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Sorry about the short hiatus. Had to travel down to Las Vegas for Interbike. It was a blast, though driving the trailer down there is always a little hectic.

I'm feeling like shit right now. Must have picked up something on the trip since I wasn't sleeping well, and sleeping in strange hotels most nights. I'm glad I made it through the trip healthy, better to be sick now rather than when I'm trying to talk to dealers.

All in all it was a good trip. Got to ride my bike in Utah and Nevada.. which was fun. I miss the desert, great riding and beautiful scenery. Not that other places that I've ridden aren't beautiful, just there is something about the vast expanses of sage brush and rock which really speak to me.

We got a few audiobooks for the trip and I have to recommend "Make Love: The Bruce Campbell Way" which is read by Bruce Campbell and cast.. so it is more than just a traditional audio book. We also listened to "Ender's Game" which is just a classic, and "Bandits" read by Frank Muller. It was amazing. If you ever get a chance to snag anything read by him for a long road trip... you won't regret it.

I'll write more later.. I'm sort of hungry now.

-Later

Rain Rain Go Away

It has been raining non-stop this Friday afternoon. Most people wouldn't mind the rain, I mean it is clearing out the pollen in the air and bringing a small respite the to high humidity that has been plaguing us all summer. Me? I sort of mind it. Not the actually rain, just its choice of days to fall from the sky. Weekends are typically filled with outdoor activities for me.. what exactly? Well riding of course. Typically get in 2 nice long rides over the course of a weekend but not this weekend. Or last weekend that matter, but that was due to travel and work. I suppose I'm just pissed that I can't get out on my bike and hurt myself. I know, I'm odd.

Anyways, so in lieu of biking.. I've decided to swim and lift the last few days. Pretty good alternative right? I mean.. if you can't get outside the only options really are getting to the gym to workout inside. What about indoor cycling? I can't bring myself to do such a thing (though I'm planning on doing some trainer work over the winter at the office.. but that is different. Really, it is). So I've been lifting some weights. Let me also state that it has been over a year since I've really lifted what-so-ever.. and probably closer to 4 years since I hit weights with any regularity. So, what does all this mean?

Well at the moment I can barely stand up.. everything hurts, and I'm having a difficult time doing simple routine tasks. Attempting to extend any of my limbs fully is difficult.. I shake when I try to pour milk over cereal.. and I've found my muscles randomly twitching for no apparent reason. It is really humbling to know that my muscular strength has completely bombed, yet I can ride a bike better now than I ever have before.

So.. I'm going to go curl up in a little ball and try to ignore the fact that every time I try to stretch it makes me want to cry.

Stupid rain..

-Later

Jet Lag

So I got to take a quick trip over to Europe for about 5 days. Business travel so that was even better. Unfortunately that also means that I had to work most of the time rather than go around and see that sights. But that is cool.. did get to see a lot of the scenery as we drove from Italy to Germany.

I figured driving in Europe would be exceedingly different from driving in the US. I was wrong. Everything was roughly the same except for a lot less speed limit signs on the roads. Also, there was a distinct lack of billboards which was very nice. Got to drive through the, I guess, the Swiss Alps in the rain.. which was exciting. Also got to drive up the Ghisallo climb which is a famous bike climb sometimes in the Giro and Tour of Lombardi. I really wish I had had my bike.

Still trying to adjust back over to US time. Harder than I thought it was going to be. Waking up randomly at 3:30 in the morning and being completely ready for the day sort of sucks. Oh well.. got a lot of reading in. Speaking of which... if you want some interesting reads.. check out Jeff Lindsay. I've come to enjoy what I've read of his so far.

Ok, back to it.

-Later

bah

So I went and did it. Signed up for an Ironman.. not a wussy half like I did earlier this year, a full blown 140.6 mile race. I don't know what I'm thinking. Damn you Michael.

But to be honest, I think it will be a good accomplishment to get out of the way. I'd always hoped to get one in before I was 30, so yeah.. doing the race next year in 2009 will fulfill that goal. The registration fee was rough, the training is going to be rough, and I bet the race will be even rougher. But I'll finish (barring any significant injuries/mishaps. Those of you who knock on wood, please do so for me now). It'll be quite the experience I'm sure.

I'm also excited to see how negative and angry my posts get after a few months of training.

-Later