grown men will cry

ladies and gentlemen, this is the shelby gt500 KR. as if the gt500, with 500 horsepower weren't enough, we get the King of the Road, with 540hp and other cool stuff. well, WE don't actually get anything, unless WE are the lucky people (lucky with $46000 to spend) to snap up one of the 1000 of these puppies that will be made.

40th anniversary gt500 KR. man, this 40 stuff is going around, isn't it? 1967 must've been a gooood year.

light riding

i got around to putting a new tire and tube on the homegrown this morning. i just sort of let it hang in the garage after it let me down last week. i shouldn't say let me down, i guess. even the best tires get punctures, and i haven't given the homegrown anything more than $3 wholesale kenda's. i'll just say i was disappointed.

new tire full of air, i pedaled easily around south city and down to carondolet park. i did a few loops around, even a loop of each of the crit courses. they don't seem like much when there are not other hungry bike racers flanking you. the courses just seem like, well, like park roads, i guess. i pedaled toward home, doing a spin up the bike path at old st. marcus cemetary, lamenting the vandalized headstones and narrowly missing a geriatric walker who never heard the idea of driving right and passing left. he just walked right toward me, despite my best attempt to bury myself in the right lane. maybe he was from england. somehow i managed to stay out for an hour, which, in hindsight made me late for work. my lawyer needed some papers for the closing of mom's estate, and of course, he needed them yesterday.

i got to thinking about using a garmin gps to map my goofy rides sometimes. just to see how far out of the way i go just to hit a stretch of road i like, or a hill i enjoy. that got me thinking about wednesday, when i sold rams kicker jeff wilkins a garmin. i didn't know who he was, except he was a really nice guy and he looked to be in great shape. after he left, i thought about the name on his credit card and asked corky if he knew who jeff wilkins was. ahhhh, right. i guess i should bone up on my sports stars.

gettin' yer hairs cut

tyson and poops got hair cuts tonight. for poops, it was his first. i wasn't there, but the beautiful mrs k says it was rough. tyson likes getting his hair cut...he's starting to really pay attention to his appearance and spends time in the mirror getting his mop to cooperate. but poops...well, let's just say poops did what he does best.

they both look like little men now. there is something about a young man with a hair cut that makes him seem clean and new, even if they are only 11 months old. heck, i still think i'm a new man when i get my own hair cut.

the mrs got her hair cut, too. but unless women go for a really radical change, it's often hard to tell that it was cut. you know, women have all this hair on their heads, they "layer" it and even this out and thing that out and tease this and lay that part down. then there is always the second-guessing...maybe i should've done the "layers" that way, or done this differently, or maybe i should just get it cut really short?? or what about growing it out really long????

i think i'll just stick with "number one on the sideburns and on the back, number two up to here, and cut an inch off the top." not many stylists have gotten that wrong.

ride, ride, ride

i rode to work on tuesday, although a bit slower than monday. i wanted to take it easy, as it seems that every time i get on the bike i hit it hard. it was pretty nice, too. i didn't have to ride home, though, as the beautiful mrs k came out to pick me up.

actually, she came to work in the afternoon because my cohorts were still out of town and i needed help at the store. she manned the phones and directed people to things while i helped others. she is a lifesaver.

after the boys got back to the store today, it was time to go for a ride. peanut goes into withdrawals if he doesn't get to trash me on the bike for a few days, so i gave him the chance. really, we weren't going too hard. kyle c came with us, and we took a pretty fun route that will forever be known as the wildhorse loop. we even saw jammaster jay at babler after we looped through there. ah, evening bike rides with the boys.

wash room antics

old mags

always one to engage my eccentricities, the kaiser recently dropped off a box full of 70's car and driver magazines. myself, i started collecting them in 1984. for some reason, i have always been fascinated with the bad cars of the 70's, having ridden in my parents and of course grew up in mostly 70's cars.

