Monthly Archives: April 2009
Moving Soon
These are my last two weeks in this little East Austin neighborhood. After living over here for a year and nine months, I think I’m going to miss this area of the city a little bit. I know – I’m not moving hours away or anything, but you do have a different connection to your immediate environment. Local restaurants and coffeeshops in close proximity, and each bump and pothole on my most traveled bike routes – I’m familiar with everything over here.
But despite that, I’m in need of a change, and I’m really excited about the change my new place will be bringing. I haven’t lived in a house – with a real yard, garden, and space – since leaving home five years ago. And, despite sharing my space with cool roommates over the years, I’ve never lived with friends that I actually enjoy being around for prolonged periods of time. The location will be fun for me too. I’ll be much closer to the Austin Rock Gym and the Greenbelt, and living down South will open up a number of new bike routes that were always impractical for me to get to.
Change is coming, but it’s good change.
Depending on the weather, I’ll either be climbing this weekend or cycling this weekend – but hopefully both. I haven’t been on my non-commuter bike since Sunday, which is a decent amount of time off for me. I might try to get out early tomorrow morning, and I have all Saturday morning free for a long ride too. Weather permitting, Sunday morning I’ll be heading out to Reimers Ranch with Emily and Stephen to go climbing. If it’s raining, then Sunday will be perfect for a long ride – hooking up with the Jack & Adam’s folks early, and if the legs feel good, a couple hours on top of that.
I rarely talk about my future plans in this venue, but I guess the last two days haven’t been the most vibrant. I’ve been working long hours at REI, preparing for our big sale tomorrow. I hasn’t been anything to complain about – my work there is entertaining and easy; just a colossal waste of my time. I’m getting frustrated again, because I still can’t find something that matches what I feel like I should be doing. I’m still not quite sure that I know what I yet either – I just know what I don’t want.
A google search for “Activists in Austin” yields a small handful of out-dated websites. There might be a few links to groups in town, but their websites are dated too – nothing is connecting Austin’s progressive community in useful, sensible and modern ways. Maybe that should be my niche. We have the people, we have the ideas, and we have a loose foundation of groups working with those ideas – just no way to connect them together. We’ll see what I can do – first I need a little time to meet some folks and get a better idea of how to approach things. We’ll see where it goes…
Ok, I’m off to work now. Enjoy your day.
Old Friends
Last week I got to see one of my oldest friends for the first time in six years. It was a pretty enlightening experience, to say the least. The last time we saw each other was our junior year of High School at Burkburnett, Texas. He got into some trouble with the law, moving to California shortly afterward, and I was on a plane to England a few months later. He was my first friend in Texas – going back to the fourth grade. We spent our evenings terrorizing our neighborhood like all young kids should. When High School started, we each sort of went our own way, but I think we still looked out for each other in a sort of disconnected way.
He’s doing some really remarkable things with his life out in California, and his head is definitely in the right place. It’s refreshing to see that, especially since so many others kids we grew up with seem to be doing generally worthless things. I think my old friend and I always saw things differently than our peers, and were always going to go to better places in our life. To be able to see that we’ve done just that really put a huge smile on my face for a few days.
We’ve had rain for the last two days now. Sunday was a rainy ride, but I was motivated to get out because I was riding with others. It’s much more difficult to find rainy-ride-motivation when you do the bulk of your training alone, and you’re training for nothing in particular. Yesterday was really, really wet – justifying my decision; but this morning’s wetness would have been manageable. I still passed on the opportunity. The forecast shows lightning bolts for ten days into the foreseeable future, so I’ll have to suck it up if I want to use my free mornings this week.
