1000 watts an hour

it has been a while

2010-05-09T23:01:00.000-07:00

Yes it has. PS, apparently I cannot spell, luckily Vienna is here to help correct me. Off to college again next year. If I don't make it to spring term I am sure I will get kicked out of my house.

I have a sweet new bike and white kits, what up?

I have two followers, which I just found out. cyber-five to you two

This season will be legen - wait for it- dary

Forever

2009-09-08T19:52:00.001-07:00

thats how long it has been since i have posted, pretty bad huh? Why is it i hate using correct writing skills in blogs and emails. yet i dont mind using them in text messages, unless i am trying to explain to coach why i didnt finish the race

speaking of that, I just freaking finished my first cyclocross race, which i got third in! hells yeah! cyclocross was pretty fun, lots of jumping over stuff and me flipping my bars, i should have done this long long ago!

the university study is over, i didnt put out as good of numbers as i would have hoped, but then again i was in a lab, not chasing nick on the last lap of a crit, man i miss those already. the weather was a bit sketchy at the cx race, but it actually turned out perfect for us singlespeeds.

school starts in 3 weeks, that means next week i can give my notice, unless ofcourse i find a way to not quit, which would make more sense because as i love money, or at least having a bit to do fun stuff

base training starts next week, i am incorporating some cross training this year for the first time, it shall be awesome, just like the song 'nighttiming' by coconut records. if i knew how to put that song in this here googlizing machine i would

well off to bed, i have a loing day ahead of me tomorrow

Scholarship!!

2009-08-20T17:40:00.000-07:00

I won!!! I was surprised to see a letter from Lane Community stating I had won a $1200 scholarship!! I wasn't sure I was going to go back to school winter term because of money, but then this comes along, and WHAMMY!!!

So I have signed up for fall classes, wish me luck while I try to ride, go to school and work

Sal is Champion

2009-08-13T21:09:00.000-07:00

Well Sal sure did pull out a huge victory Wednesday, I know because I was awoken by the most excited Sal I have ever heard, "Hey guess what, I just won! You win those little crits in Eugene, but I win big ones in Portland!!"

Now, I am not sure that is exactly how Sal said it, as I mentioned earlier, I was sleeping when the excite phone call came. But let me tell you, of all the phone calls that could wake someone, that was for surely the best one!!

So next time you see Sal, make sure you congratulate him, make sure you shake the hand of a true champion. Make sure not to look him straight in the eyes, I've heard he is currently the owner of a killer glare, one that will melt your tires and lock your brakes.

University Study

2009-08-05T18:00:00.000-07:00

I signed up for a study being done at the U of O, it is being conducted by Santiago Lorenzo. This study has a lot to do with heat and heat acclimation. I decided to do it because of a few things, one is free testing! I get four VO2 tests and four Lactic Threshold tests, something that usually costs a lot. Not only do I not have to pay for it, but I get paid! They are compensating my time, which I think means I am now a professional, I will be getting paid to pedal a bike!

Keep checking back for neat things that happen to me, I hope I won't die!

Tuesday Night World Champion

2009-08-04T21:57:00.000-07:00

That is what Sal should change the name to, Twilight is also the name of a few other crits, plus if it was the Tuesday Night Worlds, I would truly be the champion.

It felt good to take the victory today, even though it wasn't the biggest field, or the hardest race, it still feels nice. I have had a lackluster season to say the least, I made many mistakes including believing potato chips and Big Mac's wouldn't lead to weight gain. I also thought I could take my recovery days off the bike, meaning not riding when I should have been, two major things that helped me not achieve much of anything this year. So when I win a race, even a small week night series, it feels good!

In other good news, my powertap came today!!! I hope it will be all built up and I can ride with it tomorrow. Look for two powermeters on my bike for a few months.

Reasons Why OBRA kills USAC

2009-08-02T10:36:00.000-07:00

1. Number Assignment.

If the race gives me number 119 to put on my bike and my body, then why do all the start lists show me as rider 120? More importantly, somebody needs to tell the officials it is not my fault, I didn't jump into their box of numbers and grab 119 as a big joke.

2. Race Packets

Call me crazy, but I have become a fan of everything in a plastic bag, handed to you with a water bottle and then you are on your way. Not USAC, start in one line, get your numbers, then go to another line and pick up your Tech Guide, and other materials like you were in a buffet. The whole time there is two people behind the table who don't like questions.

3. Membership Cost

OBRA is $20 with a nice cloth number, USAC is $60 with lots of mean looking people. Three times the money yet no customer service at all.