the ad's are freakin' hillarious. so amature by today's standards. really, the whole magazine seems so amaturish, but that's why i'm in love with them.

the cars were bad. the magazines were bad. the ad's in the magazines were bad. why is it that i remember the 70's so fondly?

more riding

last night i took the oiz out to the 'wood for a little off-roading. the weather was stellar and the trail conditions were near perfect. i felt pretty good, although that was mostly from excitement about riding. i was tired from the party festivities and elijah's reluctance to go to sleep until 2am or so.

i ran into some old friends, as well as the kaiser. he was breaking in his new oiz, too, and we stopped and chatted a couple of times as we crossed paths. his spankin' new ghisallo jersey was easy to spot in the woods, as was mine, i guess. yellow is a good color for mtn biking.

i happen to really like that new trail. it's fun single track. i also forced myself to go down the gravel bluff trail adjacent to the lone wolf...you know, the one i go so slowly down. but, i get a charge from it, even if i ride my brakes down it like a panzy.

i rode to and from work today, too. a side benefit: when i ride my bike to work, i don't stop at mobil to get ding dongs, nor can i take an afternoon trip to get ding dongs, nor do i get to aquire ding dongs on the way home.

bike riding: the anti-ding dong activity.

sunday at the park

mrs k, elijah, hanna and i all went to the park on sunday for a little picnic. it was warm, but windy. poops was crabby, crabby, crabby. we couldn't make him happy for love or money.

mommy even made funny faces to try and cheer the little guy up. he just crabbed more. sorry, honey, i like your faces.

he was marginally happier when we took a walk by the ducks. he kept pointing at them and saying "dee!" he points and everything and says "dee!" so i didn't get too excited about him saying dee and pointing at ducks. hanna kept trying to convince me i needed to get the ducks to chase us. i told her that they might bite her, and that changed her tune.

we played a little frisbee. really, it was more like a game of "watch deanna chase the frisbee" because hanna and i haven't mastered the art of throwing a frisbee. hanna has years to learn, i've had years to learn. you figure it out.

was i surprised?

yes. i look surprised, don't i? but what about mrs k?? i asked her tonight if that shocked look she has is because she was actually able to pull off the surprise party. yes.

photo courtesy of pa zimmer, who wasn't surprised.

we were ridin', man!

the beautiful mrs k and i went riding yesterday. what a gorgeous day it was. we rode the riverfront trail and over onto the illinois side for a little bit, and rode back. we were both intrigued by the chain of rocks bridge and it's route 66 roots.

what a great ride that trail is. i know, it goes through some nasty industrial stuff, but that's what cities are. behind all the beautiful homes, skyscrapers, collisiums, stadiums, gleaming office buildings, whatever...is all that river barge castoff stuff, the salvage yards, the industry underbelly. it's cool in a strange sort of way.

it was also cool that i got my first cycling tan of the year. deanna just got more freckles on her cheeks, which i like.

another engine afterlife

i don't make this stuff up. really. but, it looks pretty cool to me. think deanna will go for it??

party

so my beautiful wife somehow planned a surprise party for me saturday night. i say somehow because she isn't the type to keep a secret. how on earth she kept it from me is a mystery, but that's what makes it so special.

hanna was there, so were:
marty and cindy
travis m
donald w
kenny g
schvonzie and jess
keith z
kevin and katie
denise and jim, and max and gus too
farrell and megan and little farrell
tammy and dan
eric and kerry
ryan and lindsey
john and jean
the entire merli clan sans salsa
dirk and katlin
todd m
craig w
furry dave
aunt joanne

and of course, ma and pa zimmer for allowing these people to wreck the house. the best surprise i've ever had.

thanks, everyone.

awwww

hanna took this picture of the little guy. he looks so sad, but he was just hot and sleepy.

surprise surprise surprise

i'll write a complete story tomorrow, but the beautiful mrs k has struck again. thanks honey, you're the best!

