Wow...so much going on, seems every time I think about writing a new post something comes up and I don't. No good reasons, just lots of excuses.
The country sure is in some crazy weather lately....rain, water....the Mississippi river flooding so hugely....WOW! And then all the tornadoes (or I guess I should I say TORNADOES!) Our weather right up until today has been typical Central Coast spring: and by that I mean WINDY AS HELL! And rather chilly too. But compared with the rest of the country, I'll not complain too loud. But then today....holy crapsickles, I can't believe it! We set a record high here in Santa Maria...it hit 90! And light winds too! It was almost unbearable it was so hot! And yet it was quite beautiful too, and I loved every second of it! Ahhh...a warm toasty spring day! Anyway, due to our seemingly ever-whipping winds, it's been Mt biking central for me...haven't been out on the road bike in a month now. Went out on Saturday for a great mt ride...ended up with 44 miles, 5600' of climbing, which took just a bit over 5 hours of actual ride time. I was totally WHIPPED when I finally made it back to the car, but it was a great day. And the WINDS...I was up on a ridgeline and they were flat-out howling, almost driving me off the ridge in spots. And then moments later I'd be in a protected spot and then I'd be too hot. The whole day was like that. It was crazy yet awesome.
And then hey...how about the Bin Laden thing? Jeez, the we've been looking for the guy for a DECADE now. And to find him living in a mansion just outside the capital city of Pakistan...hmmm. Pretty embarrassing for them I'd think (gee, sorry......we don't know where he is, but we're sure looking hard!)
And now on to the big leagues...the Giro starts SATURDAY, HOORAY!!! But I won't see a lick of it, either! Well, maybe a few licks, if I can somehow get up on weekends early and watch a little bit online. And then 10 days after THAT, it's the TOUR OF CALIFORNIA! It's almost HERE! I can't believe it's already MAY! Gosh how time flies! This year will be a bit different than most though come ToC time.... not having VS on the satellite will be a bit of a downer for me as I won't be watching the stages for the first time. But I WILL be in (or near actually) Solvang for the TT, and will most likely make the final two stages also. I just can't believe it's here already! I have almost NO formal plans other than to BE there. It's gonna be GREAT!
I had planned on uploading a bunch of pics from my ride Saturday, but somehow I've lost the momentum to get that done. And actually I need some SLEEP! Last night right at 3am we suffered power hits to the house AC. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal, however my UPS unit (Uninterrupted Power Supply) for my PC has a beeper that goes off when it senses a loss of the input power. And that wouldn't be a big deal (cuz that's what it's supposed to do) except that it makes the dogs crazy terrified! There's more of a story behind this but suffice to say, poor Sydney is ready to leave when the beeper starts going off. And by leave, I mean leave the house, the property, us. She did it once...climbed the fence and jumped down into the neighbors yard. I still can't believe it didn't kill her...it was a least a 6' drop and she has tiny short front legs. So anyway, I ran to the computer room, shut down the PC and turned off the UPS to shut it up. Too late...damage done. Syd was hiding by the side of the bed, looking for a way out. The other 2 were up and about, freaked out too. So when I came back to bed, I had THREE 50 lb dogs lying ON TOP of me. It took 15 minutes or so but the other 2 finally calmed down and I was able to slide them OFF of me so I could breath...but poor Syd was quaking and shaking like a leaf. I did my best to calm her and such and she finally laid her head right on my neck (hard to breath like that btw). And all I know is that neither she nor I got another wink of sleep right up until my alarm went off, as she was quite agitated and scared. However I just peeked in and she IS sleeping like a baby right now. I'm hoping we can skip tonight's game of 'chew' for a change and just go directly to sleep, do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars.
Wish me luck. And have a GREAT weekend!
5/5/11 update: I forgot to add that if any of you have blogs you frequent that you would like me to add to the blog roll ("blogs I like" is what I called it, on the upper right side of the site) I'd be happy to. So far I have only 3: Fatty's, Jill's n Rants...and I have it setup so I can see the title and date of the last post they did...I really like that! At a quick glance I can see if there's something new for me to check out. I know Theresa and Camile have sites that I peek in on now and then...(T, you need to get something new going there lady!) Cam has stuff almost daily on her artwork...very cool to browse thru and see what all she's been up to. But I don't want to add anybody's site if they don't want it....just my thoughts here...let me know.
And a further update: tonight I did my first road ride in a MONTH! My last road-ride was April 5th...I checked my logbook. Today was another beautiful day here...light winds (I'd say around 10mph, which is QUITE light for us) and sunny, temps in the mid 70's out on the coast. I think I sunburned my legs in the small band of skin that is usually covered by my mtb shorts but exposed w/ road shorts...it was that nice out! My mtb'ing has done me well, I was pretty strong and able to hang w/ my friends (in fact, I pulled a good deal of the ride and was able to sprint away when I needed to...ye-haw!) OK...gotta run...dinner time!
I'll come back later and catch up more, but I just finished watching today's Giro stage.
ReplyDeleteWouter Weylandt was lost in a tragic accident. Such a young guy with his life ahead of him. Very sobering. I'm so sad for his family and team (LEOPARD). It will be so difficult for them all to ride on tomorrow.....
