Inchoate, etc.

I love the word inchoate and met the embodiment of that word recently. Everybody's always getting somewhere better...why don't we smell the roses or the stinky person next to us?

For something entirely different, the weather out here has taken a turn for the, well, wintry. So, indoors we go! I've been at the gym alot and bought some Spinnerval dvd's to pass the time. Sore butt anyone?

Not much new to report. I'm headed to Cali in February with some teammates from Horizon Organic. Looking forward to the trip and now I have the first target to strike...need to be ready to train and ride and drink. Rinse, wash, repeat.

Off to bed...

Tim

Come and Gone

A co-worker of mine at Boulder Fire told me recently about the sudden and unexpected passing of ultra endurance bike racer, Mike Janelle. Some of you may know Mike from his exploits as one of the members of the Catlin/Beaver Creek 4-person Race Across America team. Yep, the team to beat for the past several years.

By all accounts, Mike was a rider and human full of life and vitality. This was cut short the day after Thanksgiving as his pregnant wife found him dead of an apparent heart attack, at 40 years old.

Mike's death reminds all of us, myself included that we have but one life to live and must take this into account every single second of every single day.

Keep the rubber side down.

Tim

Don't Be Like This Guy

Turkey, stuffing, beer, CU football, more beer. Enough said.

Get On It

Getting back on the bike after a prolonged absence is a bit like breaking the seal on a can of spaghetti sauce. You have to force that sucker open with all your might and feel ridiculous that that can of sauce is kicking your butt. But it does and yes, you are weak.

I've started riding again after about a 2 month absence from riding, spending most of my time in the gym doing strenght training and the like. Went to Copper Mountain last week for the first day of snowboarding this season. I know that's not exactly a cardio workout, but my quads were pretty toasty after a couple of runs on the packed, man-made early season groomers. Looking forward to the "pow pow" as they say out here, but heck, no snow on the ground means an "opportunity" to get some early season bike riding in.

My Boulder team, Horizon Organics presented by Al's Barber Shop, is starting to get out and go for organized group rides on the weekend. The e-mails are starting to ferociously hit, with taunts of "I'm faster than you and it's November" coming at a rapid pace. I had to skip out last weekend due to a nasty little cold I picked up while working an overtime shift at work. At least I was getting paid to be sick.

So, here it is mid-November and I'm already stressing about putting miles on my bike. When I hesitate to ride, all I have to think about is the 2008 Race Across America, and I just jump right back on like a good soldier.

I'm headed out for a ride today out by Golden, nothing fancy, but it is miles and those count this time of year. Into December and January my Cat III team will be picking up with the devils who ride Cat I and II for our team, so I need to ride early and ride often and turn those pedals over.

Keep the rubber side down.

TC

Re-Up

Hi there,

Just got back late last night from a quick vacation down to Florida to visit Grandma Case. Was greeted with super high winds, geriatric drivers and a bunch-o-rain.

Spent a few days resting and recovering from a CRAZY couple of tours at work, which culminated in a rather large apartment fire where my comrades and I rescued 4 people from the third floor of the building that was on fire. Check this out...

Decided to go for a run and remembered, quite immediately, just how much I love cycling and just how much I hate running. I just don't get it. Okay, I was running on the beach and all, but my Chariots of Fire delusions just didn't cut it after a while.

Well, the e-mail flurries from my Boulder based cycling team are falling into my inbox just as readily as the white fluffy flurries dropping out of the sky up at my mountain chalet, I mean, house. Planning for 2008 is already underway, the biggest local announcement being that my Wild Oats Cycling Team will be sponsored by Horizon Organic for 2008. No Wild Oats (vis. Whole Foods buying them out) means no sponsorship. No worries! Horizon Organic is a solid company and my team will be going strong through next season. For heaven's sake, our first group ride of the year is already this weekend! So much for the "off season."

Team Strong Heart and yours truly have a whole bunch of work coming up with sponsorships, donations, budgeting, etc., but we are all extraordinarily excited about the upcoming year. There isn't a day that goes buy without thoughts of the 2008 Race Across America.

Bring it!

Tim

Crash and Freeze

I'm sore. Nope, not sore from an "epic" bike ride out in the ever-colder mountains of Colorado. No, I'm sore today because a couple of nights ago I crashed my motorcycle. Yeah, I'm the guy that rides his motorcycle until the snow and ice starts showing up on the ground. Actually, that's already sort of started out here, but not enough to keep me of the motorbike.

I was about a half mile from my house, riding home in the chilled mountain air when a huge buck jumped out in front of me. Mind you, I've had this sort of thing happen before and yes, it is freakin' scary when some unknowing creature crosses its path with an unknowing human on his bike. Usually it's just an affair forged out of letting up on the throttle and sort of dancing around the deer or elk or coon, or whatever. This time, though, I was on the dirt/gravel road near my house and so my reaction, whatever that was (I can't exactly remember what happened), sent me and bike sliding across the road. I ended up in the ditch after slamming my head, shoulder and knee into the ground. By grace, I was wearing all of my protective gear, save the riding pants I bought a while ago.

So...long story short, I got home in the dark of night, my shoulder is really sore, even today, my right knee is swollen but going down and my neck is getting better.

With that in mind, I've been taking it easy from working out. Yesterday I played basketball with some co-workers and took them to school, especially in the paint. Bottom line is, don't let the gimp get ahead of you because he will get the points at the basket. I tried jumping on the bike after b-ball, but my knee was telling me not to for very long so I went home...

Headed to the Race Across America Fall Festival tomorrow, hosted by the gracious folks at the RAAM organization. As you may have noticed, Team Strong Heart has made a HUGE impact on the RAAM organization and we have a ton of momentum headed into next year's event. I'll get y'all an update on the partay tomorrow, etc.

Keep the rubber side, pedal and motorized, down...

TC

Band of Brothers

Okay, yet again I don't have much to report on the training front, other than that I've been in the gym, out for a fall hike and the mountains to the west of my house are, well, snow covered. In a couple of weeks I'll be headed into Boulder for a Race Across America "meet and greet" with the organizers of RAAM, several current and former racers and staff. It'll be a great fact-finding mission for my own solo effort as well as the 4-person mixed team that Team Strong Heart is building for '08. Stay tuned for a an update on how that whole thing unfolds...
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The meaning of family and friendship has changed dramatically for me since moving out to Colorado almost two years ago for my job. With the cross-country move, the new job, new friends, co-workers, etc., I have had to adjust to breaking bread on Christmas Day with my "new" sisters and brothers at the firehouse while not doing the same with my family in Chicago, have adjusted to sharing the highs and the lows with those same folks, with joining two new cycling teams, one for the Race Across America and one for the "everyday" sort of training and racing that we like to do out here.

Family has extended to include those at the firehouse and those at the local bike race. Joining Team Strong Heart about a year ago expanded that definition and I'm a firm believer that my life is much, much better for it. Now, when my heart is broken or my strength (mental or physical) is failing, I have a richer bank to draw from and to pay back in every little way that I can. I know that I can count on every single person who has chosen to be in my life with my life, quite literally. When the call for service comes in at work and when the starter's gun goes off at the local criterium, I have an enormous sense of support and a foundation for truly wonderful things.

I've had an interesting turn of events in my personal life as of late and the past couple of weeks have proven to me that no matter what road I'm traveling down I am never alone in those efforts and travails. Thanks to all of you who care enough to read my ramblings, support Team Strong Heart and keep an ear to what is happening with my solo RAAM training and TSH in the upcoming year.

Keep the rubber side down...

Tim