and thanks to all of my wonderful friends and family, who, for some reason, continue to amaze me with their love and affection.

arby's iced tea

the beautiful mrs k and i took eli with us last night for a target trip. it would've only been 64 bucks, but i got 40 dollars cash back so that the streak could continue. we were both starving, so we hit arby's on the way home. they have the best iced tea there, so we got a half gallon of it. the mrs always get the chicken salad, but i got brave last night and got the ultimate blt. mmmm, mmmm, good. i'll finish off that half gallon today, if the mrs doesn't beat me to it.

nice ride

peanut and i went for a ride last night after work. there was rain all around, but we checked the radar and threw caution to the wind. we went out our normal way, up orville and then up eatherton, left on wild horse. but we took wild horse all the way instead of staying straight and heading up ossenfort. wild horse climbs for better than a mile in camel back fashion. then we doubled back on rieger (cooool road!) to pond and then to BA past babler, up over 109 and down the twisty downhill to the flats and past the airport. it was only and hour twenty or so, but it was fun. roads weren't too bad, either.

Dad! Dad!

ok, so, got this great idea. i really really really like these ballons, ok? so what do you say, can we just say these are mine, huh, whadaya say??

rain, rain, go away

i really wanted to ride to work again today, but the radar on news channel 5 is nothing but green, green, green. green=rain=i'm not that hardcore. i'll bring my bike anyway so i can ride with peanut after work for a while.

nice rack

what do you do with that ol' v12 block when the jag e-type returns to the earth as rust and corrosion? you turn it into a wine rack, of course.

gusty winds

i rode to work on wednesday. it seemed like a crime to let such a great morning go without riding. it was a bit windy on the way there, i hit every light, and when i got to work, peanut was in the shower. ah, well. it's not a crime to stand around in your lycra, is it? well, not a big crime?

all day while i worked, i was impressed by the temperature rise. i was also impressed at the big flags standing at attention at the fire house that i can see from the front windows. that meant a windy ride home.

boy, was it. whoooosh. i took the long way home, too. seems like whatever way i turned, i was into a pretty stiff gale. at the very least, it was a great workout. i really don't want to complain about such a nice day, windy or not.

volga

car and driver did a piece on the volga a few years ago. it's a russian creation that uses much bmw running gear. i think it is absolutely stunning.

this view is my favorite. so retro, but timeless.

those dual twin tips are there for a reason. a v12 sits underhood.

HI

i'm 40 years old and this is my life.

i woke up today and figured, well, it was going to be like every other day. except, today wasn't like any other day. i'm 40 today. hanna called me before she left for school to wish me happy birthday. the beautiful mrs k and the kids sang happy birthday to me this morning. i got a flat about 6 miles from home, and just rode it home. my brother in law kevin put up new shelves in my garage. peanut bought special tk birthday cookies for us. the beautiful mrs k sent birthday ballons to me at work. my older brother actually remembered my birthday and gave me a call. we hired an incredible new person at the store who will start in about 5 weeks. mrs k made my super special sandwich for dinner.

nope. this has not been like any other day.

here it is

the trap seemed like a really good idea. i guess the leprechaun was just too smart for us this year. maybe 2008 will be our year, right kids?

a little comic relief

this photo will be in high demand when poops is old and famous. for now we can just laugh at it.

ug

"fat, slow, and stupid is no way to go through life, son."

at least i'm not stupid....

peanut and i went riding tonight and he flat out killed me. i felt like i was going to puke 10 different times. that's no fun. but, hey, i was riding, right?

tomorrow is a special day....it's the first day of spring!!!!

to catch a leprichaun

it's been impossible for me to post lately here. just too many irons in the fire. but there are some highlights...

this weekend, we had all the kids and as usual, we made the most of our time.

friday night, hanna mentioned that it was very important for us to try to catch a leprechaun. immediately, we hatched a plan and set out to bag one. we took a small box, decorated it with four leafed clovers, and set it up with a small leg to hold it up so the leprechaun can fit under it. how do we attract him? lucky charms of course. we went to the store, bought a big ol' honkin' box of them, and poured them into a little cup and put it under the box. we also bought some green french bread shaped like a snake (?) and put a piece of that under the box, too. then, we wrote a note encouraging the little varmit to eat our goods and stay a while. then we waited...

