Humor.

I have terrible taste. Period.
Yes I do. I have terrible taste in pretty much anything and everything.
These past few weekends I've been traveling from race to race and then to Lake Placid for a 3 day training camp. So what the hell does this have to do with humor you ask? Well...
It forced me to be around people and the longer I'm around them, the more likely they will be either offended or appalled by my sense of humor.

Not to say I'm completely offset, rather my taste in what's funny is not what most people consider to be. Some people find stand up comics or little practical jokes funny. I find humor in tragedy.

It's not a coping mechanism, I genuinely love the things that make most people VERY uncomfortable. So from this past few weeks I could post up a bunch of spandex photos or race shots where I look better than I actually am. But rather I have a picture which ended up being one of the highlights of my Lake Placid trip. This one is a gem!


This is a picture of a girl who appears to have decided her doll would be best served hanging from a pink noose. She threw her off of her 2nd floor hotel room and proceeded to beat her with a stick. I took a picture. I couldn't stop smiling for an hour. My roommate from the trip was appalled with my behavior. I'm smiling just writing this. Humor.

Xantusia.

I’m slowly learning that there are 2 kinds of people in this world. Some dream of city life and can only see themselves living in the “Big City.” Wherever he or she may be from, there are always the lights of urban metropolis calling them in. The other type of person sees the city lights and feels crowded. They hope to be able to run away from it all and find some quite place where they can calm their minds, to enjoy the silence. This past weekend I was able to travel to a quite place in the desert of California, aptly named “Xantusia.” This is a place, or better put a paradise, located in the middle of nowhere. No cars, no streetlights, no horns, nothing. You wake up and you see a place that you can’t even put into words. From where I come people only experience places like this in post cards; maybe the newest issue of Travel Magazine.

I am quickly realizing that I’m becoming a person who values calm. Growing up in an urban area all my life has made me appreciate the beauty that a place like “nowhere” can bring.

Xantusia, I’ll see you again soon.

The place I called home for 2 days

Monty's House

The kind of riding that can take your breath away

A trail run with Dan Empfield, founder of Slowtwitch.com and Quintana Roo

“…That’s the dark side of Hampi.”

Training. It’s a pretty simple concept that I find myself writing more and more about as the weeks go by. In fact, it’s all I write about. All I think about. Every second of every day I find myself making a conscious decision to focus on one thing and one thing only: training. At this point I’m not even sure what I’m training for. Of course, yes, racing, and Ironman, and blah blah. But what is it really.

Over the past few days I think I’ve began to get a grasp on myself again. I starting to reflect on certain things in my day to day, and am realizing the roles each person and activity plays. Back to training.

In December of 2005, a man who had never met wrote the words: ‘This is your therapy.” He was referring to the sport of triathlon. All of it. The good, the bad, the interactions, the experiences and everything in between. 3 years later I find my lucky enough to call him my friend. In fact, I think he was the one to use the term first. He was right. This is my therapy and I am his friend. I run 18-mile runs and bike 100+ miles at a time and swim till I want to vomit. I hurt myself only to rebuild something. Not to make myself a better athlete, but to make myself a better person. To make sense of myself. To take my mind, which is thinking of a million things a second, and force it to focus on something simple. Something I know I can do well. Anyone who thinks I have it figured out is absolutely out of his or her minds! I’m a complete mess when it comes to things, most things.

So is this healthy? Is it proper? Self absorbed? Self-destructive? Sure, it’s all of the above. I grow because of it and I damage myself just the same. So why do it? Because one cannot pick and choose. One has to take the good and bad together.

A few years ago sports had a very different purpose. They kept me close with people. They made a culture for me, a place to call home. Today they seem to isolate me more and more. However I am becoming more and more aware that this is a result of my choices and actions. And if I expect it to change, another choice is what it takes.

There is a fine line between an unhealthy distraction and an outlet. I am not the first person to walk the gray area between the two, but I am starting to remember what this was all about.

A long time coming...