I’ll be especially miserable if it rains this weekend. You can’t climb in the rain…
I’m turning 23 in about a week. I’m trying to not forget my birthday this year, like I did for my 22nd. The more I write it down, and the more I say it, the better. Things were much busier for me last year, so I’m going to continue to use that as my excuse. I was taking my last finals at UT – the ones I didn’t study at all for – in order to graduate. Right in the middle of all that, I flew to NY for Eric’s wedding. And, somehow I managed almost two weeks away from work at the capitol during all of this without getting fired – I was disappointed, because my job sucked. This year I have no excuses though. I can’t say with a straight face that my cycling, climbing, mornings writing and relaxed evenings at work keep my mind too scattered.
Jack & Adam’s Ride
The hour was early when my alarm started ringing this morning. I was already up… Despite the pints and late evening the night before, I rolled out my door at 7:30 on my way to Jack & Adam’s for their weekly Sunday ride. A large contingent of the 09 Texas 4000 team would be heading that direction too around the same time, and joined by 20 or so J&A’s folks, we had a pretty large group at the shop by 8:00. The sky was threatening rain as we were gathering in the parking lot, but it never made any commitments to stick around. The roads were still quite wet though. Our route would take us down South towards Buda/Kyle, a decent 40 miles.
We twisted through some South Austin neighborhoods before intersecting South 1st. I don’t usually ride with large groups anymore, because inexperienced riders get twitchy and kind of freak me out, and this group was no exception. But once we hit 1st, the group accelerated a little bit, trimming off sketchier riders. We turned off 1st onto Old San Antonio Road, which would take us all the way to Buda, with the wind in our face. Our group was still a little twitchy, so James and I jumped to the front and rode tempo – nice, quick, and consistent. We pulled our group of 10 almost to Buda, then rotated back. After dodging traffic from the wiener dog races, we stopped for liquids and turned back towards home.
The road home was fantastic, as we now had a pretty substantial tail-wind pushing us along. Again, James and I moved to the front and set tempo at around 25mph, and I made a few jumps on some hills. We were eating up the pavement, and made it back to 1st in no time. Back at Jack & Adam’s, they had a nice breakfast of tacos and coffee waiting for us – one of the coolest gestures ever, and one of the many things that makes them such a beloved part of our cycling community. We hung out at the shop for a while, then I headed home. It was a fantastic morning.
Monday Monday
It’s been a few days since I’ve posted anything – sorry if you’ve been waiting. The last few days have been pretty grand. Although I was scheduled to be at work Saturday and Sunday, I ended up taking those days off, combining them with my Monday for a nice three day weekend. I needed it. I needed some time to think, meditate, clear my head, and get things going my own speed again.
I came back to life on Monday, for what was one of my best Mondays in recent memory. I met Carolina, my new cycling buddy, bright and early at 7:00am at our local JP’s Java. If we were going to get on the road that early, caffeine would certainly be needed to keep us going. Finishing our coffee, we headed out 24th to hit Scenic Drive, taking us through the swanky West Austin neighborhoods. (See Mt. Bonnell/Mesa route) Early in the morning, these roads are usually free from traffic; and the combination of sunshine and old trees make for a pretty picturesque area. The road took us up Mt. Bonnell, and then down the twisty descent on the opposite side – banked 90 degree turns that, when mixed with a little insanity, can really give you a thrill. We turned around when we hit 2222 to head back the way we came. On the way back, at the intersection of 35th and Mt. Bonnell Road, we stopped to see a big male peacock hanging out on the corner. His home was a park/nature preserve near there. We followed him home, and chatted with the park’s groundskeeper for a while.
We squeezed in a few more miles around the Shoal Creek area, then headed back to Carolina’s place, where she cooked me breakfast. We were joined by my old friend, Paul, who also lives in her coop. So, keeping the early hour in mind, I had: good coffee, miles on my legs, smiling conversation, breakfast, and more than a few laughs, all before 10:00am. What a great way to start the day. I wanted to keep the momentum going, to try to be productive, so after a quick shower I headed down to Clementine for more coffee and to work on job stuff. I revised my resume a little bit. I looked for places to send it to, but didn’t have too much luck.
At Clementine I got some good news. My brother’s wife went into labor late Sunday night/Monday morning, and the kid popped out healthy and without too much trouble at 12:01pm. I’m an uncle now. Neat.