...and we all had a bowl of lucky charms ourselves. man, that stuff is good. sure enough, the kids forgot about the trap, which we had set upstairs so the dogs wouldn't eat the leprechaun's snack. we watched a little tv, goofed off a little, etc.

time for bed. i told hanna and tyson to go upstairs and brush their teeth and get jammies on.

hanna cried out "DAD! HE ATE THE FOOD!" we all rushed upstairs in excitement. sure enough, the box was flat on the ground, little cup of lucky charms empty. the kids were beside themselves with excitement. i picked up the box and our note had been scribbled on in green ink:

"SILLY KIDS! YOU CAN'T CATCH A LEPRECHAUN! THANKS FOR THE SNACKS! BYE!"

hanna wondered out loud how the little guy could've gotten by us without us knowing, saying maybe he had gotten in a window or something. sure enough, tyson's window was open! that little sneak!

it was really, really hard to get the kids to go to sleep after that.....

finally feel ok

it's been a while since i could say that i don't feel sick in some way. no cough, no cold, no nausia. great, just in time for some better weather!

that i'm missing the first race of the 2007 is an indication that things haven't gone well in my "2007 preparation campaign." i don't really feel bad about it, i just want to ride more, and ride fast. during prep '07, i didn't do much of either, so racing wasn't going to be any good anyway.

looks like the weather didn't do the mesa race at lost valley any favors, but it is at least sunny this morning, however winer-like the temps are. i'm sure there will be some new blood looking to take over the few top places that are worth getting. i'm anxious to see who the fast guys are this year. more power to them...they just better be willing to take a step back when ol' tk finally gets his act together, because i plan on winning in the future, new blood or not.

generations of riders

this is my friend brent's little boy luke. this is his first real bmx bike, and he is obviously enjoying himself. funny, i think brent was about this age when i met him, doing exactly the same thing, in 1982 or 1983.

oh, yeeeeeesssssssssss!

with my health improving and the weather doing the same, it was time to head to the trail. i knew i couldn't do a bang up job at greensfelder or even chubb, so i went to the 'wood. i figured it would be easier on the ribs.

i can't really ride easy. if i get on the bike and the weather is good and the trail is fine, it's go time. i started easy, really. then it just got harder and faster, what with the new trail there and all. i got into hopping the logs, even with the ribs. they just don't bother me much on the mountain bike like they do on the road bike.

i ended up riding for about 90 minutes, and i was toast. whew. i'm out of shape.

but i rode my bike.....

he knows no danger

usually when an animal growls and gestures toward us, we figure out that it's a warning that we're infringing upon their space. rosco has a particularly fierce deep growl, followed by a mock chomping of his choppers in the direction of the transgressor. usually that transgressor is rocky or rudy. they get the picture pretty fast and hightail it out of there.

elijah doesn't know enough to be afraid. in fact, whenever he corners rosco, he squeals with glee and laughs and laughs. he pokes his little finger in rosco's face and rosco growls even more fiercely, and sort of barks as he chomps toward eli's finger. eli doesn't even flinch, just giggles and looks around at me to make sure i see him. eventually, rosco realizes his game is up, and does some hightailing of his own. those slow little human's are barely worth the effort.

thick as theives

normally, poops is quite the daddy's boy. he likes to hang out with me when i'm around. he still loves his mommy though. most of the weekend he couldn't leave her alone. here, while the beautiful mrs k stretches for her afternoon run, poops uses the opportunity to crawl on mommy's face a little.

