Temptation

I've been a pretty good vegetarian - almost vegan even - lately.

Still, there is temptation in the world.

Temptation, thy name is Bacon!

When the need arises to confront Bacon! - this flowchart may be of some assistance .....

Doodlebug

Nice Sunday ride - hit all the spots I've been leaving out lately....

New Webpage

Days are shorter, nights are longer, and thoughts turn to a fresh season.

NMORS '09 - Shaping up nicely



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Cycling 2009

Working on the calendar:

NM Bicycle Races - 2009 - Working Draft


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Night Ride!

Fun stuff. Plenty more to come - just colder.

Hope Defeats Hate*

Yay!

*Except for Cali Prop 8, and similar

Tour of Las Cruces

Stash

Map / Cue sheet

Clear as mud?

Jumpin' Javelina

I was enjoying a nice twilight spin. Just cruising to burn some calories so I could have a beer with dinner.

My helmet light was on. The day light had faded away, and it was less than 15 minutes to hard dark.

I had come out of the Serpentine and was motorin' south down the undulating singletrack.

There is a strange sound ahead of me. Plus it looks like a big, gray rock is moving by the trail. Then this gray rock turns and has two bright spots for eyes.

A javelina - the first I've seen in the wild.

I lock up the brakes to a stop. The beast trots across the trail to a rise about 30 feet away and looks at me with a sideways stare.

It wasn't that big. About the size of my 50 pound dalmatian (but a bit stockier). So I expect it was a juvenile.

I look around to see if there were any others. Didn't see any. Got on the bike and sped away.

Of course, after that I felt frosty and was hyper-alert to every sound - like when I flushed a couple of birds and then almost ran into them mid-air.

A well-earned and tasty beer for, um, I mean, with dinner.

(Unfortunately - I was without camera for the photo op.)

Pretty Girl!

Sierra started out very skittish and shy.

Now that a few weeks have gone by, she has really settled in and is a real Ms. Personality.

She loves to see her people. And she loves to be petted. Happy happy.

Such a Pretty Girl!

Signal Peak Challenge '08

The Battle of the Gilanders is nigh

Ay ye lither sumfs

Graith ye staig fer the lairge fecht

Do ye Clans prood wit a fest onfaw on the muntain

Critters

Photos of some recent wildlife on the trails.

I like this pic

Why do I love my bike? A sleek, straightforward, cross country machine. Even when I feel weak and slow, it still gives me what I need to saddle up and roll. After awhile, I'm cruising along not thinking (so much) about feeling sluggish, but instead feeling the rush of the landscape rolling by.

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Hooky Day!

I was getting a bit peevish with everybody else thinking they knew better than me how I should be spending my time.

So, I told work I was going on a trip and took a vacation day. I told the homefront I was going to work. Then I spent the day doing what I wanted, when I wanted, where I wanted.

Me My Mine. Me Me Me!!!

This is from a most liesurely and enjoyable bike ride. We've gotten our monsoon season, and the desert is pretty green and lively.

Planning Desk - Beginner Loop 08

9.1 miles - a little over a mile more than last year.

Bypasses the "Cathedral" section.

Some SLO maps

Nothing to see here. Just move along.

:-)

Horny Toad Hustle - Sneak Preview

The tireless staff at HornyToadHustle.org have been burning the moonlight hours (over trailside beers) devising new and nefarious ways to mix things up a bit.

SO - Let's go climbing.

On the drawing board: 4,130 feet of climbing over 18.6 miles for the Sport (long) loop.

Compare that to the Signal Peak Challenge that offers a paltry 3,681 feet of climbing over 22.4 miles (bottom image).

















Click image for Biggie Size






















As compared to:




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Cerillos del Coyote '08

Wheee!

Ah, it feels good to ride! Great day, great race, great work from the Socorro crew.

Outstanding turnout.

results posted

I was feeling kind of glum to be at the (not quite d.f.l.*) bottom of my group, then I saw I came in before a few of the younger sporties, including a spry 31 y.o. I nipped at the line by a second. I'll take comfort where I can find it.
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*in fairness, it looks like d.f.l. had a mech on lap 2

An hour twenty three in "Zone 4," and I felt good when it was over. A good effort for me, and a good day on the bike.

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In my Easter bonnet

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Don't make me race against anyone who's faster (or younger) than me - Whuh wuh whaaaah

It seems lately that I'm getting a strong push on both the dirt and road side for "micro-categories."

Racers saying they don't want to race because they don't like something about their category:

Masters 3/4 don't want to race if they have to ride with Masters 1/2.

Masters 1/2 don't want to race if they have to ride with the young 1/2s.

Masters 40+ don't think they should have to compete with Masters 35+.

Women asking for women's Masters category.

Cat 4/5s over 35 or 40 y.o. who want a masters subgroup in the Cat 4/5 race so they don't have to ride with the fast guys in the Masters race.

(Hmm, most of my grief seems to come from Masters racers.)

SingleSpeeders who want age subgroups.

Big racers who want Clydesdale groups.

Etc., etc., etc.

I'm really starting to question what the point of it all is. Does a racer feel bad thinking they finished 15th out of 30, but feel better if they were 4th out of 8, and better still if they were 2nd out of 4? Do we just keep narrowing the groups until they all consist of 3 racers, and all 3 get to "podium."

At the end of the day, 9.5 times out of 10 the racer who comes out on top will be the one who rides the most, has the better genetic gift, is the most determined, trains the hardest, ate a better breakfast, has skills, has good equipment for the job, and had a good night's rest. Those factors count for an order of magnitude more on race day than whether they are in the within the same 10 year age bracket.

At some point shouldn't we all focus more on challenging our personal limits than on how thinly we can slice the subgroups?

There's only so many juliennes in a frog hair.


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Earth Day Ride - 2008

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Earth Day Bike Ride - Saturday, April 26, 2008

*Click for Big*




























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The end of an error

Buh-bye Shrub-ya, buh-bye.

Saw Michelle at an evening rally at NMSU on the Monday before Super Tuesday.

Absolutely brilliant and inspiring.

Si, Se Puede!

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A New Season

Working Draft .

*CLICK THIS*

New Year's Ride

Starting the year by climbing A "Mountain"

Today was a beautiful (crisp) day