I’m going to celebrate turning 40 with my first endurance mountain bike race in almost a decade. Actually, my first mountain bike race at all in almost a decade. It’s the 24 Hours of 9 Mile event, but i’m compromising and only riding the 12 hour version. I was reviewing the site today for some camping info (not sure if i need to bring water), and saw that i’m on the starting roster. Whoo/yipe!
While on the site, i also checked out last year’s results. It’s a 14-mile lap, boys and girls, or about twice the length of a trip around the typical 24 Hours of Afton course that i’ve done twice before. Granted, it won’t have anywhere near the climbing that Afton has, but seeing average lap times of 90 minutes gives some pause. Man, I really really really don’t want a flat or mechanical in the boonies.
Big thanks to Mark for the use of his big light, and thanks to Ella for picking out a fresh bottle of bug dope for me at the store this week. Should be fun!
(no, not making a music video… this is a good birthday soundtrack.)
In no strict order, and i’m sure with many things missing…
Started the decade by falling in love, got married, bought a house and a dog, but now ending it with a divorce. Witnessed the birth of my two amazing redheaded girls, reveled in their first moment, first words and first steps and first day of school and everything in between. Helped coin the word “Shitcasso”. My dad got cancer, then I traveled to Alaska with him and my brothers to catch fish celebrate him surviving cancer and chemo after the first year. Competed in a 24-hour mountain bike race (my second), then a few years of little riding; now bike commuting 2500+ miles/year and racing again. Gained about 25 lbs, then lost about 30. Had viral meningitis and pneumonia. Changed jobs once, built a handful of websites on the side, added a part-time job as bike mechanic. Camped in many sites, hiked many miles of trails, biked many thousands of miles of road and dirt. Rediscovered cyclocross and singletrack. Played bass for a couple of new year’s parties, gave up and sold my amp, but now practicing a bit again. Was interviewed for The Bike Show radio program out of London. Rode my first century. Made corned beef and candy canes and limoncello at home. Learned to make soap and braze steel. Built a cradle, playstands and many shelves, assembled too many Ikea things to count, replaced plumbing and steps and a ceiling. Moved a lot of granite pavers. Built 6 bicycle wheels and reconditioned countless bikes, mostly for others. Built my first bicycle rack and LED headlight. Crashed into two cars, once with a car and once with a bike. Went from contacts to glasses and back. Grew beards and watched the black and white whiskers creep in with the red. Celebrated 4 family weddings, 6 family births and many friends babies, and mourned the loss of a cat and a goldfish.
I have my health and my wits, two fantastic girls, a wonderful family, excellent friends, lots of love and a lot more to do. Ok 40, let’s go.
1. Two Fridays ago: Ella is finishing up her week of day camps with the grandparents, so it’s just me and Fiona cuttin’ loose on a Friday night. We decide to bike the 8 blocks to Hoa Bien, one of our favorite local restaurants, Fiona on her tricycle (since her bike is at her mom’s), and me on my fixed gear. She told me to ride that bike, and it’s handy for going verrrry slowwwwly with a distracted 4-year-old cyclist. We’re riding along chatting about things and she says out of the blue, “Did you have a worm collection when you were a kid?”
The possible directions for this boggle the mind, so i just say that i’d collect worms for fishing, but didn’t generally keep them for pets or for a long time. The conversation continues, “I want to have a BUNCH of worms.”
“Oh,” i say, “what are you going to do with these worms?”
“I’m going to shoot them.”
“How do you plan to do that?”
“I want to shoot them out of a cannon. PLEASE daddy, i want to shoot worms out of a cannon!”
2. My mom makeshalloweencostumesfor the girls every year. It’s still a ways off for 2008, but Ella and i were discussing it the other day. She said, “i want to be a firefly.” That made sense, we’ve had several good firefly chasing days this year. She went on, “i’m going to have a generator hub on my bike and power the light in my butt by pedaling, and the fast i pedal, the brighter it’ll flash!”
A horribly sad thing. The brother and family of my brother’s very good friend. I have a large dog and small kids too, i can’t imagine going through this. My deepest sympathies and best wishes.
It’s all too easy to forget how satisfying something you really love to do is when you’ve been away from it for a while. This can cover many things, but in my life, it more specifically refers to music and trail riding. I do play music a little at home; it’s not the same as playing with 2-3 friends in front of a fucking loud amp, but it’s good enough to exercise the muscle memory and satisfy the urge to learn a new song occasionally.
Mountain biking is a little different than music, because unlike picking up a guitar to pluck a few chords, i can’t just jump on a trail right from my door and be back home in 10 minutes. This is why i haven’t ridden it much for several years now; it’s often hard to find a good 2-3 hour block of time to get to a trail and back and have any sort of riding time. I ride a lot of miles, but trail miles are a different kettle of fish. I’ve been overdue to reclaim some dirt time.
Singletrack trail riding is all about floating and flow. At its best it’s like being a leaf floating along a twisty river. Your senses open up, you can take in the trail surface and the obstacles ahead and your breathing and how your muscles are working and the next curve of the trail and every sound the bike makes, all concurrently. You’re able to focus on everything and nothing at the same time. You still have to pedal and brake and pick a good line and shift your weight around as needed, but always flowing over and around. Remember that you are made of water and you always flow. The bike is your boat. Hurray for mixed metaphors! For me, it’s simultaneously an incredibly energizing and incredibly relaxing thing to do, no better stress relief.
I rode at Lebanon Hills last night, and it was just a blast, even considering the gashed tire and 2 mile hike-a-bike back to the car. Even though i sometimes get irked at the artificial “features” along so many trails nowadays, big props to the MORC folks for these trails.
My wallet was stolen a couple of weeks ago, and being the cheap bastard i am, i made myself a replacement from a blown mountain bike tube. It’s just glued together with rubber cement, but so far it’s holding up well.
The girls and i traveled to visit my mom over the 4th of July weekend. We made a couple of trips to the river to walk through the Sinnissippi gardens and feed the ducks at the lagoon where we used to play hockey as kids.
On Friday, we saw a really good fireworks show in Cherry Valley, where i found out that Cherry Valley is an actual charming little village and not just where there’s a shopping mall (as i’d assumed as a teen).
On Saturday afternoon visited the Anderson Japanese Garden, an absolutely beautiful garden less than 2 miles from my mom’s place. It was the first time we’d been there, and i really loved it.
John and Lorie came in from Chicago with their new hunting dog Bocephus, who has ears like a bat.
