tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36667718118965603072024-03-13T23:50:25.730-04:00Christopher MichaelsChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04599339832985689664noreply@blogger.comBlogger119125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666771811896560307.post-72929647958538726182023-06-02T23:36:00.003-04:002023-06-02T23:42:17.498-04:00Depression GlassThe other night I was on a ride and saw something I hadn't seen in quite some time: Depression Glass. I was riding around a retirement community so it made sense, but in the quiet of the evening with those blue, green, and clear vessels of various shapes and sizes I paused for a moment. <div><br /></div><div> Growing up and delivering the Buffalo News from about 1999-2002 I had so many customers who were born in the 1910-1925 range. Many of them had stories to tell about life before the War, the early days of the neighborhood I grew up in, where many houses were built shortly after the WW2.
The half of the Village we lived in was the 'new' side. With Cape Cod homes in 5 or so shapes and occasional outlier houses built after 1960. </div><div><br /></div><div>So around the turn of the Millennium I probably had 30% or so of my customers in that 75-90 age range.
All of these folks had lived through the Depression and more than a few had these little reminders of that time in their windows. I now wonder if they kept them with fond memories of the past or if they were just more trinkets left over like so many things in their homes from a time long gone, little echoes.</div><div><br /></div><div> I would say I'm romanticizing the whole thing, painting a young and optimistic suburban life in my head but then I saw them in that window the other night. So they meant enough for those people to take them to their retirement home. Do they look at them and think of saving the coupons needed to trade in for the glass? Helping a parent out, a little chore?</div><div><br /></div><div> I really enjoyed my interactions with so many of the people on my route back then. I heard so many stories and perspectives. At 13 years old so many people would just tell me wild stuff. Opinions they probably wouldn't share with too many, but then again there were a lot of lonely people who had a spouse die years ago. So in an evening I could go from hearing a story about how a woman's brother and father died in the Pacific, and she knew it wasn't right but still didn't like 'Asian' people (Her words, the nuance of the Pacific theatre was either lost or She just didn't see a difference), to throwing snowballs at cars or whatever the flavor of mayhem was that season with my friends and I. </div><div><br /></div><div> All of that makes me wonder: in a world with more and more stuff, things to buy, consume, be inundated with, I don't really think anything like the Depression Glass exists anymore. I'm not sure that's good, bad, or doesn't matter at all.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgorb-MShL7GWcvE87PX3ZlQaByONxA_eAfpWuohJlRVQ1XPNozKcxB_nd7rFGWodYySA1c2BXseUEONQO921uj2Cvh6qtc8uL8vQt7Qo2_1ebAWAZBix0NGoOmZ9vbyCFTfVZTRnEcRT5xkoB5Rcht895XHA8_YpkAndTBeCUPamgLlvDjQa82v902/s320/Plainville%20Flea%20Market%20030.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="240" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgorb-MShL7GWcvE87PX3ZlQaByONxA_eAfpWuohJlRVQ1XPNozKcxB_nd7rFGWodYySA1c2BXseUEONQO921uj2Cvh6qtc8uL8vQt7Qo2_1ebAWAZBix0NGoOmZ9vbyCFTfVZTRnEcRT5xkoB5Rcht895XHA8_YpkAndTBeCUPamgLlvDjQa82v902/s400/Plainville%20Flea%20Market%20030.JPG" /></a></div></div>Chris Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393544911097016276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666771811896560307.post-78107436084580545652023-03-27T18:13:00.006-04:002023-03-27T18:23:26.480-04:00Wireless Phone Jacks and Internet Access <p> My family was probably about average nationally as far as getting a computer and then internet, but around where I grew up we were behind. My parents weren't into computers or tech stuff, and we didn't have a lot of money or a need for a PC, so the first time we got one it was an old model from my dad's work they were getting rid of and he could take for free. </p><p>It was one of those monitor on top of the box type that were so common in workplaces in the 90s. A sort of tan color. Boring, unable to offend anyone it seemed. It was put on an old desk in the alcove of my parent's room. No internet. I played some games I was able to get my hands on and load up. A <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chex_Quest" target="_blank">Chex Quest </a>game with an AOL 3.0 trial I had saved for many years in anticipation of this moment, the Amazon trail (on like 8 3.5 'floppy' disks) and some others I had come across. Chex Quest was actually a decent game built off of the 'Doom' Engine.</p><p>The computer had no sound card, a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentium_(original)" target="_blank">Pentium 1</a> that was able to muster 90mhz of processing power, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_95" target="_blank">Windows 95</a> and about 4mb of ram or so. I played a trial of the<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petz" target="_blank"> Catz video game</a> (where you took care of a virtual cat, a fancy version of a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamagotchi" target="_blank">Tamagotchi</a>). We didn't have a cat so this had to do. I did have an external modem running <br />28.8kbps and used this in a modem to modem connection with my friend to play <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bomberman_(1990_video_game)" target="_blank">Bomberman</a>, which was super awesome because we were playing each other from the other side of the block, and because Bomberman.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghkzKiC5DKZ27dF62Bgd3dybV40eQwsxA7Vfepyl48oG08V0fM40Jk19j70Z7msCsWrR5cWuna03MrUscWvww2K5UHYAASZsAEFJTtFc1ThzJ1UbM1lAKMIYd1NznjUh3-ZYCKpjkxNAt2Sn8O3c8hmr1m77eIhY5ut8_JnwEVWpEmvGUnBI20gy3-/s500/modem.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghkzKiC5DKZ27dF62Bgd3dybV40eQwsxA7Vfepyl48oG08V0fM40Jk19j70Z7msCsWrR5cWuna03MrUscWvww2K5UHYAASZsAEFJTtFc1ThzJ1UbM1lAKMIYd1NznjUh3-ZYCKpjkxNAt2Sn8O3c8hmr1m77eIhY5ut8_JnwEVWpEmvGUnBI20gy3-/s320/modem.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The U.S. Robotics modem we had. You had to switch it on.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>My parents eventually caved to the pressure to get internet and the world expanded from there. This was around the time of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napster" target="_blank">Napster</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LimeWire" target="_blank">Limewire</a>. My dad was so worried about getting sued for downloading music I was more than banned from these programs. There was a lot in the news as the record companies were panicked and wanted to make an example of some people who downloaded music. My parents didn't understand or care that the targets of these lawsuits were downloading a lot over broadband connections, it wasn't worth the risk to them of course.</p><p>So this obviously made me have to cover my tracks on the shared computer while I downloaded songs so slowly over out 28.8 connection. I want to say the average song took 5 minutes or so at the normal 128kbps mp3 quality you would commonly see on Limewire. Downloading songs from Blink 182 and the mis-attributed 'Half the Man I Used To Be' which was 'Creep' by Stone Temple Pilots but always under 'Nirvana'. We also had one phone line so the risk of having to disconnect of losing the connection if someone picked up the phone was high. I had to sneak the downloads, save them to a floppy (no CD burner yet), then get them onto another drive somehow. Remember, the computer had no sound and even if it did, the music would have raised suspicions. I then would hide or delete the program from the computer until next time. </p><p>This brings me to the inspiration for this post. I bought a Texas Instruments (TI) laptop from a friend. It was about the same speed as the computer my parents had but it had sound and a 56k modem card. I was now free to tear around the internet as I pleased for better or for worse! Still limited by the internet connection and the phone jacks in the house I was determined to find a solution.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVxN7TQEru23hUkbjhDTfMXz_DP9acJt8Xd2h_F0g2pfStFDQoVccabhuvGqH3zIf2KHTrbzAddM6C44NHDWxrpa5JM89Pq_Wv3N0cwZ8fbkLuk5FihXWh5p6iCuNB4oNkTsdhwJGhodFkRHVkvbGUG7IOosMSawIa06ZrJc0y73FmMdz5qD9FBTwp/s1280/texas-instrument-extensa-570cd-pentium-100-mhz-laptop-computer-as-is-5.18__53949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVxN7TQEru23hUkbjhDTfMXz_DP9acJt8Xd2h_F0g2pfStFDQoVccabhuvGqH3zIf2KHTrbzAddM6C44NHDWxrpa5JM89Pq_Wv3N0cwZ8fbkLuk5FihXWh5p6iCuNB4oNkTsdhwJGhodFkRHVkvbGUG7IOosMSawIa06ZrJc0y73FmMdz5qD9FBTwp/s320/texas-instrument-extensa-570cd-pentium-100-mhz-laptop-computer-as-is-5.18__53949.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Computer.