leisure time

mom and poops are enjoying a little quiet time here. and so is rosco. he takes any opportunity he can to jam into tight spaces. this is a little while before poops experienced his first of many explosive poops of the day. ahhh, parenthood.

photo of a photo

a guy i knew a while ago snapped this photo at castlewood late in the year in 1999. it was the final race of the year at the 'wood, just one week before the famous tour de wolf in memphis.

i was aboard the killer red schwinn homegrown, pre-enlightened. it was chilly that day, so i was wearing my famous red tights that weiss likes to make fun of so much. this was the second to last lap of the day, with noone in sight behind me. alas, i went out too hard and john rines caught me at the finish. that's ok, i caught him for the win the next weekend at tour de wolf for my biggest race win ever.

hey hey hey

can i come out to play, too?

sweet boy and his bottle

And we ruined cycling careers for this??

-this exerpt taken from today's news on cyclingnews.com-

Operación Puerto shelved?

But disciplinary proceedings against riders still possible

Spanish judge Antonio Serrano is reported to have decided to shelve the criminal proceedings against the persons accused in the so-called Operación Puerto case. Although his decision is apparently due to be official only on Monday, Spanish media published this on Friday.

The sport's biggest blood doping affair, in which Madrid doctors Eufemiano Fuentes and José Luis Merino, team directors Manolo Saiz and Ignacio Labarta, as well as former mountain biker Alberto Leon have been implicated and accused of making blood doping possible to 58 professional cyclists, may thus have no criminal consequences, as it may not come to a trial.

The main reason for this would be that the judge could not assemble enough proof to justify the accused of crimes against public health, the only penal sanction possible as the new Spanish anti-doping law - which foresees prison sentences for those encouraging the use of doping substances - came into effect only in February 2007, long after the happenings. This legal reform cannot be retroactive.

Also, according to AS, the judge took into consideration that none of the cyclists which he interrogated during the last months stated that they received this sort of medical treatment from Fuentes. All but one: Jesús Manzano did, but Serrano concluded that the "blood extraction and transfusion" he denounced could not have been the cause of his "hypothetical lesions."

Moreover, the judge concluded that the autologous blood transfusions, should they have taken place, "minimized the risk that administering another drug could have caused." As regards to the use of EPO, Serrano deemed that "the side-effects (of the drug) are not known", and the levels of EPO in the blood bags too low to put the athletes' health at risk.

Meanwhile, the prosecutors announced that they would appeal the decision, and French L'Equipe still expected a new investigation into the charges of trafficking of doping products for the accused.

On a sports-disciplinary level, the UCI may thus be able to use the investigation files soon against the riders implicated in the affair. UCI president Pat McQuaid said on Friday that he had reached an agreement with the Spanish court to hand over the files as soon as the criminal cases are over.

While certain circumstantial evidence such as telephone call recordings may not be used, the head of the world governing body of cycling declared that "if new elements of information are revealed, then we can open up the files once again. For the riders, it's not over yet."

--in other words, the legal system in spain doesn't have enough evidence to proceed (even though several riders have had career-ending allegations levied against them). yet, the uci plans to drain every bit of blood out of this one.

i still contend the doping witch hunt by over-zealous officials has done more to damage cycling than the doping itself.--

conquest

i knew what the sound was when i heard it, but i was already comfortably seated on the couch. so i did nothing. soon, i had to find out if i was right, and i was.

poops didn't eat much of his graduates meal the other night, and it was left on the edge of the dining room table. rosco a) jumped up to the edge and knocked it off the table or b) jumped up onto the chair, then was able to access the table top.

whatever the case was, he certainly did enjoy eli's leftovers.

sooo sleeeeepy

that formula will put him to sleep every time.

right about the time

i started getting excited about the 2007 race season, it's over. there just isn't any way i can race in the next 4 to 6 weeks because of the ribs. add that to the frustration of yet another set back, and i feel like i should wait for 2008.

this may sound premature to some, but i'm tired. i'm tired of fighting circumstance. let's see...

july 2004, crash into tree, break 8 ribs, my scapula, and a 2nd degree shoulder separation.

december 2004, stupid crash at greensfelder, broken leg.

january 2005, hurt back, mom died, started dealings with mom's estate, issues with family.

planned for wedding, got married, bought new house, started renovating mom's house in 2005.

