Giving credit

This entry is all about the proper respect being given to someone/thing when it is truly desreved. Think about your life for a second. If there is something that you absolutely excelled in, could you do it for 16 hours a day? The amount of focus and energy would be almost incomprehensible. That leads to todays recipient of my highest praise. HOBBES!!!!!!!
There he is, on the right, holding on to wakefulnes by his two front teeth. Actually he has four teeth. Yes just four front teeth. The others are nubs from 14 years of tough living. Hobbes is the king of sleep, as are most cats I guess. The difference is Hobbes sleeps so that he can later achieve bouts of athletic prowess that are only dreamed of by other quadripeds. My guess is that his nightly jump onto the counter to search for butter, flour or food scraps has an opportunity energy cost of probably three hours sleep. It depends if he actually can get into the butter for nourishment. Not only is he extremely athletic. We, especially Amy, likes to think of Hobbes as something akin to a prototypical NFL DE. Kind of big, (16 lbs) yet very agile, quick and strong. If you walk by him he will showcase all three atributes by lulling you into a false sense of security by looking something like a hunting trophy rug. Then as you pass, usually with a drink or soup in hand, he stretches his disproportionately long arms out and wraps around your ankle. He then pulls his back legs into your anle and proceeds to "give you the business."
Of course that is exhausting, so Hobbes needs his rest. After a tough day he just wants to be alone, note the top left pic.
Hobbes' other great talent is his wits and opposable thumbs. He can actually open the latch to the basement door if we shut him down there. I have witnessed the feat with thine own eyes.
I could go on heaping credit on this well-deserving feline, but by the sounds of his whines i can sense Hobbes is a little famished and probably needs to sleep. He has been up almost seven hours, with but a little nap.

Hot or Not

Hot or Not
Wicked awesome stir fry for dinner; Bread and butter post ride sandwich
Scott Z off the front all day in Cali; CSC lead-out train, unless you ride for T-Mobile
US Olympic snowboarding; Jack-Ass Bode Miller
American Idol; Olympic figure skating
Saturday kick-ass ride; Sunday recovery ride in 20-30 mph wind
Sleeping in; 7:30 am conference call
Excel at your job; Kiss your bosses ass
12 year anniversary in 3 weeks; One week meeting in FL, the next day
Ebay; Ebay
Blogging; Blogging
Ipod while training; Not hearing the oncoming rednecks
Sopranos starts 3/12; $75/month for cable
Joey Cheek, total class; Jackasses Shani Davis & Chad Hedrick
Me being happy; Me being a cycnic

Music to my ears

Pick Pickler!!!!!!!!
That little hottie is half my age. WTF! The island of Mandisa was really good tonight, and the 17 year old prodigy who did Midnight train to Georgia was incredible.
On another note VH1 classic was rippin' on 2 for Tuesday tonight. Smiths: Sheila take a bow, Two old school U2 songs before Bono turned world saver and the Coupe de Gras Psych Furs (senior citizen version) Pretty in Pink live. Pretty in Pink is a personal fave from the days of Ducky at the dance. It was cool.
Speaking of Ducky, if you are not watching Two and a half men you are missing one of the best shows on TV. Funny beyonf belief, a lot of the humor is sexual and the FCC most be on the edge of their seats.
Poor Stevie opera is begging for her life as her sung was poor. Unfortunately is was not as piss poor as the chick who sang Because the night. Butchered a song I really enjoy, damn. I am just waiting for Simon to ask to bang her.
Hopefully the rest of the show is better.

Da girls

So I finally get home from my team ride today and Ames was watching our neices. Riley who is 4 and Maggie who is 2. They are quite the little pair. I walk in the door and Amy is in the obligatory lapper chair, laptop that is for all you depraved fiends. The girls are "hiding" on thefloor behind her. I play along saying I can not see them, they start to giggle. So now I threaten them with tickling unless they come out and say hello. More giggling, so it is tickle time. Now keep in mind, that I have been listening, yes listening to MRN on the way home and I know their is only 10 laps to go in Daytona. The predicament is that Charlotte's Web is on TV. So I "ask" the girls if I may change the show, and they agree as long as I "fly" them.
No problem, 10 laps, 5 minutes a few lifts in the air. So I pick one up and quickly lift them in the air and set them on the coach, then I pick the other up. Well the little shavers realize I can not really turn them down, so it is like a little production line. Lift, set down, pick up, lift set down and on and on. As I set one down and pick up the other, the one I just set down is now waiting for round 2,3,15,37. All of this as I try diligently to watch the end of the race. Damn cautions keep the game going far too long. Finally I made both of them sit down on the coach with me and watch the last two laps. I coached the oldest, Riley, to make sure she tells Mommy & Daddy that she watched NASCAR with Uncle Mike this weekend. That out to be priceless. Like when I tought a two year old Riley to do the "hook 'em horns" fingers and raise her arm above her head and say "Rock and Roll". SHe actually walked around for a while with her fingers in the Hook em Horns position. Damn I'm a cool uncle.
Well now I am doing laundry, some Lilly work, Ebay listing and getting ready for a well needed shower.
Good eve, all.