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>This came in the form of the wireless phone jack. Using the phone jack in my parents room, I could broadcast the signal over to my own and use the phone line late at night when there would be no risk of the phone being picked up, or anyone wanting the line. I wouldn't have known of it's existence but I saw one at the Rite Aid 4 blocks from our house. It wasn't cheap for me, about $60 if I recall, maybe on sale for $40. Still a weeks worth about of newspaper delivery. </p><p>I bought the unit (I think very similar to this Phillips pictured). My recollection is that it did work but my parents were suspicious (rightly so this time) of the big white thing plugged into their wall under the phone in their room and I ended up returning it. My solution ended up being a long phone cord that I could plug into my laptop and they weren't interested in my computer so I was basically still able to download song indiscriminately. </p><p>I also don't exactly remember how I listened to those songs off of the TI. It had no USB, and MP3 players were barely a thing. I think for abut two years I could only listen to those songs on tiny, tinny sounding laptop speakers, but that was amazing enough.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA8Re-T-XXbYZxbToMmtuuPY6ytns10eN5bcFplqaJFjeMxJ_FTWWAZNTep_vouDxTB8jMEDSG4U3A8tXi5vYKj2UCcVvHJqU1vsxMq-sfi3n6CQzJX9bIrNzdExrSPrIZvLXxAyA7kneA7gdT1A-9ywPLQ142TFbJWvALwXK0_hA2_atGEzqUXLwy/s1600/phone.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA8Re-T-XXbYZxbToMmtuuPY6ytns10eN5bcFplqaJFjeMxJ_FTWWAZNTep_vouDxTB8jMEDSG4U3A8tXi5vYKj2UCcVvHJqU1vsxMq-sfi3n6CQzJX9bIrNzdExrSPrIZvLXxAyA7kneA7gdT1A-9ywPLQ142TFbJWvALwXK0_hA2_atGEzqUXLwy/s320/phone.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Chris Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393544911097016276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666771811896560307.post-40112714248515956372023-03-27T17:21:00.003-04:002023-03-27T17:21:48.656-04:00Newton's AppleAs I assume most of us do, I often find myself thinking and reflecting on life, experiences, things that make a time or place feel a certain way. I'm going to start using this as a place to record those thoughts, even if it's just me reading them.<div><br /></div><div>Today some part of that past crept into my mind in the form of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Newton" target="_blank">Apple Emate Newton</a>. We used these in middle school which for me was from 1998-2001. Starting in 6th grade, a teacher would roll a cart full of these durable, translucent plastic things into the room (I had first period math class, where they were most used in my case) and we used them to do things we could have otherwise done on paper. </div><div><br /></div><div>But they were <i>novel. </i>Heavy for their size and very sturdy feeling. They had a display that was lcd with a glowing backlight similar to my <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiglo" target="_blank">Timex Indiglo</a> and a stylus that could be used to draw numbers and letters. You could draw a character and it would turn it into the number or letter you wrote out. Pretty interesting stuff for it's time. A favorite feature of us kids was to 'x' something out which made the x'd out thing explode on the little screen. They had the ability to talk to each other with an IR port as well, like a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_Boy_Color" target="_blank">Gameboy Color</a>. That must have been all the rage for simple data transfer in the late 90s, and it is still pretty cool.</div><div><br /></div><div>We used a tip of the iceberg's worth of features on those Newtons but just interfacing with something like those contributed to us being able to use technology better as a whole that the generation before us. We definitely were right on the precipice of the tech we use today in the late 90s.</div><div><br /></div><div>The novelty of things like these was so great back then. I remember being super interested in a type of texting walkie talkie. The idea of talking to a friend in another class covertly was incredible. I think they claimed a 500ft range! I never got one of them, but having a phone you could text on wasn't even a thought to us in 1998. A quick search tells me these were probably the Cybergear text messenger, if you're interested.</div><div>I couldn't find much on them.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7zxdSa5LtlHkXmRbNWtgKeseplhvkcYP50pyZC5E_r4-50Rgu2t8vfFV9yscjwDnlBT_ZCzv53U9qx3xoIulUKsVJE_I-RRUr37nPWb1sqemt1dkiRwZYnX3Sn_xUEdKjJIZDf7IlKNuX13mmaAB7dydTZL2sbzGzbgFWVrYP4dEFedwPws5klus7/s1600/cybergear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7zxdSa5LtlHkXmRbNWtgKeseplhvkcYP50pyZC5E_r4-50Rgu2t8vfFV9yscjwDnlBT_ZCzv53U9qx3xoIulUKsVJE_I-RRUr37nPWb1sqemt1dkiRwZYnX3Sn_xUEdKjJIZDf7IlKNuX13mmaAB7dydTZL2sbzGzbgFWVrYP4dEFedwPws5klus7/s320/cybergear.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii5BmPg8AQxRnwvsB4ZYc0hNXv26Qi0uEyGlmfpvSLwiri5WLvxg994ItLeq5-1zAW5B05uw4urkr2QPb54UyBmgyp_uGA-6RQcrnjGnaazWVZb8_GWYh1yqX3IgKqU6QfAcaEtg3qCdxG01OrJNr-qY662xTP6mhAdnM9M_nNErORvXr2OgdJGokL/s1500/newton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii5BmPg8AQxRnwvsB4ZYc0hNXv26Qi0uEyGlmfpvSLwiri5WLvxg994ItLeq5-1zAW5B05uw4urkr2QPb54UyBmgyp_uGA-6RQcrnjGnaazWVZb8_GWYh1yqX3IgKqU6QfAcaEtg3qCdxG01OrJNr-qY662xTP6mhAdnM9M_nNErORvXr2OgdJGokL/s320/newton.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Exactly as I remembered.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div>Chris Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393544911097016276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666771811896560307.post-71888409755757458332020-04-24T05:20:00.000-04:002020-04-24T05:25:30.722-04:00Post Surgery 8 Weeks- Jumping Into Riding and SuncoastI don't take too many pictures. Every time I get on social media I realize this, although I don't think about it to much. Kelly takes enough pictures, (especially of the cat) for both of us. It only seems to be a problem when thinking about posting something here, occasionally on the social media. People dig pictures.<br />
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Finding my groove over the last 8 weeks hasn't been particularly bad or difficult. The weather has been ok and my recovery has been mostly as expected according to everything I had read. Some difficulty swallowing, liquid especially. But it seems to be getting gradually better, along with my habits changing to reflect how this thing works.<br />
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My focus has shifted to riding, trying to get used to big rides, resting enough but pushing that edge to hasten gainz bro. It makes me feel old- I bought my first CD as Suncoast:<br />
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My friends and I decided we were to go hang at the mall like adults, or something. Someone had the idea to start the evening at the Olive Garden. Real fancy like. Post dinner, fueled by chicken parm and endless breadsticks we pointed our (banned) laser pointers towards the mall across the parking lot and followed to get into whatever kids do at the mall.<br />
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Going to the mall unsupervised at 13 was a pretty good time. Plenty of other kids in your age range and if your money is green they treat you (almost) the same as an adult.<br />
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But what is interesting at the mall for 13 year old kids? The weird karate(?) studio that sold janky katanas for one. I never grew out of toys so KB of course, Pokemon cards wherever they might be found, and the Suncoast store. So. Many. CDs. "Parental Advisory: Explicit Content". If there was ever a question if lawmakers are out of touch, this should be it. Maybe it's just because they're subject to public opinion, but that label is certainly not a deterrent, you <i>had</i> to have the label.<br />
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People who drink diet pop are the same who buy edited cds. I can hear their thoughts now: "It's just like the real thing, but it will make me healthier" as they watch 'Real Housewives' and eat the Little Debra Zebra Cakes.<br />
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Anyway, that's how I bought the Marshall Mathers LP in 2000. Pretty sick, like pointing a laser pointer at the back of the mall guard's head.<br />
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<br />Chris Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393544911097016276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666771811896560307.post-43670295479621001202020-03-05T23:03:00.003-05:002020-03-05T23:05:20.293-05:00Linx Procedure and Experiences 2 weeks post.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In my previous post, I described my time with the Bravo device and barium swallow. About a week after the results, I went in for surgery to get the Linx device 'installed'.<br />