I clicked over to the Giro late & heard references to a crash but didn't know til I also clicked on cyclingnews LIVE updates how bad it looked. Still haven't seen any footage of the crash though. What happened? Were there other riders involved? Did he fall off a cliffside?
ReplyDeleteDon't know HOW that team will continue the Giro. Or Tyler Farrar, who was best friends with Wouter. Sad, sad day for all in cycling & especially for Wouter's family & friends.
But I have to say I am not suprised at all - the Giro has gotten more INSANE every year & something like this was bound to happen. And from what I'd read of the upcoming mt stages, this could happen AGAIN in this year's race. The race organizers don't give a damn about the riders - ridiculous transfers & road & course conditions; all they care about is making the Giro "cycling's toughest race" so they can compete SOMEhow with the TDF.
Matt - when are you going to switch cable providers so you can see all the cycling on Versus AND Universal?! And I like your new site - especially LOVE the photos. I do have a problem when I print (which I do with all posts/comments so I can take home & read) - it prints out 4 more pages of nothing after the real post & comments. Any way you can fix that?
And I was so scared for Sydney! Glad she's better now though. I think she needs a doggie therapist to find out why she keeps EATING all that stuff! Is she "acting out"? Is it a hormonal imbalance? A vitamin deficiency? Goodness, you'll have to watch her like a toddler!
I'm also so sorry about your friend. That's been happening at my workplace now for the last few years & it shocks every time.
And Rae, I meant to write at the time but wasn't able - I'm so very sorry about your dad. I think about you every day & hope you are all right. Please know I send all my thoughts & prayers to you.
And Matt - please don't delay posting again like last week. I was a nervous wreck thinking something had happened to YOU!! I know I haven't been able to comment much the past 6 months, but I DO come here every day to read/catch up. And I hope to start commenting more regular. Starting NOW.
And btw, I read about 1 of Fatty's readers who died on a hike in Hawaii. HOW could that have happenend when he was with other people? And now more than ever, I am SO, SO glad you have that GPS gizmo! Please ALWAYS use it! And that goes for everyone else here who runs/bikes by themselves! And do you all have your RoadIDs? If not, get them NOW! I need ALL my friends!
This accident had nothing to do with the course. It's reported that Wouter had been dropped and was looking behind him to see about joining a group 50m behind him. His pedal or handlebars touched a wall as he was looking backwards and he flipped off his bike, reportedly landing 20m lower on the road, I believe. The peloton will decide the best way to honor their friend on Tuesday's stage. His partner Sophie is pregnant with their child, due in September. Such a tragic accident. I didn't know him, but we all feel like one team today. RIP Wouter, I'm sure you will always be loved and missed.
ReplyDeleteCathy
This is a heartbreaking tribute to Wouter from photographer Tim De Waele
ReplyDeletehttp://on.fb.me/kGemzc
I couldn't get that link to open for me, Cathy. Maybe I have to be "friends" with him to see it? I also thought that Johan wrote a nice little piece earlier today - just sort of expressing how many people feel about the incident. joe lindsey (sp?) had a nice piece, as well.
ReplyDeleteMy husband got me Universal computer coverage of the Giro for Mother's Day (how cool is that??). I was just watching it for the first time this morning and was just crushed by that accident. You could tell from their brief shot right after the crash that the outcome could be horrible. It has bothered me the rest of the day. Another one of those things that makes you step back and realize the blessings that you take for granted in life. I feel so deeply for his girlfriend, unborn baby, and family and zish them peace.
I'm so glad that you'll be able to be at some TOC stages, Matt! You always have great experiences and pics to share.
The Giro is MORE INSANE every year & an accident like that was just waiting to happen. As for that descent - from everything I've read BY the riders & managers, it was not the easiest - twisty & narrow like many of those Italian roads.
ReplyDeleteOf course, even freak accidents can happen ANY time, any WHERE. They don't even have to be descending or racing hard, just a tire slips on a pebble & in that second, if they weren't gripping the handlebars, boom. But in this sport, where there is such a fine line between a smooth running peloton & utter disaster, you would think SAFETY is the VERY 1st concern & over the last 5 years that I've watched (more & more) the Giro, it seems to be an AFTERthought to the organizers.
And I'm very, very worried about what I've seen & read about some of those descents in the upcoming mt stages. Some look like they have to be a JOKE, but apparently they are not.
With all the NEVERENDING crap about doping (past & present), the constant pathetic power struggles between the UCI & SOMEbody, ANYbody (ASO a few years ago, team managers now), cycling is in dire need of GREAT news & this is certainly the opposite of that. But if there is ANY good to come out of this tragedy, maybe all race organizers will plan future courses & races with rider safety priority#1.
I have always been amazed at the athletes in this sport; that they crash horribly & yet laugh it off, calling it "hitting the floor" & gathering "road rash". Plus, they risk their lives DAILY just in training; riding thousands of hours out on public roads, sharing that space with nutso, arrogant, inattentive, drunk, & or criminally-minded car/truck drivers. At least in pro football, another sport savaged by very high injury rates, the AVERAGE million $ salary can help when your career is ended early by accident or injury. PLUS, they have a VERY powerful players union to PROTECT them with things like insurance & pensions. I truly hope that one other good thing to arise from this horrible tragedy is for the RIDERS to finally join together & start being a more determining factor in how this sport is run.