2006, poops was born, worked on mom's house, got new job, had breathing issues.

2007, still breathing issues, pneumonia, broken ribs, poops still not sleeping full nights...

i know, it's all whining on my part. lots of people do lots more than i do and still have time to excel in sports. i guess i'm just not equipped to do it all. i suppose i don't get the most out of my riding when i'm stressed, and that stresses me more. it's a downward spiral that just gets worse. i want to be happy guy when i come home to the family, not stressed guy. i think they deserve more than that from me.

that's ok. i look at guys like paul krewet, john matthews, steve caspar. russ murphy...all older than me, and all have taken time away and still they amaze me with their abilities. hell, dan schmatz was out of racing for years before he began to race on the road in 2001. look at him now. for some reason, i have always felt that if i gave in and quit for a season, i'd never come back. that was childish thinking. more adult thinking would say that i don't want to keep racing when i'm not able to do well. this situation might make me hate it. i hated bmx racing when i quit. funny thing was, as soon as i quit trying to be good at it, it became more fun.

right now, i love riding and racing. i want to keep it that way. i don't have to win, but i need be able to be as good as i can be or it's not satisfying. i don't mean putting my family and work aside and training like a college kid, but putting in dedicated miles and following my legendary training schedules, which i haven't done for years.

i'm sure there is another 28 years of racing waiting for me on the other side of 2007, and consequently, another 28 years of complaining about it.

uuugh

i was right. i do have a broken rib, i assume from coughing so much. it has been six weeks since i started coughing, so i guess stress fractures can happen after that much abuse.

why do i keep coughing? walking pnumonia, i suppose. being a regular at the walgreen's pharmacy, they greeted me with enthusiasm and another round of antibiotics. now, not only do i feel like crap from the pnumonia and the coughing, but i feel like crap from the medicine.

physically, i could use a break right now. i'm not sure i have put together 4 months of health and riding in the last 3 years, starting with my accident at castlewood in 2004. seems like there is some sort of curse i have going.

dog in a basket

laundry basket from bed, bath, and beyond: $6

full load of dry cleaning: $37.50

finding a special place to lay: priceless

painful to ride

i'm just in the worst of all possible condition. i can't shake my cough, i think i have a broken rib from coughing so much. my side is so sore i can hardly lift myself up from a lying down position. i can hardly breathe with all the junk in my lungs...i really do feel like i'm 40. no, 65, like it's time to retire.

i rode with GC yesterday after work. 59 degrees sure doesn't feel like 59 degrees when the wind is blowing. duh! we did a couple loops of the valley for an hour and called it a night. i was so happy to be done. somehow, i feel like it's been so long since i have enjoyed riding..

riding the trainer while coughing

i did ride the trainer both saturday and sunday morn. i didn't feel bad, just hacked and coughed a LOT. but, i do feel like i'll be doing well when my lungs clear up. i plan on riding every day this week, and doing sylvan springs on saturday. i may not do well, but i'm ready to race and i don't care anymore. win or lose, i'm racing as long as it's fun (and i don't cough myself into a free lap!)

weekend happenings

we had all the kids this weekend, which means go, go, go. hanna and tyson went to a birthday party saturday at one of those 'fun' places. bounce u, they call it. that's where the kids get to go crazy for 90 minutes, then get cake and icecream and give the birthday kid presents. what a great concept. somebody better be making a mint off that idea, i tell ya.

after that, we tried to go see a movie, but it seems there isn't much out right now for kids. so we cruised home and got a couple movies on demand. brilliant technology, except all movies aren't available at all times. what's up with that? it's just as well, because poops was a bit of a terror and the weather was abissmal outside. we watched monster house and how to eat fried worms, which was a great movie. for the kids, i mean. alright, mrs k and i really liked it, too.