So after a few months it looks like it’s time for an update.

These past few months have not been the best. Personal troubles and death of close friends have made this year quite hectic. I think a general lack of motivation had fallen on my everyday. However, as the weather gets warmer my spirits are beginning to pick up and I’m really starting to get back onto what I would label a “healthy routine.”

Below are a few pics and a few short words to catch everyone up on all the happenings:

Cervelo Brain Bike 2008 – California

The trip out to California was one of the highlights of the year so far. 3 days of informative classes, bike rides, trips to the SDLS Wind Tunnel, and best of all Mid-60 degree weather. Can’t go wrong for late winter.

Solo Training

Sunday’s have become my get away from the world. I ride out to Harriman State Park, and up to Bear Mountain; this is quickly becoming my favorite part of training.

Round trip, just under 98 miles.

Gotham Girls Roller Derby

These ladies are amazing! And a long time friend has the ranks as one of their star athletes. If you are ever in NYC, you need to see this!

TOYS!

Yup, I’ve been pretty geeky about this one lately. I’m sending it back to SRM in Boulder, CO to get serviced, but it should be on the bike in time for the Mooseman Triathlon.

So that’s about it… I wish there was more to tell, and even though there always is, I’m sticking to the positive side of things. I’ll be heading out to California again on Sunday June 1^st. Stay tuned for more updates… they should be more regular now.

California Dreaming...

With just over 24 hours to go, I'm excited about my trip out to San Diego tomorrow.
For all the traveling I've logged around the north and south east US, I have never actually seem the west coast. I'll be heading out with 3 other members of the SBR Multisports staff to the Cervelo Brain Bike Event. This event promises to be 3 days of riding amazing bikes, learning a lot about what makes an industry leader like Cervelo so successful, and even a trip to the San Diego Low Speed Wind Tunnel.

So camera in hand, legs freshly shaved, and spirits high, I'll be posting updates and photos until my return on Monday morning. Check back in!

Waffles and Hell: The Prologue

The Prologue...

Over the past few Sundays, I have made it a priority to find something which until recently I had never seen. A few weeks ago I was told by a friend of a trail road which leads from Nyack NY to Harriman State Park. I had never heard of this, nor had I ever seen this trail, but last Sunday I decided to venture a bit out of my usual comfort zone and rode into the woods on my bike in search of this illusive trail. I found it, I rode for 15 miles on it, then hit a "CLOSED" sign and decided to back off and head back to a major highway not too far off the dirt path. This weekend, however, I was joined by Farmer Andy, and we decided to see just how far this path could go.
What started as a really enjoyable ride with mildly cold temps and aggressive winds turned into a game of beating daylight and one of the best snow storms I have ever seen. Next weekend I'll be leading a group of riders through this trail again, and not one is prepared for the mud pits, loose gravel, 2 foot wide sections along a 40 ft drop into the Hudson, or sweeping descents this path has to offer. For now I'll offer up a very few pictures of my day. By far one of the best rides I have had in a very long time. Enjoy

The start of the ride on the Hudson.

One of the cleaner sections of the trail.

Celebrating with Andy at the Runcible Spoon

Goodbye January.

Folks,

So January has come and gone and I personally feel that it deserves its own posting.
When I look back at the last 3 years or so I can't imagine a more emotional roller coaster than this past month. I was lucky and unfortunate enough to see both sides of the figurative coin this month and boy am I happy to see February 1st.

I'm in the process of getting a new digital camera, and should have it on the 15th!
(Just in time for my trip to San Diego!)

I'll be posting many more pictures this coming month and from here on in, so hopefully things will be a bit more colorful in the blog. Thanks for everyone who has posted comments, or emailed to say hello. I'm doing my best to respond to everyone and be better at keeping in touch.

As for February. I feel it should start on a good note. For me that will be a 90 mile bike ride up to Bear Mountain in Harriman State Park tomorrow morning. Weather says 50F, so it sounds like a perfect way to start the month.

See you on the road.