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I was first case of the day, which was great to get the surgery over as early as possible for me! It's a laparoscopic surgery. I had 5 holes in my abdomen. 4 probably had 5mm trocars, and one bigger, 12mm (probably). the surgeon and team inflate ones abdomen to make some room, then place the trocars, and the whole surgery is done through those holes! Pretty wild. It took the team about 1.5 hours to get everything done, and the Linx placed.<br />
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I was told that some tissue is trimmed around the diaphragm to see if there is any significant gap where the esophagus passes through the diaphragm, or any other anomalies can be seen, then the esophagus is sized, and the Linx is appropriately sized.<br />
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An overnight stay in the hospital is normal, I was eating soft foods and drinking soon after to ensure everything worked properly and get the ball rolling. The surgery left me with a good deal of pain, and I needed some pain relief through the night. It wasn't a terrible stay. My friends and Kelly hung out at different times, and the nurses took good care of me through the night.<br />
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The next morning the my doctor. (Dr. Garwood) came to check in on me and I was set to go. I was prescribed some codeine, ibuprofen, anti-nausea, and a laxative. They were all liquid. i ended up just using the ibuprofen.<br />
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The following week was full of a good bit of pain. I went back to work 4 days post surgery. Eating every two hours or so was probably the biggest challenge with food and drink aggravating my esophagus as it struggled to get things going properly. Two weeks in, I am a bit better off, have learned how to ease into eating and drinking. Once things are going well, I can actually drink and eat alost normally. There is still some pain and fatigue, but I am already riding my bike more and think the Linx is suppressing acid/bile reflux. Every day seems a bit better.<br />
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ChrisChris Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393544911097016276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666771811896560307.post-45508187557181294742020-02-17T23:31:00.001-05:002020-02-17T23:31:45.271-05:00Bravo?A large part of reactivating this was to share my Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EOE) story. Everyone is an expert with the advent of the internet of course, but I've been reading any proper studies and reports I can find about EOE since it started affecting my life so much. Because of the pain I struggle with, I believe my EOE to be caused in part by acid infiltration in the esophagus. There are studies to support this so it's more than just a hunch. I have been largely avoiding foods that I think are triggers for my EOE, but even on a strict elimination diet the pain persisted, and seemed to be caused by 'classic' gerd foods, and foods with a low chance of being allergenic to me.<br />
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It also happens that a friend and customer at the shop is a surgeon who does a procedure with a device called Linx which I had found as a solution to reflux that isn't controlled well by drugs or diet (potentially me). It took some time, switching insurance for 2020, but I've undergone a series of tests to vet me for this procedure.<br />
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The first was esophageal mamnometry, a copper snake that is fed down your nose and past your epiglottis into your stomach, then one swallows gulps of water and the snake senses the peristalsis to give a read on your overall muscular contractions. This can find many things but in me wasn't super conclusive, but not bad data either. The next was a test for reflux. There are two ways to do this test as I understand. There is a snake type probe that also goes through the nose and into the stomach, it's much smaller in diameter than the mamnometry probe, but stays in for 24 hours. I tried this but couldn't tolerate it well. The second method is a little probe called Bravo. It's stuck onto the esophagus and wirelessly speaks to a receiver unit kept on your person. This was a great solution, especially as I really needed to get another endoscopy (EGD) to see what things looked like in there and test the amount of eosinophils in my lower esophagus. Last time it was checked back in 2018 was also when my esophagus was dilated and the count was more than 100 per field (pretty high). Normal is less than 10 and really closer to zero than 10. I had been taking some compounded oral Budesonide which is one of the proven ways to lower counts, but was still having pain.<br />
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As I write this I still have the Bravo device in (it falls off after a few days) and tomorrow I will return the transmitter so data can be retrieved. I am also waiting for the biopsies to come back with eos counts. If the counts are still high this doesn't necessarily mean that I am not a candidate for the Linx, but if the counts are low it suggests that something other than EOE is causing my pain, which is my preference to be more sure that the Linx will help. That, and reflux-y data from the Bravo. A slight problem is that in the few days with the Bravo my pain hasn't been bad even though I'm really trying to mimic pain inducing behavior. We'll see.<br />
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Tomorrow I am also getting a Barium swallow test to make sure the muscular contractions in my esophagus are enough to open the Linx, which is essentially a magnetic candy necklace-looking thing that is put around the esophagus.<br />
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I have some great adventures that I have been pushing back and back as this condition has been limiting me so getting the ball rolling has been exciting. More about that next time.<br />
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Chris Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393544911097016276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666771811896560307.post-29188388204054925562020-02-03T01:03:00.001-05:002020-02-03T01:03:15.108-05:00ReactivatedI forgot this existed. I stopped doing this years ago because part of me felt it was too narcissistic, I couldn't say what I really felt how I wanted, or maybe because I just wasn't into it.<br />
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The last real posting here was 2011- a few things have changed since then. For new readers, I raced a lot (see the schedule a few posts back) in 2011. After getting burned out mentally and financially 2012 and beyond was full of ups and downs. Riding for fun, actually getting faster through riding on my own terms, and choosing races I really enjoyed. Strava became a thing, and fitted my riding style of going for big rides and trying to go fast on the climbs.<br />
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For about a decade I experienced some gi issues. Food getting stuck in my esophagus from time to time, pain at different times that I couldn't necessarily correlate to certain foods. It didn't really seem that big of a deal, I missed some events due to it. Weddings, rides, etc. But it wasn't that frequently. In winter of 2018 it got really bad and I had to get my esophagus dilated so food didn't get stuck in my esophagus. I found out I have a condition called Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EOE). It's basically where one's esophagus is allergic to certain foods and becomes inflamed/creates scar tissue over time with exposure.<br />
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So life became interesting all of a sudden. I didn't race my bike once in 2019, a first for me since 2000. Kind of weird. being dogged by weird pain at odd times and most of the time really took the wind out of my sails. Seeing different specialists, trying to pay for medicine that didn't help of I couldn't really afford to try, then becoming desperate and going for it. It's not totally debilitating but it can be bad at times and really sapped my motivation to get going, which is difficult for me to summon as it is.<br />