I walked home, and on the way decided to sell some things on craigslist. Looking through my room, I gathered up an old wheelset, an old fork, some old clipless pedals, an old floor pump, some tires, and a seatpost. I snapped some pictures, posted some ads, and a few hours later had $50 in my pocket. The wheelset went first, the fork is gone now too, and for the rest I’ll probably lower the price to a six pack of beer until they’re gone. My trash is apparently someone else’s treasure. And, I’ve paid for my new climbing shoes already…
Later Monday evening, I headed to campus to see the Texas 4000 kids at their meeting. Amy called me before I walked out the door – she was momentarily worried that one of her less-than-wholesome patrons at the bar was actually my brother, and laughingly took me through the steps of her investigation. I left my place with a huge smile on my face. I kept that smile throughout the T4k meeting. Simply said: They. Are. Rocking. This. Year. Those people make me proud. I chatted with their fearless leader, Jon, for a while after the meeting and then took the long route home on my bike. I was in bed by 10:00pm.
Site Changes
A quick note… The “About” page has been updated, finally; check it out if you have a chance. I have a real update to post today, but it looks like the rain has stopped and I want to ride my bicycle. Stay tuned.
Babies Everywhere
My last two days have been really, really great. I’ve been working quite a bit – long and intensive days too – but they haven’t been too bad for me. We’re prepping for the first week of May, the anniversary sale – our biggest sale of the year; meaning lots of product to stash and store, and lots of reorganization to do. It feels good to be productive and slightly creative again though – I went through a decently long spell when things were getting stagnant. The high(er) workload will probably continue until after my 23rd birthday (May 7), and I hope to be settling into a new job by then. That’s the extent of my life’s outlook at the moment, as far as I want to plan things out.
I’ve been on the bike with something resembling consistency this week. I did an easy ride yesterday morning with Carolina – a few gentle miles around Shoal Creek. It’s nice to have someone new to ride with. Two people riding together always seem to share an unusually close connection – conversation seems to go deeper than usual, and the common love for bicycles joins people together in a very personable way. My fitness feels good, and I’m contemplating adding in a few weeks of intensity, then heading to the driveway for a Thursday Night Criterium… I’m still not very motivated though.
What I am motivated about though is starting up my rock climbing career soon. Tomorrow I’m going to buy a pair of climbing shoes, and order myself a harness. Once my equipment arrives, I have a few friends willing to show me the ropes so to speak. Moving to South Austin in May, I’ll be only a few miles away from the rock at the Greenbelt… We’ll see where it all goes, but next to the bicycle it should be a pretty exciting hobby.
My brother and his wife are only a few days away from their first kid being born. The plan is to induce labor on the 20th, if it doesn’t fall out before then. That sort of freaks me out. My mind has been thinking about getting older lately – with another year of my life about to pass pretty soon and all. (I probably would have went through these same feelings last year, but I forgot about my birthday until the night before…) Everyone around me seems to be getting married, or at least tied up in serious relationships, and babies seem to be all the rage right now. I’m still trying to figure out how to prolong my “entrance into adulthood” a few more years…
I know I’m leaving this open-ended, but to make up for it, I’ll leave you with this little bit of magic:
Ice Water Baths on Pez
Interesting article on PezCycling News about cold water immersion and muscle recovery.
It’s hard to break down tradition, but in this case the popular idea of cold water baths enhancing recovery appears to be exactly that – an old “trainers” tale that’s become entrenched in many locker rooms. It’s hard to beat the blunt writing of Howatson et al. when they write: “Perhaps most importantly, there were no differences in condition in the repeated bout, indicating that the adaptation process was not affected following a repeated CWI regime of this nature.”
