding those hills AND a few extra miles. During this time, however, I ran into Diamond Dave and Stick riding road bikes. On my loaded 34x18 mountain bike, I managed to ride a mile or so with them up a hill or two before they took off. After riding so far the last couple of days alone, it was exhillerating just to have people to ride with. I hit my exit from the park and cruised home feeling good. This was helped by an extra adrenaline shot I received when this snooty lady in a huge cadillac ran me off the road when she merged back into the lane before she was past me. I was a little pissed, so, with the help of a couple more red lights on that stretch of road that I ran, I made her pass me a couple more times in the course of about 2 miles. Maybe not the safest thing but by the third time, after some less than savory looks from me, she gave me the whole lane while passing and waited until she was well past to merge back.\n\nSo I ended the ride strong and according to the gmaps pedometer, it was about 103 miles each way. Not bad. Two days, two centuries, with minimal camping gear on a 34x18 single-speed mountain bike with knobbies. If interested, you can check out the [[route|http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1006302]]. I was going to list what all I took, but I can't say it worked out so great. I certainly was not happy with the amount of sleep I didn't get. But the route was phenomenal (accept for the chasing dogs) and the experience was one I can't wait to have again. There is something about solo trips like that. Maybe it is the learning about one's self. Maybe it is the way it builds confidence. Maybe it is just the peace it offers. It may be another year or so, but this will happen again.\n[img[LHTR11.JPG]]

[[Vitals]]\n[[People]]\n[[team]]\n[[Representation]]\n[[Rides]]\n[[Maps]]\n\n[[LHTR - Mousetail]]\n\n\n[[31 May 2007]]\n[[29 May 2007]]\n[[25 May 2007]]\n[[24 May 2007]]\n[[23 May 2007]]\n[[22 May 2007]]\n[[18 May 2007]]\n[[17 May 2007]]\n[[16 May 2007]]\n[[14 May 2007]]\n[[11 May 2007]]\n[[10 May 2007]]\n[[9 May 2007]]\n[[8 May 2007]]\n[[4 May 2007]]\n[[3 May 2007]]\n[[2 May 2007]]\n[[1 May 2007]]\n[[25 April 2007]]\n[[20 April 2007]]\n[[12 April 2007]]\n[[10 April 2007]]\n[[9 April 2007]]\n[[6 April 2007]]\n[[5 April 2007]]\n[[3 April 2007]]\n[[2 April 2007]]\n[[30 March 2007]]\n[[29 March 2007]]\n[[28 March 2007]]\n[[27 March 2007]]\n[[26 March 2007]]\n\n\n\n[[Archives]]\n[[RSS]]\n[[Counter]]\n\n[[Credits]]\n

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[img[troy|troy4_15.jpg]]\n\nTroy E. F.\n31 years old\nLive in Nashville, TN\nI ride bicycles.\n\nI can be contacted via gmail.com using my username troyef.\n

I am once again changing my weblog. I have decided to once again use blogger. With a new venue comes a new name. You can get to my new site here: [[http://mycryption.blogspot.com/|http://mycryption.blogspot.com/]]\n\n

I ride for [[Team Remax-Yazoo Brew|http://www.teamremax-yazoo.com/]]. Actually, I ride for myself and I ride with these guys. We are foremost a group of friends who ride and otherwise hang out together. We enjoy racing, mostly single speed mountain bike racing, though some in our fold always ride gears. We are the "ambassadors of fun".\n\nThe team started in 2005 when Justin and Jamie decided that it would be fun and motivating to create a team of the people they hung out with and rode with and raced with. The purpose of this team was to bring the fun back into racing. It isn't about results, but it is competitive. It's not about winning, but we often win or stand on the podium. When we show up for a race, we do everything in our power to make sure we are going to have fun and we do our best to spread that around.\n\nAround the time of the team's inception, I met Justin and circumstances and similar ideals landed me on the team, which at the time consisted of about 10 core riders. These original riders can be identified when they wear the team's first kit, which was a screen printed t-shirt, each one different and each with a number. I was number 8. The first year was a rocky one for our group as we were trying to figure out who we were and what the team was about. Actually, the vision was there, but it took a while to remove the extra crap that most people associate with a race team. A defining moment for this team was when we officially went bike shop neutral. Not only were we free of that representation, but also of the expectations and characteristics of a team that were thrust upon us from that direction. We solidified our relationship with our primary title sponsor, Yazoo Beer, and proceeded to roll our game. The second year was a year of growth as people started to recognize who we were and what we were about. \n[img[team logo|teamlogo_70.gif]]\nThat year, Sharp assumed a leading role in the team in working with sponsors as well as providing us with the most attractive riding kit that's ever been seen, including custom Swiftwick wool socks and matching wool jerseys from Earth, Wind, and Rider. These quickly became the most coveted jerseys around with recognition and requests coming in everywhere we would go. The presence of the team was by this time ballooning to become a highly recognizable entity at about any event, especially in the southeast. Part of this exposure included a 30-minute team showcase on a specialty TV show broadcast all over the South on the Atlanta based sports station Sports South. The exposure continues to spread with team sponsorship and participation in nationally high-profile events like Dirt, Sweat, and Gears and the Trans Iowa ultra-endurance race, as well as mentions by Dirt Rag Magazine and vast numbers of personal blogs and bike forums on the internet.\n\nOne popular questions asked of us is "How can I be on the team?" There is no real process for making this happen. We mostly buy our own gear. We pay our own entry fees. We choose for ourselves which races to ride in. (About) anyone can be on the team, but you have to fit into the fold. This is not cliquish at all when understood. For the most part, the people on the team would still be hanging out and riding together if there was no team. So to be a part, you have to come out and make yourself a part. The other side of it is holding the same ideals as the other members as to why you ride and what you want out of it. If you are very high strung and always talking trash and extremely regimented in your training and generally a jerk, then you probably won't be very welcome, no matter how strong a rider and racer you are. On the other hand, if you are a serious rider who weighs your food and wakes up to cytomax and works with a personal coach, but you still know how to chill out and relax and be a friend all while having a passion for bicycles, then you will fit fine. If you are super relaxed, like to tie one on occasionally, ride your bike everywhere, race occasionally, and dig good music, then you are probably already on the team.\n\nTeam Remax Yazoo is about stripping off all the crap and doing what we do for the reasons we do it. No pressure, no team codes, only a good group of guys and girls trying to make a difference in cycling and in our own lives.

Check out [[Vitals]].