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Life is good too, Kelly and I were able to buy a house in late 2018, we run the shop, Rocktown Bicycles together and have great friends and customers we love to see and work with, and generally have it good. I have been able to get the EOE under control more or less and am still pursuing solutions in that department.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoJZLU5OYq1ux0S1BNR_yFxteVFEbODv5P_9nrHL3fEaXJ9ZydNFKfHXBazG-qqmW4o8sM1Q2fvA8HPsvTk1MCefKzziD5bR9_hOdt3Pka7ty4yltarOV3NInUHfAfp7ROdgBcOtavNTE/s1600/Resized_20191208_133025_6824.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoJZLU5OYq1ux0S1BNR_yFxteVFEbODv5P_9nrHL3fEaXJ9ZydNFKfHXBazG-qqmW4o8sM1Q2fvA8HPsvTk1MCefKzziD5bR9_hOdt3Pka7ty4yltarOV3NInUHfAfp7ROdgBcOtavNTE/s320/Resized_20191208_133025_6824.jpg" width="320" /></a>I have some new and big goals for 2020. After feeling like I lost a good year of my life I want to turn this into motivation on the bike. Being 32 also feels like some pressure is on to stay in shape. I will be posting whatever I want, more EOE stuff, bike stuff, car stuff, toy stuff. Sometimes it will be cross posted to the Rocktown blog if it's bike stuff.Chris Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01393544911097016276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666771811896560307.post-7225840625928157062012-03-01T07:16:00.002-05:002012-03-01T07:19:36.949-05:00No updates.Stopped updating last year but I feel an explanation is needed. I might write here again someday, but I didn't have the motivation to put the effort into this that was needed to make a quality site, and It was intended for family mostly, but everyone is one the Facebook these days.<br /><br /> That is all!Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04599339832985689664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666771811896560307.post-63260222422187332532011-04-06T08:40:00.000-04:002011-04-06T08:47:47.549-04:00Tsali NC aka SERC #2After a week of not working due to being a bit sick, i headed down to the second SERC race with the team. having high hopes considering all the rest i had, i figured it was a safe bet i was faster than everyone else, because surely they had been riding all week and would be ultra tired.<br /><br />There was a time trial on Saturday, which went pretty well, i ended up 5th or so, and Robert took the win. The XC race on Sunday consisted of two large loops on trails around Fontana lake. The trails there are super fast, and even with some climbing, the average speed was around 16mph, i still am adjusting to going into corners at 20mph, but that is another story.<br /><br />Robert ended up in 2nd place as Thomas Turner got away from everyone early and soloed to the win, i ended up in the teens, feeling the effects of what i like to call 'rest over extension'<br /><br />Clay from American Classic was there with some wheels and goodies for people to check out and the turnout was really strong.<br /><br />I'm still getting over being sick and about to finish my medicine. Hopefully i can bounce back in time for Sea Otter, which is about a week away!Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04599339832985689664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666771811896560307.post-21149388252572532052011-03-24T09:00:00.000-04:002011-03-24T09:15:23.073-04:00Angler's Ridge, and SERC # 1 in FLSo the season is REALLY here, like jumping into cold water it hit me a few weeks back in Danville, VA.<br /><br />Not to get all play by play, but the race started with crashing over a guy who fell 15 feet from the start and chasing the rest of the field that got in front of me, which i don't mind if it had to be that way but i ran into some serious back cramp issues on lap 3 that somewhat ruined a promising finish. Lessons have been learned and equally serious core and stretching routines have been implemented.<br /><br />The trip to Gainsville, FL and back was super fun with the team, and the venue for was cool too, set in an old phosphate quarry (so I'm told) As Robert said, the way to make hills in Florida is to dig holes haha!<br /><br /> The landscape of Florida is so interesting coming from the mountains. I rely so much on the mountains for navigation almost every day and that obviously isn't possible down there. Spanish moss and huge Garter snakes abound, as i had to push one of them (snakes) off the trail with a stick.<br /><br />From the gun at the race i felt sluggish in the hot sun, but i pushed hard through the heat the whole race and can say i went as hard as i could have on that day. The hardtail felt great and Those Florida guys are fit this time of year!<br /><br />Now i am officially acclimated to the heat, surely useful in Virginia where it is currently 45 degrees!Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04599339832985689664noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666771811896560307.post-66077661907788687632011-03-07T21:27:00.000-05:002011-03-07T21:42:11.377-05:00Schedule!March 13 Anglers Ridge, Danville, VA<br />March 20 SERC #1 Gainsville, FL<br />March 27 Southern Classic Uwharrie, NC<br />April 2, 3 SERC #2 Bryson city, NC<br />April 14-17 Sea Otter Classic Montery, CA<br />April 30th Cohutta 100 Ducktown, TN<br />May 1 SERC #4 Winder, GA<br />May 14th Syllamo's revenge NUE, Mountain View, AR<br />May 15th SERC #5 Ducktown, TN<br />May 22 Southern Classic, Charlotte, NC<br />May 29th SERC #6, Jackson, GA<br />June 4th Mohican 100, Loudonville, OH<br />June 5th Massanutten Hoo Ha, Harrisonburg, VA????<br />June 12th SERC #7, Chattanooga, TN<br />June 18th, Lumberjack 100, Welliston, MI<br />June 26th SERC #8, Clemson, SC<br />July 10th, SERC #9 Huntsville, AL<br />July 14-17th USA Nationals, Sun Valley, ID<br />July 30th, Wilderness 101, Coburn, PA<br />August 6-7 SERC finals, Fontana, NC<br />August 14th, Southern Classic, Greensboro, NC<br />August 20th, fools Gold 100, Delonoga, GA<br />August 21, Southern classic, Wilksboro, NC<br />September 4th, Shenandoah 100, Harrisonburg, VA<br />September 11th, Michaux Final??!!!<br />Pisgah stage race??<br /><br />There could be more, less misspellings or substitutions, but this should be the general gist of it.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04599339832985689664noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666771811896560307.post-20674290916078939762011-02-25T08:49:00.000-05:002011-03-07T21:22:57.678-05:00After cyclocross ended in late January, the team headed to Charlotte, NC for the winter short track series. They were fast, fun and extremely well organized! It took a little time to get used to a 21lb hardtail with 1.8 inch tires on it again. Nothing like a 17mph mtb race to give you the snap!<br /><br />Poor weather conditions abound here in Virginia, but nothing compared to Buffalo. Racing season starts for real in two weeks down in Gainsville, Fl for the first SERC race!<br /><br />Come on Spring!<br /><br />Schedule is up!Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04599339832985689664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666771811896560307.post-30256918397154402772011-01-10T19:54:00.000-05:002011-01-24T19:26:18.884-05:00New Year, Aspirations.....Obligatory 2011 Post?Yes! 2011 and a big gap between writing anything here. The fall and early winter has been full or long rides and sparse racing. That is, until 2011 hit me in the face with double cyclocross weekends! I've been gone for the last few weeks racing with the team and it's been great. I went from pretty much a novice cyclocross racer to top 7 in the 1/2 field within a few weeks. With still so much to learn, fitness to gain, and insulation to lose, i felt that was pretty darn good.<br /><br />Starting to use the new team gear has been a transition, but a pleasant one. (American Classic wheels rock btw.) just getting used to the new Tomac hardtail and just fitting in general has been fun. It seems like the weekends creep up so fast and i'm off to North Carolina before i know it.<br /><br />The teams been doing awesome! Robert secured 2nd place overall in the NCCX series pro men, and Dakota 3rd in the cat 3, next year he will be up there with us!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNDysXUMeExiWqbJro47dzXMVeu3R6KrLAY_DdYWYUHEjEIA3_sRenT9y9LUi0-GKU_rhxT1u577ugoCffFokXquHDMaKp884wab_0qMcUhaEJr3GAdnj5Dsu9efQpyvQV4jaKr97CjB22/s1600/IMG_0743.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNDysXUMeExiWqbJro47dzXMVeu3R6KrLAY_DdYWYUHEjEIA3_sRenT9y9LUi0-GKU_rhxT1u577ugoCffFokXquHDMaKp884wab_0qMcUhaEJr3GAdnj5Dsu9efQpyvQV4jaKr97CjB22/s400/IMG_0743.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565911314740046434" border="0" /></a><br />I will keep this brief, because i promised a picture dump here, but last weekend included dry grass, wet grass, NASCAR tracks, broken hotel room doors, continental breakfasts, deep carbon wheels and more than a few trips to McDonalds after Robert introduced me to the dipped ice cream cone.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcewyUGjEljmj99B1rLQ-Svp748oAtskSmNOt1LToSLozEcnUnd9YLeDj46_lISTYNlhBf5PqLRsqP7DvH2ARFpQn3iUO2fKJ6GW6KYAiJ5D3xRD9mG_2rfNgxkMl1BmcIRxfjok0c0FMR/s1600/179620_1541759539152_1089858724_1095225_7018473_n.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 302px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcewyUGjEljmj99B1rLQ-Svp748oAtskSmNOt1LToSLozEcnUnd9YLeDj46_lISTYNlhBf5PqLRsqP7DvH2ARFpQn3iUO2fKJ6GW6KYAiJ5D3xRD9mG_2rfNgxkMl1BmcIRxfjok0c0FMR/s400/179620_1541759539152_1089858724_1095225_7018473_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565911386179572706" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiEUredzYjBFbTmHiIjvzViiPUDOg8WgZg7-BQWZ3CJMoA00DRh4Wvuqz5Iiw7SZ_g9CSWVHE7oo76SnjO8-G7JC-eNcNJW3mZc7CIPz_5uv_NWKIdS_M2Ld0Pp2zAATR-c2FE3Xbh-nzS/s1600/IMG_0749.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiEUredzYjBFbTmHiIjvzViiPUDOg8WgZg7-BQWZ3CJMoA00DRh4Wvuqz5Iiw7SZ_g9CSWVHE7oo76SnjO8-G7JC-eNcNJW3mZc7CIPz_5uv_NWKIdS_M2Ld0Pp2zAATR-c2FE3Xbh-nzS/s400/IMG_0749.