Meet & greet

This weekend was the official Meredith Group-GPOA team meeting, bonding, riding weekend. Of course it was wicked cold. Saturday was a team ride, but I missed it due to helping out at my buddy's shop. Holemes Cycling & Fitness for all of your cycling & fitness needs. After a day of retail I hopped in the Blaze and headed for Warminster. I arrive just in time to grab a beer say my hellos & intros, order food and set off to our meeting. After a delicious Italian take-out meal, compliments of our tireless DS Denny Dansak, we started the meeting. Basically it was lay out the rules of the road so to speak, figure our race schedule, and go over team & individual goals. After a very productive and and at times quite funny meeting it was almost 11:30. We parted ways to meet up at 11:00 for day two of team riding. I missed Saturday, but it seemed like a very good ride with 12 guys for 4+ hours. Sunday was about the same with eight of us and 4+ hours again. It was 19 degrees out when we started. Remarkably it really was not uncomfortable once my face was sufficiently numb. We hit out for 71 miles all told with some good paceline work and time to talk more with my new mates Steevo, Stubna and Geronimo. I was very impressed with the way everyone rode. A group of 5 of us pushed a 1-2 mile dirt climb and thatb felt good. I know I came away from the 36 hours with a great feeling about our team and how we are riding. With the firepower we have, it should be a successful year. I really think we will rise to the occasion and above at some big races. It will be great to lay it down to watch Jared, Nate, Rob, Geronimo et al finish it off. We have great workers and classy winners. This will be fun. Stay tuned for more as we get our fancy new steeds and their fancy new hoops.
Yeah boys & girls I am more excited than I have ever been to race. The team rocks!

What does it take?

So a lot of my cronies, as well as myself, are really riding the hours/miles right now. Which poses the question "What does it take to seperate yourself?" Is it more training, is it time in the gym, is it an ability to suffer, is it being willing to forgo things that others will not? Yes, to an extent.
Some people could ride twenty hours a week, yet never be able to sprint or climb or be willing to sacrifice. It is interesting to read of what seems to be a rennesaince of personal discovery. I look at my good friend Mike Miller. He has sacrificed more than anyone I know, to achieve his goals in cycling. I respect what he has achieved the last three years. Mike is the epitome of "what does it take?" This year I look at my new teammate Stephan. For anyone who has raced the road, you know of Stephan. He is pure talent. It was cool to see him come out last year and race again. With no team, he was always there. I look forward to trying to help him achieve his goals. Stephan has what it takes to be a champion.
The list is quite long with examples of people who have achieved great things, each to varying extents, have what it takes.
Are you willing to prepare longer, harder or smarter than your competition? When you do, remember that your work guaranteed you nothing. While you are doing your thing, so am I , and dozens of others who feel we are doing what it takes to win.
What does it take? If I knew, I sure as shit would not give it away.
Good luck to all my friends and competitors. We will soon see if I, you, them "have what it takes"

I have the shits of the, well, ... read on

So As I mentioned previously I have some sort of virus/bug/unwanted visitor in my lower GI that has now plagued me for four days. It is at least relatively predictable. Eat, wait one hour, experience gnarly cramps & stomach pains, then release.
So today I go out for a ride and am not feeling so physically weak so I start to push it a bit. Well, the same core muscles required to do some big gear efforts are also the same ones used to help in the release of my unwanted belly demons. So I am twenty minutes in, and I start to feel the rumbly in the tumbly, I think damn twenty minutes to the LA Twp park. I can make it. Well two minutes later Ring of Fire comes on the the Ipod and somewhere stirs the pot so to speak. I remember there is a new development going in about a mile away. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can. Positive talk and praying there is a Honey Pot at the site. I am in luck there is the sweet blue plastic depository. I fiddle with my helmet straps and unzip the jacket. while squeezing tight. I make in into the Porta not a second to soon. KerPow, Kazaam, oh oh oh that burning ring of fire, down, down , down the flames going higher. Oh the not so sweet irony.
Off I go for the rest of the ride. Over to the park to look at some course changes and the addition of a wicked long run section. Damn, feeling it again. I head home, another 45 minutes or so.
TESSIE FREAKIN' RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry. I get home and am undoing my jacket, helmet, pants everything. I scream inside . Off with the shoes, and to the bathroom yet again. Barely. Whew. Weigh myself, 152.6. That is not good. Five pounds since Saturday and I am eating.
Hopefully all is better tomorrow.
Gotta go, not to the bathroom that is.
Later
AI rocks!!!!!!!