4. Customer Service

Though this plays off the last one, not once has an OBRA volunteer or paid official been rude to me as a rider. It must be in the contract from USAC, if you get paid you must be a real jerk. The volunteers (like the guy at the TT tent) were all nice, they must have been trained by OBRA, the guys in the fancy shirts, no way.

5. Tech Guides

OBRA tech guides have misspellings occasionally, they also have photos and/or pictures of ways you are supposed to put your number, along with a discription. Here is an excerpt from USAC about number placement, "Two body numbers and One frame number" What the Hell?? So using USAC's amazing customer service, I ask where they want the body numbers, haha, boy howdy, it was right then I realized I was the idiot for asking. Not the person who wrote this guide.

6. TT Bike Checks

I'm all for fair competition, but I do not understand the TT bike regulations. Who cares where my seat is in relation to my Bottom Bracket. I go about 75 minutes before my start time and get my bike check, everything passes, you think then my bike would pass again 15 minutes before my start time. Not so with USAC.

7. Time Clocks

$60 for a time trial, you think for that price the start clock would work. It stops working two people in front of me, the paid official then estimates when to send the guy in front of me, realizing they sent him a little late, they send me 15-20 seconds later, not knowing exactly when to send me. OBRA clocks always seem to work, and the guy with the clipboard always seems to have a backup watch ready to go just in case. OBRA has never messed up my start time, even when the race cost is 3-4 times less then USAC.

8. Nuetral Water

OBRA has always had neutral water, and when they cant find enough volunteers, they let the racers know so we can make the appropiate changes. USAC finds it ok to not tell us about the cancellation of nuetral water until we are in staging. For a race that is ~120 miles in weather hitting 100 degrees, common courtesy would be to let us know at least 45 minutes before our race, when we were all sitting by the start in the shade.

USAC blows, they do not realize it is us, the riders, that pay thier bills. OBRA has never screwed me over, USAC finds it ok to charge large sums of money. OBRA only raises prices as a last resort, USAC races are full of paid jerks. OBRA's volunteers are the best in the world.

Thank you OBRA for giving us a sane organization to race under.

SpringField Extra

2009-07-02T09:45:00.000-07:00

My sister and I are on the back of the Springfield Extra (Included with todays Register Guard), pick one up!!

Today is my sisters birthday, she is 17!

its been awhile

2009-06-25T05:04:00.000-07:00

it surely has, and i apologize, i have two minutes before I have to leave for work, so this will be short. a quick run of things that has happened lately, riding a lot, working a lot, racing a bit. thats pretty much it. I will post stuff soon, but one thing has to be said, I freaking won on tuesday. thats right, and with that victory I now sit on top of the standings going into the final crit of the month. lets hope I can hold the attacks to a minimum and win the month. that will be nice.

America's Newest Stalker

2009-06-02T16:44:00.000-07:00

Kim Jong Il, because after all, if he can't have us, no one can.

its been awhile

2009-05-30T22:00:00.000-07:00

I feel as if i have been super busy lately. I have been working a lot and riding even more, with those two sleep has been a priority over blogging. Just to touch up what i have done over the last few weeks, my weight has stayed around the same the past ten days, I think I need to re-evaluate the frozen meals for lunch at work.
I got an IPhone, which is pretty freaking awesome, after not ever upgrading past the free phone, I am glad this was my first choice. I used to laugh at people who spent the money these. It only took me a few seconds to realize the piece of phone in my hand was not a phone, it is a freaking computer!! This has contributed to my level of blogging, I do not use my laptop much since I got this sweet phone.
I had to see a doctor about some saddle sores, not a subject most people talk about openly, which i think is bad. I have been plagued with them since the start of the season, often taking me off the bike for several days, but a visit to my family practitioner was successful, and I contribute the fact my doctor rides a bike in the sunny months to his knowledge of the subject.
I saw today Mark Hibbard won a MAsters race, and not any Masters race, but the State Championships!! I think we should call him 'champ' for the rest of the season, 'champ hibbard' I like it, haha I think you should name your child Champ, Mark!
Off to sleep for me, I get another long day in the saddle tomorrow in awesome weather!

SUNNY!!!!

2009-05-14T17:52:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those rest days where I don't even ride. Two days of no sleep and a few hard days in a row meant the Thursday Nighter was not going to happen. I want to be pretty fresh going into Silverton, I hope to do well in the climbs there. In other news, my new TT seat works pretty well. It hurts super bad when I'm not in the aero bars, but when I am, Bow Howdy is it sweet!!! It is almost six pm, which means it is almost time to sleep!!!