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565911837424107490" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAu_tgZWfgfNQBwau6WDnHtShC0OuFMhDK0omEPG7PmwDo2uYbtrmtafhv7cOqEo-a4mH7qDxYOxUawydukdNk9Ku-r_a4z0_sUzjbmpg-UO0nl7NJMm4YR85n4W8F-7TVfYz63f4oORy4/s1600/IMG_0697.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAu_tgZWfgfNQBwau6WDnHtShC0OuFMhDK0omEPG7PmwDo2uYbtrmtafhv7cOqEo-a4mH7qDxYOxUawydukdNk9Ku-r_a4z0_sUzjbmpg-UO0nl7NJMm4YR85n4W8F-7TVfYz63f4oORy4/s400/IMG_0697.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565911548417244770" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlsowquHSnswdjHlXz6kna1I-LFEyYsQ45OctWbdNeT-PNWwwFABhpAzHm08loeZWJjmLsN9ng-7MHqCGEWzR-OdjmJVRGX1k4Lz6xtAi0UorMzYlNS-gtIeKOxND1SEF1m0_cHc2bOpT4/s1600/IMG_0763.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlsowquHSnswdjHlXz6kna1I-LFEyYsQ45OctWbdNeT-PNWwwFABhpAzHm08loeZWJjmLsN9ng-7MHqCGEWzR-OdjmJVRGX1k4Lz6xtAi0UorMzYlNS-gtIeKOxND1SEF1m0_cHc2bOpT4/s400/IMG_0763.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565912151549695746" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKh1X5IbmcQEKl-M1ajnOYafaFAjIacYOTYWc7StcUj7R3Gu70pjrbsD9A1UU_5ingrA_Nk4tVfJKpRaYy7I3X4QiRjPBOXS92MdFvNcg80uIqLaYWYUWp-NpaWrakK8-RuMoXFJYLDV-3/s1600/IMG_0760.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKh1X5IbmcQEKl-M1ajnOYafaFAjIacYOTYWc7StcUj7R3Gu70pjrbsD9A1UU_5ingrA_Nk4tVfJKpRaYy7I3X4QiRjPBOXS92MdFvNcg80uIqLaYWYUWp-NpaWrakK8-RuMoXFJYLDV-3/s400/IMG_0760.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565912005869886066" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN627ryrFGKu8esloQiXxF_im3Yn29bksoBGQn4W893SBl9YzqWrht0IyfVmSMyc9z-wH4ZfBF9YVQRiIScH0XzhGKaeJ9Vgwn2q4Z7c6mMCZU5qlv8FGCKTMsP-vXnV4la8bfgldALEGD/s1600/167540_492248816934_274119011934_6246285_5573371_n.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN627ryrFGKu8esloQiXxF_im3Yn29bksoBGQn4W893SBl9YzqWrht0IyfVmSMyc9z-wH4ZfBF9YVQRiIScH0XzhGKaeJ9Vgwn2q4Z7c6mMCZU5qlv8FGCKTMsP-vXnV4la8bfgldALEGD/s400/167540_492248816934_274119011934_6246285_5573371_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565911681582903906" border="0" /></a><br /><br />More pictures later!Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04599339832985689664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666771811896560307.post-35653006553036052242010-11-04T07:42:00.000-04:002010-11-04T08:04:04.672-04:00Going Pro.Well it's official, I'm on a Professional team. <a href="http://carpediemmtb.com/">The American Classic/<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Kenda</span></a> team based in NC. It's unreal. There is so much racing on deck for next year! We will be going to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">SERC</span> series, which is a 10 race series of races in the southeast, a bunch of <a href="http://www.usmtb100.com/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">NUE</span></a> 100 mile races, and some big races, such as <a href="http://www.seaotterclassic.com/">Sea Otter</a>, and nationals. Needless to say, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">i'm</span> stoked.<br /><br />I've been putting in some good foundation miles in the last month and shedding the weight i need to to race at the top level. It's actually been relatively easy because of the high motivation level I'm currently enjoying.<br /><br />Went down to NC last weekend for a little team camp. Did some <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">cyclocross</span> racing on <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Sunday</span> on my new <a href="http://www.rideblue.com/norcrossex.php">Blue</a> with <a href="http://www.rotorbike.com/">Rotor </a><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">chain rings</span>, which do indeed work and feel awesome!<br /><br />I didn't feel so awesome at the cross race, still suffering from a lack of sleep and car legs i think. From the gun i got a decent start but a crash in front of me immediately put me back 35 places or so. I spent the rest of the race chasing, and actually had quite a bit of fun picking people off!<br /><br />My average power for the whole race, coasting included, was 304w, so i can't be in that bad of shape! Hoping to get to a few more before the season is over!<br /><br />I promise more updates this fall with glorious (or not so much) pictures.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04599339832985689664noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666771811896560307.post-82792666702230473942010-09-23T10:55:00.000-04:002010-09-23T12:00:52.128-04:00Well, i suppose it's that time, time to blaag. It seems that focusing on one task for more than 5 minutes at a time is incredibly taxing to my mouse brain. Therefore, i must do this between ebay, folding clothing, and finally unpacking from the beast that was the <a href="http://www.blueridgeadventures.net/stage/">Pisgah Mountain bike </a><a href="http://www.blueridgeadventures.net/stage/">stage</a> race.<br /><br />While i was browsing them<a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ihasahotdog.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/funny-dog-pictures-your-dog-is-on-the-internet.jpg&imgrefurl=http://ihasahotdog.com/2009/02/10/funny-dog-pictures-nowz-ur-a-dog/&usg=__Nk4kr0XP2qNZSzTuzNPyoUV7iAo=&h=375&w=500&sz=34&hl=en&start=0&sig2=dJN6BLCyJuJSzuAYQgk54Q&zoom=1&tbnid=6urO2bySFVyM_M:&tbnh=164&tbnw=217&ei=tWubTILCOcOBlAeqnOm8CQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dinternetz%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1400%26bih%3D860%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=988&vpy=477&dur=5220&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=90&ty=126&oei=tWubTILCOcOBlAeqnOm8CQ&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:16,s:0"> internetz</a> in search of pictures from the Blue Ridge Cup cyclocross race that occurred a few nights back in Hillandale park, i found a beautiful rendering of myself riding on fire over at Cyclocross race winner <a href="http://fawley.wordpress.com/">Ryan's place</a>. I'm glad Ryan smoked the crowd, because i saw some smack talk from a sidelined <a href="http://andy-mckeegan.blogspot.com/">Andrew McKeegan</a>, who had to sit out because of the massive intake tube installed in his leg.<br /><br />The highlights of the past month+ were going up to NY and racing and riding with friends there, and seeing my family. Corey and i participated in the Suicide 6, which turned to 5 hours because of the 'epic' conditions. I managed to pull the fastest lap of the day and they gave me a giant trophy. Despite a broken chain on Corey's part, we still managed to be the third placed team overall, so not bad. A few days later we traveled over to the old Farmall Hill Tuesday night series. I felt a little better than i had on Sunday, having slept in a house and not my van the night before, but when <a href="http://jasonhilimire.com/">Jason Hilimire</a> went off like a rocket i remembered the pain that these races bring. But after the first climb i saw that i was more or less in control and managed to win despite some collisions with lappers. The hardest hour race ever.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhggxaslzNsz0tU3biNxeE-JUzSP-NstfBgHWGZ1JaU4jQT28dpgsrJwJiSmftv3QWKsYM6ucrqDGqCCzIaP9Iw5GgjfZIcsszeH_2T67Swa1jj83CT3lOe_EG4IMQfsGOY8n6hIFHHOyJz/s1600/IMG_0467.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhggxaslzNsz0tU3biNxeE-JUzSP-NstfBgHWGZ1JaU4jQT28dpgsrJwJiSmftv3QWKsYM6ucrqDGqCCzIaP9Iw5GgjfZIcsszeH_2T67Swa1jj83CT3lOe_EG4IMQfsGOY8n6hIFHHOyJz/s400/IMG_0467.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5520139105605864642" border="0" /></a>(Corey, making funny faces as usual)<br /><br />I did a <a href="http://www.buffalobicycling.com/">BBC</a> hillclimb the next night as well, with aspirations of setting the record time. Alas i could not do it aboard the mountain bike and ended up in 3rd or 4th? place.<br /><br />Next up was the Shenandoah 100, which went alright last year, but i had no idea what to expect except 9+ hours on the bike, which it thankfully didn't end up being. In a 100 mile race there is so much that can go wrong, i figure if you make all those things go right, you probably will do better than a lot of people by default. So i went out 3 times and just made sure i knew the course, climb durations and stuff like that. I think it paid off because i managed 9th place. Sure, things could have gone better, i broke my derailleur and got dropped at a bad moment by Chris Eatough and Jens Neilsen. But these are points to improve upon and it was still a great ride. I wanted that 7:30 in such a bad way, but next year right? Rocktown did well overall with Ryan coming in at 8:10 and Kyle smashing his personal best at 8:25! Buffalo crowd did awesome as well with Pat W finishing right around 8:13 and Dennis B not far behind.<br /><br />Last week i went down to race the 5 day mountain bike race in Pisgah. I was nursing a cold from the start, so maybe my perception was distorted a bit, but there is no harder race i have ever done. 40 miles and 9000ft of climbing a day made me a sad boy by day 4, despite holding 5th place. I got pretty sick on that day and lost a ton of time. I decided not to start on day 5, as i would have probably put myself in the hospital. It was fun overall though. Hung out and wrenched for Jeremiah, who won the race every day and overall, and it really is pretty down there in NC.