Great Ride!

It sure was another good day for a ride. The skies were absolutely blue and the scenery was the best! It is great to be able to go out on a ride and have no cares or worries on my mind. Just the pain of climbing that next hill to think about. And it sure was hurting today. I have not been on the bike for a while now so I am catching up on all those days missed or spent trying to ride away from it all. Today was all about the ride. The pace was slowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. my average was only 13.50 mph! But in my defence I did pic a route with some serious climbing in it. LOL I just the slow_peddler after all. Today was all about the ride though. The pear and Cherie trees are blooming and filling the air with there overpowering pungent smell. All of the tree farms are getting ready to ship and are in some places shipping this years supply of trees to all the plant shops and hard wear stores around the country. So they have the roads full of mud and since it just rained for the last 5 days, they sure are all muddied up! The ride along the damn on powerhouse road was awesome especially since I was riding up to the damn from down in the valley in anticipation of the view of lake James and the Mts.


I have not ridden up the way since last summer. The winter and early spring are rough times to ride up around the lake as the winds are very high most of the time. The last two days on the bike have been good for me. I am looking forward to next month when I can join my friend Mark up on the Mt. in West Jefferson for some good riding. well today's stats were: Dist. 34.19 Aver. 13.50 and last but not least fun factor, 10 on a scale of 10! Peace!

Lost

Thought I might better right something seeing how it has been a while. First thing is that I have worked 20 hours in the last four weeks. we have been laid off and are going to be laid off next week also. You see, I work in the furniture industry and no one is buying furniture right now. As a matter of fact the only furniture they are buying is coming from China. You want see it on TV but the furniture industry has been slowly going over to China since 2002. So an already crippled industry in the US has been hit hard by the Depression. We are not on permanent layoff so we may work a few days then get sent home and called back in to work for a few more days. This is the way it is for me but not knowing is not to good. It kind of ways on my mind. Any ways I have not been able to ride for the last week because my back has been bothering me really bad. My riding all together has not been to good because my head has not been in the game. I have been spending a lot of time working out at home with the weights and on my Taekwondo so as not to go stir crazy. You see, not being laid off permanent means they can call me back at anytime and so I can't get another job unless I quit this one. But the only jobs out there now are in the Health care field. My bedside manner sucks so I want be a doctor any time soon. LOL. Well I will try to ride next week while I am off and also try to write a little more often. I have been reading my fave blogs I just haven't had much good to say. I am a little bit pissed with the gov right now! Peace

TAEKWONDO

I am trying to get my certification so that I can become an instructor in Taekwondo. In most other Martial-arts disciplines they ask you to teach after you attain your Black Belt. In AMAI "American Martial Art's Institute"you must complete the adult leadership program to become an instructor. The program consist of weekly class hours as well as four seminars. You attain a different collar at each seminar, Blue, Red, Red-black, Black-Red-Black, and when you get your certification your collar is black. If you own your own school it is then Black-White-Black. I am currently Black-Red-Black or assistant instructor now. I will be able to test for my certification in August at the leadership camp.
While I am doing this I am also working towards my 2nd Degree black belt. It gets tough sometimes because I am not 20 years old and I am not as limber as I used to be. The parts that used to stretch don't anymore and after a hard work out it hurts for several day's! LOL.
I have been spending more time on my bike than on my form here latley so it is needing some work. It is a good thing that I am single cause I can't see me doing the Teakwondo and the bike riding as well as haveing a relationship! If they did these thing to then we could do them together............. Fat chance! lol. Any ways, I hope to get my certification this summer so that I can teach. What I am learning in leadership is how to deal with people and stuff. It has been a really great thing to help me not only with the Taekwondo but on my jod and other parts of my life. anyways I hope to get there soon.