Ozark Highlands Trail Photos
Here they are! Hit the link to see the gallery, and leave a comment if you want the full resolution of any of these…
Le Tired
I don’t typically write in the evenings; once the sun is down, I usually go into social mode or recovery mode, and rarely deviate. But it’s a Monday night – I napped this afternoon so I’m not tired, and I’m not feeling too sociable this evening. I’m in a good mood today, despite being a little worn out. I’ve been sleep deprived these past two days, with early morning cycling, a late night at work, and trouble sleeping past 7:00am. I feel like it all caught up with me today. It was difficult for me to make it through work earlier this afternoon; even though I had a really short day, I was dragging along the entire time. I wanted to ride my bike directly after work, but decided at the last minute to turn towards home instead. I fell into an incredibly deep sleep shortly after getting back, for what must have been at least two hours.
I feeling pretty good now though. A few minutes ago I walked down to my local coffeeshop, and now I’m enjoying a really, really good pint of beer. Live Oak’s Primus Weizenbock. It’s a new one for me, and being such a big fan of their beers, I’m surprised I haven’t tried it yet. Like usual, it doesn’t disappoint – it seems like Live Oak is replicating all the best German beers in all the best ways. It’s really chill here tonight; not a lot of people around, just a few couples chatting and a few folks working on their computers, like me. I’m happy with my single designation this evening, but feel like that should be changing soon.
This morning I updated my bike route maps with two new additions out east, and one new route out west. Check them out when you get a chance. I also have a number of pictures from our Ozarks hike I’d like to upload soon – maybe this evening – so watch out for that. I’m going to try to ride my bike tomorrow morning, and then it’s off to work… I hope you all have a good night.
Nine Hours
The pizza and homebrew gathering was a success. I rode over around 9:00pm – right after work – covering the seven miles in about 20 minutes. I’d never ridden to Steven and Emily’s place before, but wanted to get a feel for it since that’ll be my new commute starting in May. It’s a fast and smooth cruise to/from downtown. Pizza from the 800 degree earthen oven was fantastic. It was a thick(er) crust style pie, and after some difficult choices, I ended up with mushrooms and fresh basil as my toppings. It was ready in about five minutes. We drank a homemade lemongrass beer (on tap), and I chatted and played Boggle with Steven and Emily until midnight or so. Then I made short work of my eleven mile ride home.
Yesterday was an eventful one. I was up at 6:45, after about four hours of sleep, to go ride my bicycle with the 2009 Texas 4000 team. My breakfast of scrambled egg and bacon rice cakes was with me as I walked out the door, and after a quick stop at JP’s Java for coffee, I was ready to ride with the others at 7:30. The goal for the day was 75 miles, out west going towards Johnson City. I decided to tag along with Carolina’s group, and together we led five other riders for the day. It was a good day for a long ride – not too warm or too cold, too windy or too wet. The roads to Johnson City are tough – rarely flat and rarely smooth; one of the hardest long ride routes you can take around here. The folks we were with were the less experienced cyclist of the new team, giving Carolina and I the opportunity to pass along a lot of great information as we pedaled throughout the day.
It was a long day in the saddle. The high mileage and difficult roads prevented us from ever really pushing the pace. But we pushed through, and pushed each other along. It’s difficult to explain to people outside of Texas 4000 the determination and motivation that these riders have – it still humbles me to be a part of it when I can. After nine long and sometimes rainy hours on the bike, we made it back to Austin. Most cyclists rarely touch the six hour mark, and I’ve never been introduced to a two month old cyclist who could even get close to doing something like this. These kids are rock stars.
As a side note, the rice cake experiment went quite well, and I’ll be creating these guys for my future long rides when I need a break from ProBars. The sushi rice is like glue, even when warmed by my body heat. I felt myself wanting a more salty mixture though, and will add a touch of soy next time.
I was out of steam yesterday afternoon after the marathon ride, but on the upside, I caught up on all my sleep last night. I go to work tonight from 7:00pm to 1:00am or so, to move the store around while a crew cleans our carpets. That should be fun. I’m working almost everyday this week, but longer hours mean more money, which is helpful for next month’s move and hopeful job transition.