Boy Howdy

2009-05-05T19:41:00.000-07:00

Do I need a haircut!!!! it has been awhile, I was trying to do the opposite of the Congress, I was trying to cut discretionary spending. It has worked, I have saved some money and done something else the federal government just will not do, I payed off some debt. Even with these savings, there comes a time in a young man's life when he needs to look professional again, a time when he needs to realize maybe the 'part' is not in style anymore. I sure hope Rache can make something nice out of all the hair I have up there.

Thursday Nighter

2009-05-01T09:22:00.000-07:00

I went on it yesterday. It was a swell time, I got dropped over Welder's. This did not surprise me much, though I had hoped to make it over. After that, Mike Rosenburg and I chased for a long freaking time. He was just getting over some sickness so he would pull for a few seconds and then half to drop off, can't blame the guy, and I was fine trying to tow him back into the group. Well we caught one guy, I forgot his name but he rides for Life Cycle, and so he and I did a lot of work while Mike sat on. Later on this guy got dropped, I think in the headwind section, and Mike and I motored on. No luck though, we picked up another guy wearing a Collin's kit. He helped out and then i turned around and Mike was gone, he took a shortcut without telling us. So I decided we should wait for Kennett, he was along side of the road with a flat. At that point the group had picked up the speed and were gone. So the four of us rode back to the church area. We were standing at the intersection not knowing why, then we found out we were waiting for the womens group. That is when Kennett and I took off to go up McBeth. At a slow pace we rode up and over Fox Hollow to get back to Eugene. That was my Thursday, it was pretty Neat-O Gang.

So Tired!

2009-04-22T16:21:00.000-07:00

In the way the feels good!! The weight has been dropping quite nicely, and the power is rising. This is the tiredness that brings joy!! The training has been going well. I was hoping to race Willamette well, but sadly it is not going to happen, :( It isn't even supposed to rain this weekend! Well that means I will just do some big rides this weekend, and hopefully a lot of climbing!! My new riding position is freaking awesome, Luke at Collins helped a ton. I am ready for dinner and sleep.

First Ride

2009-04-19T18:13:00.000-07:00

Today was my first ride in a week, and boy was it nice!!! I got to go out in no warmers and do some light spinning, just enough to see how my body reacts. It was great. I was a little upset I could not race yesterday, but we have another nice day tomorrow, I get off at noon:30, then I will go do some nice cycling.

Eugene-Roubaix

2009-04-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

I am not going to make it :( I love that race, I just feel like such a machine there, riding over gravel and minimal climbing, that is a race I enjoy!! As I am getting over my sickness I have decided to try drinking one beer, a Ninkasi Tricerahops, boy howdy is it yummy!! This is my one beer for the month, and although it may not be the best for me to drink it as I am getting over some sickness, it is best I drink my one beer when not in the middle of an important training block. Part of me wants to go watch the race tomorrow, but I know I can't ride over there, instead I will stay inside on yet another nice spring day and watch movies. I went to Big City Gamin', the best place to rent movies, and got three. The new James Bond, The Patriot, and Blazing Saddles. That is how my saturday will go, watching movies. Until next time....

I Really Am

2009-04-16T07:46:00.000-07:00

I hoped this wouldn't happen, but I am sick :( It helps explain my poor riding a Kings Valley, I mean, it was worse then it should have been. I doubt I will make it to Eugene-Roubaix this weekend, which really blows, I love that race. For now I am watching John Adams, the HBO mini-series I borrowed from a friend. I am also filling in the holes with some light reading, a Ronald Reagan biography and Mark Levin's new book, Liberty and Tyranny.

SICK!!!!

2009-04-14T16:05:00.001-07:00

I am getting sick, My waking HR is way higher then normal, even after a recovery day. My legs do not want to move, my throat screams with every breathe. It is time for my body to take a rest, I am sad. I wanted to go hard through Sunday and then take a mini rest for Willamette, then I was planning on a few days of weight loss riding. It looks like I will take a break here so I can be at Eugene-Roubaix. I love smoothies!!!!