sunday was church time, cici's pizza, more games at home, taking hanna home...weekends never really stop for us. through it all, i feel bad because poops just gets dragged around in the car and he gets crabbier and crabbier. we really want the older kids to have fun, though. we can't just sit around and wait for poops to be old enough to play along.

ouch, doesn't that hurt??

grandpa sent us this photo of poops sleeping in his pack n play. they find the funniest positions to sleep in, don't they?

maybe it's finally over

after an early meeting with schlama lama ding dong, our orbea rep, i bid the boys at work a farewell so i could go to the doctor. my famous cough has lingered for 4 weeks and has morphed into a deep bronchial thing. i coughed so hard yesterday that i feel that i have broken a rib. i'm sore, i'm coughing like crazy, i need some relief.

the doc had me get xrays to make sure i didn't have some funky lung disease, and to check for any broken ribs. she also gave me some heavy duty prescription cough stuff. i think it's working so far. i'm so used to coughing, though, any relief feels like i'm a new man, so we'll see if it pans out in a few days.

when i was 10 or 11 years old, i coughed so bad for so long i was put into the hospital. they did some lung tests and all kinds of stuff. i remember getting fudge ice cream bars out of the refridgerator at the nurses station. and some kid next to me in my room who was in for rhumatoid arthritis who cried all night long. made my cough seem like not such a big deal...

good thing we got a new bed

i waited around the house thursday morning for the delivery guys to drop off our new bed. the beautiful mrs k and i have been sleeping on a 10 year old bed. it sags in the middle and it creaks and squeaks and makes our backs hurt.

of course, the morning rains came the moment the truck pulled up. but, they were in and out in a flash. mmm, that new bed smell.

by the time i straightened up the house a bit, the sun came out and the outside temp read 66 degrees. whooo, i'm riding to work! i suited up and headed out, short sleeves and knee warmers were my only cold weather gear, and it felt awesome.

awesome was premature. it was breezy when i rolled through kirkwood. it was windy when i cross over 270. it was dangerously windy when i plodded up big bend road from dougherty ferry. i couldn't believe how quick the wind kicked up. there were moments where, on flat ground, i was standing up pedaling and doing only 8 or 9 miles per hour. i kept criss crossing through balwin and manchester to keep out of the direct frontal assault from the wind. it was no use. i had never ridden in such a wind. i had to slow to a crawl going down valley road because the wind was ripping across the road and i could not hold the line if i crept past 15mph or so. there were trees and branches down all over.

it took an extra 20 minutes to make it to work. i was exhausted. although riding home with the wind to my back would've made for an amusing ride, i opted to hitch a ride home with mrs k and the boys. we stopped at IHOP and ate breakfast food for dinner. when we settled the boys in bed, we were very excited to hop into our new bed.

i slept pretty good, thank you.

riding is hard

yesterday, i wanted to ride to work, but the weather was so iffy in the morning i missed my window. by the time i was ready to leave, i made the decision to bring my road bike and gear with me so i could ride after work.

that turned out to be a great idea. the weather had improved a ton by closing time, and anthony had the same thoughts as me! we both suited up as fast as we could so we could make the loop in time and beat the fading light.

my cough is still here, and i'm having such trouble breathing, but it felt so nice to ride in warmer air. GC and i really hit it pretty hard, not so much because we wanted to, but because it was a nice night. he has really improved under the watchful eyes of dan s. i actually spent some time BEHIND him instead of pulling him around, and that was cool. we were both wasted when we finished, and i coughed and coughed but it was worth it.

Another Blog of Note

Ghisallo Daily News is a blog that i help write, hopefully on a daily basis, from work. we thought we'd let people know what's going on, what kind of cool stuff we get, what's on sale, etc.

Ghisallo Daily News!