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGCyb1coq-jx4gJpvRMwUXKnzMGqjYTR81ksIDsmxoHhFSSNgelraXQcvnHwg23jU_WRP5xaMl_1DAW7SUzAmOXpRc6B0qk3hX2EEft6pSKJCJEogcW34uOXD55dEL1pEtdIysABFZSd4w/s1600/IMG_0485.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGCyb1coq-jx4gJpvRMwUXKnzMGqjYTR81ksIDsmxoHhFSSNgelraXQcvnHwg23jU_WRP5xaMl_1DAW7SUzAmOXpRc6B0qk3hX2EEft6pSKJCJEogcW34uOXD55dEL1pEtdIysABFZSd4w/s400/IMG_0485.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5520137752211618738" border="0" /></a><br />I don't have much more for racing on deck for this year, but i am itching to get a bit better so i can hop back on the big and begin the massive prebase of legends that will supposedly turn me into the rider i want to be. Looking foward to the Tidewater Challenge as well, maybe dress up, and hoping not to have the swine flu this time!Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04599339832985689664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666771811896560307.post-23412252799460721152010-08-04T22:10:00.000-04:002010-08-04T22:23:17.758-04:00Summer Speedup!I've been a busy boy, starting a month ago in NJ, I went to a Mid Atlantic Super Series race (MASS.) MASS races are super well run, have good turnouts, and best of all, great payout!<br /><br />The first race back was a super wake up call, and i placed 8th, not more than 6 minutes off the win, but it wasn't a super long race and i knew i was out of shape. Twisty twisty.<br /><br />A week later i found myself in Maryland somewhere near Delaware for another go. It was a one lap MASS race, and it was good. Another twisty race without much climbing, but i felt my legs were coming back, and even though i was back in 11th, the field was super strong and i felt good about the day.<br /><br />Week 3! Went up to PA to the Michaux state forest for what was promised to be a rocky race. 4o miles through rocky, steep terrain. After 4 hours, a broken chain, some serious heat, and running out of water twice, i rolled into 5th place overall. My best result of the summer yet, and about 7 minutes off the win, and not far off some serious east coast heat.<br /><br />The course was AWESOME. A real mountain bike course, which would be worth racing just for the trails. I will most definitely be at the race in the fall!<br /><br />August will be full of racing for a good lead up to the Shenandoah 100, where i am hoping to better on my result from last year!<br /><br />MASS race this weekend in PA!Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04599339832985689664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666771811896560307.post-3405449802994709732010-07-04T09:34:00.000-04:002010-07-04T10:18:51.850-04:00Sticky Like RiceIt's been hot here lately, like 95 and humid every day. That's fine, it sure beats the cold. There hasn't been as much racing in my life as I would like though.<br /><br />Last month was tough, got a tick bite in may, and a suspected ailment from that. Then, just as i was recovering from that, some sort of flu hit me. Form was very poor going into the important Triple Crown at Massanutten but the race was huge and in town so of course I was going to race!<br /><br />On Saturday the super d went well, and even though the preliminary results were wrong, it eventually got sorted out and i ended up in 5th behind Sid Taberlay, Jeremiah, and two other hard chargers. The dual suspension was perfect, Racing Ralph tires were hooking up awesome, especially with a 650b front wheel on the rig!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgny74_Y1smL5mCDjlhqU7C9_akMQhCpbxI1TQJUaq7v70RoJ9_C1mA_tyVwC9JOiXO-YTIata7iRcPhykDG3_iOJJxyMAplbwCfRV38WD2safI7-tqcBXHqdpZrkYJ9FoQLP70iUyx6mwy/s1600/massanuttenxc_109_600.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 331px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgny74_Y1smL5mCDjlhqU7C9_akMQhCpbxI1TQJUaq7v70RoJ9_C1mA_tyVwC9JOiXO-YTIata7iRcPhykDG3_iOJJxyMAplbwCfRV38WD2safI7-tqcBXHqdpZrkYJ9FoQLP70iUyx6mwy/s400/massanuttenxc_109_600.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490055064760659378" border="0" /></a><br />The short track went less than stellar, but being a best two of three i wasn't too worried. I knew i could make up for the loss of top end fitness in the cross country, especially because of how technical and climby the course is.<br /><br />It was well, hot for the XC race on Sunday, and i didn't keep it together. Pretty much exploding on the second lap. Luckily, when the bottom falls out these days, it isn't as much of a fall as it used to be. Wasn't last in the pro field, and not one rider from another class caught me, which might sound funny, but it happened last year....<br /><br />I was up most of last night with some food poisoning or something (Wendy's?) and i am watching stage 1 of the Tour. It is going to be a huge weekend for riding as long as i feel a bit better. 4 hours yesterday, hopefully 5 or so today, then maybe hit a Tour de Burg stage at big Schloss rock gnar tomorrow.<br /><br />The big goals now are to dominate the Michaux race later in the month, which is probably a tall order as i haven't ever raced over there! 4 hours of rocks were promised though.<br /><br />happy July 4th!Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04599339832985689664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666771811896560307.post-60392865202963174092010-05-06T07:51:00.000-04:002010-05-20T16:24:40.483-04:00Middle Mountain Momma Kenda Cup; AKA Virginia State ChampionshipsA few Sundays ago the wagon was loaded to capacity with Rocktown's finest to head down to the Middle Mountain Momma Kenda cup in Douthat State Park and the singletrack highway!<br /><div> </div><br /><div>The race started at noon in the 90 degree heat, and humidity was about the same, After the initial road stretch of 2 minutes, we started climbing. Climb we did!finding myself in third position, i worked hard to outpace a charging Brian Marsh and Justin Raynes. The Tires were hooking up but i got caught when my chain jammed in between my crank and my big ring!<br /><br />Finding the eye of the tiger, i charged the second climb, which was much steeper than the first, but about the same elevation change. I found a good rhythm and after the decent and the steep, punchy world cup finish, rolled into third place behind Jeremiah and Matt Bailey!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiToM9Ivm-FzSatWulHREmy1JmsDRwWba1idy3z1B1tsLSKSapyCtUylMwCoBiE8VE60S8fn9JEjudMzf7ajFGI-A_ml-6gRYlWuMwOtdL2x6N-zMUY2FPnYmVPXmG6-IMVmhz63_53Qm-f/s1600/31264_390340131967_514146967_4495190_2589007_n.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiToM9Ivm-FzSatWulHREmy1JmsDRwWba1idy3z1B1tsLSKSapyCtUylMwCoBiE8VE60S8fn9JEjudMzf7ajFGI-A_ml-6gRYlWuMwOtdL2x6N-zMUY2FPnYmVPXmG6-IMVmhz63_53Qm-f/s400/31264_390340131967_514146967_4495190_2589007_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473450609022709458" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Racing has gotten off to a slow start, due to a lot of Saturday races that i have to work during, but i am stronger than last year around this time partly because of this. Big rides have been happening twice a week, and my endurance is so good!<br /><br />Also exciting, a new bike arrived for me this week, a Felt Virtue One! 5 inches of travel should come in handy for training and at some gnarlier races.....Michaux?<br /><br />Next on the plate, some high intensity training at Giro de Ville!<br /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04599339832985689664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666771811896560307.post-55005660493717688242010-03-28T18:34:00.000-04:002010-03-31T00:01:32.803-04:002010 race season begins!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUV0w9tzk0T8SElyeXAiXftgsyC7i4I69gkdx13n4p4pz7pSDR9n-VjjjyjOkA1CQRFC60BUsBgglzkZUQgsSElNKTW3t5gLFusnnQ5SPXgVmuQrwF3yrb8gvRp5dQ8D0Pvhzlu0z0Uuca/s1600/Picture+057.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454640244419332930" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUV0w9tzk0T8SElyeXAiXftgsyC7i4I69gkdx13n4p4pz7pSDR9n-VjjjyjOkA1CQRFC60BUsBgglzkZUQgsSElNKTW3t5gLFusnnQ5SPXgVmuQrwF3yrb8gvRp5dQ8D0Pvhzlu0z0Uuca/s400/Picture+057.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><div><div>After months of winter mixes of snow, rain and everything <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">in between</span>, temp started looking up a few weeks ago. I hurried to get a mountain bike together, as it had been road only since new years day. After so much experimentation, i got my setup pretty dialed in. 20lbs with cages. Pretty nice! Rode it 4 times before the race today, mostly in the rocks in hopes of getting some technical skills back. Went up to <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Fridley's</span> gap where the downhill is steep and rocky!</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fJnBKPLLTykwfERlxyn6TFmWJmfrup5zrv76fHbG4epb4JtYVrRrnzgwiCbd7liqpXsuZjmWtZKMyylaW2a2fV1sOeuVoJa08-MBkwnBk-AOdGLj3BUIOxq41JbxOVrxo-V5KrDrItM2/s1600/Picture+063.