It is coming

2009-04-11T20:25:00.000-07:00

The form is coming along, but very slowly. The weight is dropping, but slowly. Some think I did not ride this winter, well they are wrong. I would ride for one week straight really well, then I would take two weeks off. It was not my favorite thing to do but I made the mistakes. I am now paying for those mistakes every time I want a beer, I am paying for those mistakes every time the race reaches a hill. What people do not realize is I will be fine. I may be a few months behind the rest of the Peleton, but I will get up to my best power numbers from last year, and then I will surpass them. My weight will get down to where I was last year, and then it will drop some more. My power to weight ratio will once again attain the same greatness as last year, then it will push up into what U23 riders need it to be. No matter how this season turns out, I know that I have learned lessons that have become extremely important. I realize that not riding and eating the 'Family Size' of Lay's is not the best way to get strong. I have learned that just because you are now 21 does not mean you have to get the beer everytime you go to a restaurant, I have learned that smaller portions are ok, even for a cyclist. When I tell people not to worry about my strength, I am telling myself. The lessons of this past winter has lead me to a new lesson, Patience. I need Patience, the form will not be here tomorrow when I wake up. I need to learn to be patient and realize every time I ride I am making a deposit in the bank. I need to make many deposits if I am to make the size of withdrawl I need to make in July.

Today was one of those deposits. A deposit that hurt, but it was during this trip to the bank that I saw my statement. This trip to the bank gave me just a glimpse of what is in my account. It was both encouraging, the way I saw my deposits adding up. At the same time it showed me how much work was to be done, I saw the deficit I need to fill. Tomorrow is another trip to the bank, my bank is not closed on Sundays. I hope the deposit I make will be large. I hope it will be a deposit I can count on in the future.

Whats more fun then racing???

2009-04-10T16:57:00.000-07:00

Absolutely freaking nothing!!! Training bores me without racing, questions like why the heck do I want to climb McBeth six times today, always get answered with, who knows, if there is no racing. Now that my season has officially started with Cherry Blossom, My training has meaning!!!

Soon I will be at the front again, Soon I will win Time trials and crits, Soon I will not embarrass my supporters!! haha Soon!! July is still a long ways away, but I will be ready when it comes :)

Time Flies!!!

2009-04-09T04:48:00.000-07:00

Except when I am doing the hill climb apparently. Here is a tip, if you are going to use the TT bike for a Hill Climbing Time Trial, Make sure two things happen. One, Your seat isn't killing you, this will be solved today when hopefully my new seat will arrive. Two, Make sure you have the proper gearing, because trust me, a 44-23 is not the best gear to use when climbing McBeth.

In another note of time flying by, it is finally race season!!! I have Kings Valley this weekend. This race is a killer race, super fun! This year I will not make the same mistake as last year, plus I will be in the harder class. It should be fun and I sure hope I will hang on the climbs.

Off to work to pay for the addiction.

Cherry Blossom SR

2009-04-06T16:40:00.000-07:00

I finished 52nd, narrowly missing the Victory by a mere 2 hours, 17 minutes, 17 seconds. Haha. I successfully got last place, always the first to get dropped and the last to finish, but guess what, I actually finished, which is more then you can say for the 27 people that didn't. I am sure they may have had their reasons to not finish, I have dropped out of my fair share of Stage Races, but my excuse always boiled down to "I just did not have the will-power" This race was my true season opener, exceptionally late in the season as it may be, I am looking for JULY. I am able to race the U23 Nationals both this year and next, and both are in Bend, meaning I will try my hardest in those races. In the next four months I fully expect to go from first to last, because as Mark said to me yesterday at the beginning of the stage, "Shake and Bake"

TODAY :)

2009-03-30T18:53:00.000-07:00

Today was a perfect day :) I went to work and worked well. I met my Megan and received a kiss. I came home and got on the TT bike. I put out some good numbers. The weather was amazing. It is spring. I listened to Glenn Beck AND Kenny Chesney. I now go to sleep. :)

Cherry Blossom

2009-03-28T10:49:00.000-07:00

Is only six days away, I am so not ready for it, far from it, haha. Oh well, I will go there and get some good race data and then I can really see how far behind everyone else I am. But hey, It is ok, I have until July to get my power up there, and trust me, It will be up there when July hits! These early season races are awesome for me, there is not any pressure excpet to see where I am at. Call it the first test of the semester, you never need to get an A on it, though it helps, because you have other tests you can Ace to bring the grade up.

I am excited about this race, I love stage races! I love getting up everyday to another race, although I am tired at the end of a stage race, I always want it to go on longer. It is like the ultimate vacation, For three or four days I am a professional, I only have to worry about eating lots of food and pedaling. I wake up and eat, then I check over my bike. Then I get my racing clothes on and get the numbers on correctly. Next I eat some more and finish off my half cup coffee, I have to limit myself because I have the worlds smallest bladder, which is funny because Megan says I am like a fat man in a small body. Something about how much I love food. Anyways, then I get all the stuff I need in the car, and get to the race. I warm up and get to the start line, eat some more and I race! Then when I cross the line, I get some food and hand off my bike and get into the car, Then I get to go back to the hotel and sit around and eat while watching TV. Then I make sure to lay out my race clothes for the next day and go to sleep, but first I eat again :)

That is the life, nothing but eating, sleeping and most importantly Bicycling!!!