Well, it sure has been a week. I was in a restaurant the other evening, which I really don't care to go out to eat in the first place, and as usual it was packed. A couple of people were at each other over what I am not sure but it certainly was not a reunion of long lost friends. Anyway it ceases to amaze me at how uncivilized our civilization is! And It just pisses me off to the ends of the universe to see a man take advantage of a female! I am not even going to get into that for it is not a good place to be! Anyways I am glad that i can retreat to my little world and not deal with the trash to much. Enough of that crusade. I have been able to ride some since the first of the year and I am sore today from a ride. I may not be able to ride this week but the weekend looks good. I may take the 29er out Friday. It would be good to ride it for a while. Well I will see what life gives me this week and we can go from there. I believe I will eat at home this week!

New Years Day Ride

Went out for a ride yesterday. It being the first day of the year and all, I thought that a ride would help me ride into the new year. It was very cold! 34 with some wind. I did not want to ride but after I was on the road it was not that bad. My face was cold, my hands and feet were also. It does not matter what I put on my feet they will always stay frozen and numb! I am at my parent's house with my son visiting for a few days and it is flat,very flat here. I believe that it is easier to ride back home some days because at least you get a break going down a hill. Here, there are no hills so you have to stay on the peddles the whole ride and it is mostly wide open farm land so the wind is always blowing in your face. But this is cycling and I am grateful for the chance to ride as well as the change in scenery. I was able to get in 35 miles yesterday and it turned out to be a good ride. I hope to ride today as well. If I get home early enough tomorrow, I may try to take the 29er out for a bit. I for got to take the camera with me yesterday or I would have posted a few pic's of my ride. Maybe I will do it today.

Monday was my birthday and I had a very good ride on the 29er up on the creek. I actually climb up the side of the mountain on it. 32-20 monocog on the single speed side. I am going to switch it to the fixed side next week. Anyways it was a good ride and I will go back up there again. My good friend Mark came down off the mountain yesterday from Jefferson to ride because the roads up there are full of salt. That is the usual for this time of the year and they will be that way until the spring. It has been a couple of weeks since I have ridden the Fujy road bike. That is my geard bike. And that is on the road for I usually ride it in the trainer.

Now, as the year comes to an end several things come to mind. The first of which is that my son and I earned our First degree Black Belt in Taekwondo this year. This was a journey that we began together and the feeling of accomplishment that was felt was beyond compare! My son is going to turn 12 in February and he is starting to step out on his own somewhat and this is hard to take at times. Since he lives with his mother it means that I am not seeing him that much and when he is around he usually is not here. You know, Girls and all. Yes he has a girl friend! And why not because he should, But it is a little hard to take when you feel like you are not his hero anymore, not his everything and not needed for everything anymore. Oh'well enough of that stuff. This year started off with me still burned out with riding and I thought I would ride myself back into wanting it. I went out hard and fast and by myself and it did not work. Around May I had a hip plexor and it went downhill from there. My head has been totally screwed up since then. I really like what I read the other day, "It really does not matter why we ride, The truth is that we all do it for the reward at the end of the ride!" I need to ride for me. It is just that simple and anything else is just a waste of time. I ride by myself most of the time anyway and I enjoy it more when I go cause I want to and not because I fill like I have to. I have no new years resolution to speak of, I will try to do what I do every day to the best of my ability,

1) Treat others with respect no matter what is going on with me.

2) Treat others the way that I would have the treat me, and last but not least

3) Try to leave this world in better shape than I found it.

Happy new year and may it be a Blessed one for this broken world.

How Good It Really Is

Man what a great ride today! I took the 29er up on the Wilson creek service road this afternoon. I found out today why I ride. I was only out for a couple of hours but it sure wore me out! I am going to need some time on the service roads before I try a trail but I will be on a trail before long. It just seems like the place to be. I would have never thought that a simple ride up the gorge would have made such of an impact on my state of being.
I stoped up at the Mortimer recreation area for a bit of rest and some beef jerky when I noticed this odd site sitting on a ledge. The recreation area is closed for the year so that makes it even odder than normal! I guess it means that I must get out into the woods to get away from the craziness of it all. Anyhow the picture of the jerky and watter are for my good friend Rick. Your right man, there ain't nothing better than this.