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454640657645546002" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fJnBKPLLTykwfERlxyn6TFmWJmfrup5zrv76fHbG4epb4JtYVrRrnzgwiCbd7liqpXsuZjmWtZKMyylaW2a2fV1sOeuVoJa08-MBkwnBk-AOdGLj3BUIOxq41JbxOVrxo-V5KrDrItM2/s400/Picture+063.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div>Running a 2x9 setup 32/42 <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">chain ring</span> combo, it worked great at the race today, and there was plenty of steep climbing!</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyJQoSGRKkKIKaaDTPi5usj9SHkkhqZAEQAVySpfpHiJwp9fdLxSTLOOkVcc84bhP_h7P3iMdApyMjKeyLqnFj7EgNpLdEOPnmis3uWP4AWZGqhw19dkMT0FMcvGm_cOK31SLgOsRGWT2R/s1600/Picture+064.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454640829085568578" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyJQoSGRKkKIKaaDTPi5usj9SHkkhqZAEQAVySpfpHiJwp9fdLxSTLOOkVcc84bhP_h7P3iMdApyMjKeyLqnFj7EgNpLdEOPnmis3uWP4AWZGqhw19dkMT0FMcvGm_cOK31SLgOsRGWT2R/s400/Picture+064.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">Schwalbe</span> is my sole sponsor this year, and i am pretty happy about it. Great tires. Been running the Rocket Ron for training and they worked awesome racing as well. Good hookup on the wet course today. </div><br /><div>I was pretty unsure of my fitness going into the race. I have been riding about 3 times a week, and will have to improve on that, and am also a bit over my target weight. So when the race started in the 50 degree drizzle i didn't know what to expect. The <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">separation</span> happened early with Nick Waite and i leading, Ryan <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">Fawley</span> chasing hard. It didn't take long until i was alone in no man's land between Nick and Ryan. For the remaining 2 hours i just focused on chasing hard, rewarded with sparse signs of Nick, usually in the form of tire tracks.</div><br /><div>Rolled in at 2:38 2<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">nd</span> place, and am still a bit sore. The real 'kick' came when i took my shoes off and i saw my big toe. Couldn't feel it because of the cold, but my toenail was coming off and the toe was very bloodied. It is a bit better two days later, but i have stayed off the bike because of it, looking to do a big ride tomorrow though!</div><br /><div>Trying to lay out a race schedule tonight, and getting ready for Dragon's Tale this weekend!</div></div></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04599339832985689664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666771811896560307.post-65709533252176401952010-02-25T12:50:00.000-05:002010-02-25T13:01:52.937-05:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi53pwlZDVmME1wn4BLL6jdmzzMdZdKGLu1WvOAMEnRJWKt5rN6wdNW5B_1WKHS_GHL9q0NQOwJdH7JXuHcc1jfGPeDlBugQXCpWa9OUL0x-2KGWHKHVjefR91T5klFlncAVVKr80RVFMP0/s1600-h/Picture+002.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442242356059756322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi53pwlZDVmME1wn4BLL6jdmzzMdZdKGLu1WvOAMEnRJWKt5rN6wdNW5B_1WKHS_GHL9q0NQOwJdH7JXuHcc1jfGPeDlBugQXCpWa9OUL0x-2KGWHKHVjefR91T5klFlncAVVKr80RVFMP0/s400/Picture+002.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Aero</span> front "<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">snowcone</span>" Isn't structural, but may be UCI legal due to natural conditions. I wonder if <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Calfee</span> would be interested in my organic choice of material?</div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdG57DRD-9WMA22_9TmrKLr8H0aIc9cht3WR2DQZ1LPVKL0ro7vt6IvlOuhamS5dhNZoWfRkUKK81g1SmoIqdikJ-QJmYFDwwcL2Hqtu0mfXAojSSCyMZQVDkkD7dWmavt8GpQd2gmvdNr/s1600-h/Picture+001.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442242240236651554" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdG57DRD-9WMA22_9TmrKLr8H0aIc9cht3WR2DQZ1LPVKL0ro7vt6IvlOuhamS5dhNZoWfRkUKK81g1SmoIqdikJ-QJmYFDwwcL2Hqtu0mfXAojSSCyMZQVDkkD7dWmavt8GpQd2gmvdNr/s400/Picture+001.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div>The snow has been on the ground here in the valley since early December, and i haven't been on a mountain bike since then. Good training turned into laziness somewhere about a month ago when my <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">powertap</span> broke and motivation waned from the weather. I can't imagine what i would be doing if i were in say, western New York? </div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>Ha! Well, the snow is slowly melting and motivation is coming back. After a 2+ month hiatus from group riding, i have managed two in the past week. Yesterday with Andy and Nick for about 3 hours. Some short <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">vo</span>2 efforts should help with the race in about a week! </div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>I need to get my bike together, i don't know if i will remember how to ride <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">offroad</span>!</div><div> </div><div>Handmade bike show in Richmond this weekend!</div><br /><br /><div></div><div> </div></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04599339832985689664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666771811896560307.post-76916292135490420242010-01-17T21:08:00.000-05:002010-01-17T21:42:45.368-05:00The Difference Between Slow and Pro is EUROCITY<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4LnFXvw6U2G2wvxx4HECUt83tugkp0BUHPkKf3iKlaRU5D5fSSvkBjPN8m5FuKjY9egQ3ZERCwSCoxz5Vqu6Wkl7lIowVFnZBIhSRYv9a05apjqsQ9rz4Nag3vVz5NumBfQ4ziYTqmGJm/s1600-h/Picture+001.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427903412887831042" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4LnFXvw6U2G2wvxx4HECUt83tugkp0BUHPkKf3iKlaRU5D5fSSvkBjPN8m5FuKjY9egQ3ZERCwSCoxz5Vqu6Wkl7lIowVFnZBIhSRYv9a05apjqsQ9rz4Nag3vVz5NumBfQ4ziYTqmGJm/s400/Picture+001.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><div><div>So i will spare everyone the boring day to day details. I've been training, not as much as i should, weight work, riding, isometrics, it's all going down. This week is going to be an especially tasty morsel though, 22 hours of fun in all. </div><br /><div>The real news around here has been the snow! 18 inches back in December and t is still here! Almost gone in the valley, but i am anxiously waiting for the mountains to melt down like a cone in the summer, and then dry up so some MTB riding can happen.</div><br /><div>It's just as well though, as the power meter is on the road bike, and it has helped immensely so far in training. Power is up, and weight is down. </div><br /><div>Harrisonburg was mellow and empty over the JMU students' winter break, but the town always swells when they arrive. It was nice having the house and seemingly the town to myself over break, but it is nice when friends get back!</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9cUmyoD6T2rMkJEBkVyAcTm3iIjoeXAnsTeeT2WeIH3Yu7PB3UFCbDPf4xFsAkp_491tA-j2heE1Okf_dj7utYoK4w2zbaKB-MWf4hWO_3t2Sgvd_vhxgJtdePxQ9zwykUuwXhaTllT1-/s1600-h/Picture+010.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427904262264943058" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9cUmyoD6T2rMkJEBkVyAcTm3iIjoeXAnsTeeT2WeIH3Yu7PB3UFCbDPf4xFsAkp_491tA-j2heE1Okf_dj7utYoK4w2zbaKB-MWf4hWO_3t2Sgvd_vhxgJtdePxQ9zwykUuwXhaTllT1-/s400/Picture+010.jpg" /></a><br /><div></div></div></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04599339832985689664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666771811896560307.post-75369137592928699592009-12-21T20:29:00.000-05:002009-12-21T20:30:57.474-05:00Quick post, just added my training peaks link on the blog list. This will show what workouts i do and all of my training data! (well, what i remember to put in there!)Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04599339832985689664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666771811896560307.post-62122296681335408052009-12-16T20:37:00.000-05:002009-12-16T20:50:53.348-05:00Sightings.It was cold, 33 or so out, but it was nice and sunny!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN1o93XDd8rEc-mCe-ioErYtZTsdhbt9NdMe2RUtDYqm9vs0yzoMxc5_boT-VHhy3VbRF7RWAO6Bb5uFyrdTIgx_xCkeO8b0SKpkN-44EG36OnQclAifsMiQ14DxRBJyjWxeKIio0NJwv-/s1600-h/IMAG0139.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416014708615273954" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN1o93XDd8rEc-mCe-ioErYtZTsdhbt9NdMe2RUtDYqm9vs0yzoMxc5_boT-VHhy3VbRF7RWAO6Bb5uFyrdTIgx_xCkeO8b0SKpkN-44EG36OnQclAifsMiQ14DxRBJyjWxeKIio0NJwv-/s400/IMAG0139.JPG" /></a><br />Blue M&M<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEyGi0pM73mTHhDnaLytdOSZZho9bHJ8alNJLsDJoiyWwsFToa3x99RUVX0SPlbIWNATSYXo-zfAmuSizVSTsleeNcl1cg_Yvj-jrgrOmBV6s4FZ_L8HgiIKBOnv7rRKj3HbQY3qc-EtKN/s1600-h/IMAG0135.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416014700507518050" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEyGi0pM73mTHhDnaLytdOSZZho9bHJ8alNJLsDJoiyWwsFToa3x99RUVX0SPlbIWNATSYXo-zfAmuSizVSTsleeNcl1cg_Yvj-jrgrOmBV6s4FZ_L8HgiIKBOnv7rRKj3HbQY3qc-EtKN/s400/IMAG0135.JPG" /></a><br />Mossy trails<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTHKnxY8hXA_14ULdeTQubsPnqPupchNvWWXMMY3Tz7rAh4zxKe8a4I-Or7z-ixyW74x5MKGwWaXe7Bq6AD0wnaN4yNtXrzaxokL4PE2DnHrsxymrzzC7ieAzMRjqx_AK5NfAUtpt2oxM-/s1600-h/IMAG0132.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416014516495740146" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTHKnxY8hXA_14ULdeTQubsPnqPupchNvWWXMMY3Tz7rAh4zxKe8a4I-Or7z-ixyW74x5MKGwWaXe7Bq6AD0wnaN4yNtXrzaxokL4PE2DnHrsxymrzzC7ieAzMRjqx_AK5NfAUtpt2oxM-/s400/IMAG0132.JPG" /></a><br /><br />I stopped to put my lightweight gloves on out in the country and this little guy couldn't decide if he wanted to come over or not, and a car had to stop for him! I decided for him by scooping him up, and he took a look at the Felt!<br /><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ3TL_4GMFDXYWj-4Oe8EQZ8rv2Rdv6DxpcaK4BRCxryKPtG9rXCsdhzoz5UIZ6h0peD1PFwtXjwoWHfzZ_7P9OvzvLj0WHcTEazchILaJgytbNOZtNjns8DV9JQAGAzSr63xDpwMk66cI/s1600-h/IMAG0131.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416014511696223410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ3TL_4GMFDXYWj-4Oe8EQZ8rv2Rdv6DxpcaK4BRCxryKPtG9rXCsdhzoz5UIZ6h0peD1PFwtXjwoWHfzZ_7P9OvzvLj0WHcTEazchILaJgytbNOZtNjns8DV9JQAGAzSr63xDpwMk66cI/s400/IMAG0131.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglMxExpWBH4wfTihmJlQcUMIHtCXzuPePQ8V3wizvJ_YdWuFtfB8UmGqN6haYbSBVC_VI-LkkTiyFQt2vHrIR24E_RzpEbCYvcwKTWmMH6FoiYowsWWDMf6wUroQ1xvt6S8l57YRFDu3IF/s1600-h/IMAG0130.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416014501385269090" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglMxExpWBH4wfTihmJlQcUMIHtCXzuPePQ8V3wizvJ_YdWuFtfB8UmGqN6haYbSBVC_VI-LkkTiyFQt2vHrIR24E_RzpEbCYvcwKTWmMH6FoiYowsWWDMf6wUroQ1xvt6S8l57YRFDu3IF/s400/IMAG0130.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOYGHZvHd5GBPhySjpNn5Fnu2O4r8ckWtoRwKOx_0AkfG8s5F9C9Qh7gd_i4FM-TCzvMbuSmFeaNTiCPxCcwsCn_gbta6V_pgqZrL9vx9ClxmuRsFgiTYbzPCcXwapDc6tKf4JxDDcHYgE/s1600-h/IMAG0129.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416014499011701394" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOYGHZvHd5GBPhySjpNn5Fnu2O4r8ckWtoRwKOx_0AkfG8s5F9C9Qh7gd_i4FM-TCzvMbuSmFeaNTiCPxCcwsCn_gbta6V_pgqZrL9vx9ClxmuRsFgiTYbzPCcXwapDc6tKf4JxDDcHYgE/s400/IMAG0129.JPG" /></a><br /></div><div>I ride a big bike, this tree was HUGE, like 8 FT in diameter.<br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ryf6BQHBTkhHjyq_TcqozaD1kLbXxwr6JXK32kjqH7V4JTfUX6SztGZVqDygQU3YikFPGCRZTDEEOZt_YFBb1oM8uJ5qAaDqWBQPoPei_kzr7iwqVjfK6jps73uB8NfsKAdF-2_KBGHE/s1600-h/IMAG0134.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416014029580145458" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ryf6BQHBTkhHjyq_TcqozaD1kLbXxwr6JXK32kjqH7V4JTfUX6SztGZVqDygQU3YikFPGCRZTDEEOZt_YFBb1oM8uJ5qAaDqWBQPoPei_kzr7iwqVjfK6jps73uB8NfsKAdF-2_KBGHE/s400/IMAG0134.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04599339832985689664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666771811896560307.post-25773796423773211062009-12-04T21:28:00.000-05:002009-12-06T10:28:42.361-05:00Blowing the Dust off, AKA Clearing CobwebsNot a ton of things happened on the bike front in these past two months. As the leaves fell away from the warm days and into the short cold ones i found myself unmotivated and largely off the bike. Aside from some good long rides and some Blue Ridge Cup races where i surprised myself, there was little saddle time.<br /><br />My last 'real' race of the year started with a trip to Richmond, where one of my former co-workers who ventured to the heart of the confederacy and i rode around and he showed me some of the cool old stuff there. The next day was the Tidewater Challenge where i had succeeded in obtaining the singlespeed state champion title. Not wanting to leave that early, and also wanting to save myself for the later pro race, i opted out. It didn't matter anyway as i had become infected by the wild hog flu, or some sort of flu. Warming up, my heartrate was unusually high, and i had a sore throat, etc. I attributed it to my friend's cat, but as i settled into 4-5 place i started to feel like garbage more and more. My heartrate was 255 at one point! I quit the race, my first DNF of the year, and a sour way to end the season, but i was in for it and it just got worse on the drive home.<br /><br />I obtained a power meter or two and am looking to train more seriously this year than in the past. This happens every year, and i seem to get faster every year too! Training started this past week, and things are looking good. Next year will include far more road races (i did one quasi road race this year.) Looking to turn that Cat 4 into a 3 or a 2! Well, we'll see how it goes.<br /><br />Patiently waiting on the race series' schedules to come out, as there are a ton to choose from! West Virginia series, Mid Atlantic Super Series, Chris Scott races, 100 milers, Michaux races, and the Virginia series. Try to carpool a bit more hopefully, and don't forget road races, I'm guessing up in PA or DC area? That is an investigation in progress.<br /><br />Did some serious off-road road riding this week when i decided i wanted to climb up a mountain and it turned from rocky fire road to really rocky double track! But i was already that far, so i kept climbing while the bear hunters watched me ride through mud on 23c tires! It was great, aside from loosening up some spokes on my new powertap wheel. No harm done though, just needed some breaking in! I dabbed once at a 3 foot deep creek crossing. While trying to negotiate a algae covered log across the creek (i was walking) i slipped and got a hot foot, but then wizened up and used the bike as a crutch, while giving it a bath in cool, er cold mountain water.<br /><br />Now i am in the process of looking up races to do this winter to keep me somewhat sharp, and i have been in the process of getting ready for a 5 hour ride outside in the cold, maybe if my hands aren't too cold i will take some pictures to post up here. I am also going to make my training log public as i am coaching myself now. I will post the link on the right side of the page. My hours, workouts, and power files will be there.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04599339832985689664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666771811896560307.post-47051137632009005522009-10-01T10:42:00.000-04:002009-10-01T11:09:16.272-04:00FalltimeDuring and after my recovery from being sick, I got to some races. The first being the WVMBA final in Morgantown, WV. Feeling kind of like garbage, but wanting to visit friends and race. The race started up a road climb and i was glad i was still fit enough to feel ok there, but the real test started in the woods. Rolling through the singletrack on Shogren's wheel, with TJ Platt leading, i felt fine for about 10 minutes. Then something grabbed the bars from me and i went face first into the ground, landing on my shoulder and collarbone as well. Stunned and upset, i got up quickly but couldn't do anything. A guy who crashed behind me grabbed my bike and put it off to the side. When i gained my wits, i set off at a furious pace to catch the leaders. Made some mistakes and about 30 minutes later, realized i was in trouble. i wasn't blown, but almost. I ran out of water somewhere around halfway, and the finish couldn't have come soon enough. What a way to end the series, a disappointing 6th, 10 minutes back!?<br /><br />But that is how MTB racing goes sometimes, i am glad that i didn't break my body or my bike, and i had a great cheeseburger dinner courtesy of my great host family in town. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3cj7Alqg3kKIR_aBB3tmt8y1y1KUa_Pir9aa2OkZqybYjk5LMX6fdOX5d1msYAdwxblRacZZQuvBZyh0IR5gqBLxeaSPH5-PP1s47BY_hmVHFiK5R62GUbpcoe8bXKwTrc9K77EnqZalB/s1600-h/IMAG0007.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387648687418108354" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3cj7Alqg3kKIR_aBB3tmt8y1y1KUa_Pir9aa2OkZqybYjk5LMX6fdOX5d1msYAdwxblRacZZQuvBZyh0IR5gqBLxeaSPH5-PP1s47BY_hmVHFiK5R62GUbpcoe8bXKwTrc9K77EnqZalB/s400/IMAG0007.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br />Fast forward a few weeks to this past Tuesday, which was the second Blue Ridge Cyclocross, here in town. My first for the year. It is east VS. west, and Charlottsville (AKA the Foof) had to be shut down. With Jeremiah and Nick Waite here, as well as Andy, I knew we were in good shape. The pace was brutal, and at first i wondered why i was getting passed, but then i remembered my lack of fitness! After about 30 minutes in i started feeling good, and just wanted to maintain my 5th place. Mission accomplished, came in 5th about 3-4? minutes back from the pro train. Didn't feel bad about that. Hopefully some fitness will be gained from that.<br /><br />This weekend is the Poor Mountain Hillclimb down in Roanoke. Time to find the skinniest tires for my bike (i wish i had a cross' bike!) and climb into the sky for 40-45 minutes. Maybe i can notch up a win?Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04599339832985689664noreply@blogger.com0