5:30 is early!!!!

2009-03-25T16:21:00.000-07:00

Clocking into work at 5:29 AM is something I forgot. I can not clock in at 5:30 AM or I am late, So 5:29 it is, though it usually ends up being around 5:20 so I do not become late. There is something about human nature that does not want to get up at 4:15 am, but then again there is something about human nature that does not want to TT at 30 miles an hour. I conquer both. Working so early allows me to ride in the day light, it allows me to miss morning traffic on the way to work. 5:30 also allows me to make enough money to buy new bicycle things!! I am happy to work so early if I can train and save for school next year.

On other news, I received B+ in Writing 121 and B+ in History 202. It was a good semester, with all the writing I did, I am happy it is over!!

Today

2009-03-21T15:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's great day continued with my intervals, after a short bout with rain, I had clear sunny skies for the hard work. I even got a flat because of some glass but the ride was freaking good!!

Today is a cleaning day, I need to clean my room up and find my missing knee warmer. I also need to clean the bathroom, I wish Rico (My foreign kid) was still here, he would take care of it for me! haha

FRIDAY!!!!!

2009-03-20T12:10:00.000-07:00

Fridays are freaking awesome, but today is especially good!! It is the first day of Spring, which means the sunny skies of summer racing are almost here. It also means the rain warms up, which it has been lately. Today is also PayDay!!! It was super nice to deposit that check! I almost have enough to pay off the Legally Stealing hands of Uncle Sam! haha but seriously, I am almost out from under his striped pants for about a year :) :) Today was also a good day because I got home from work and on the counter was a fresh batch of brownies and BACON!!! Who doesn't love Bacon?? Even vegetarians love bacon, they have lots of 'substitute' bacon. Friday also means the start of the weekend, just like a desk-job, I have them off!! Which means two days of riding, though one will be a recovery day. Today, which is Friday, I will do some intervals.

Have a good Friday, Have a good Spring, and hopefully today was your PayDay!

The Crappiest part of being 21??

2009-03-18T21:41:00.000-07:00

Knowing that just because it is $3 Nincasi day at the pub, doesn't mean you need to try enjoy every single one. Also knowing, this one beer is not the best for my training, the water is better but the beer tastes so much better. Sometimes I miss the days before I could buy, at least then the choice was easy. :)

This is American!!

2009-03-16T18:45:00.000-07:00

Dear IRS,

I’m sorry to inform you that I’m not going to be able to pay the taxes owed on April 15th, but all is not lost.

I paid these taxes:

accounts receivable tax,
building permit tax,
CDL tax,
corporate income tax,
dog license tax,
federal income tax,
unemployment tax,
gas tax,
hunting license tax,
fishing license tax,
waterfowl stamp tax,
inheritance tax,
inventory tax,
liquor tax,
luxury tax,
Medicare tax,
city tax,
school and county property tax up to 33% the last four years.
Real estate tax,
Social Security tax,
road use tax,
toll road tax,
state and city sales tax,
recreational vehicle tax,
sales franchise tax,
state unemployment tax,
federal excise tax,
telephone tax,
telephone federal state and local surcharge tax,
telephone minimum usage surcharge tax,
telephone state and local tax,
utility tax,
vehicle tax,
registration tax,
capital gains tax,
lease severance tax,
oil and gas assessment tax,
Colorado property tax,
Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Mexico sales tax

and many more I can’t recall and I’ve run out of space and money.

When you do not receive my check April 15th, just know that it was an honest mistake.

Please treat me the same as the way you’ve treated Congressmen Charlie Rangel, Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, ex-congressman Tom Daschle and, of course, your boss, Timothy Geithner.

No penalties, no interest.

PS, I’ll make at least a partial payment as soon as I get my stimulus check.

Ed Barnett, Wichita Falls.

Pulled from http://www.rightpundits.com/?p=3435

Books

2009-03-16T13:25:00.000-07:00

A couple things I would like to say here, one, I finally bought The 5000 Year Leap, thanks bro for the gift card! I figure I will have some time to read in the next six months. On an even happier note, I sold my textbooks today, and i think i came out even!! That makes me extremely excited, I am also excited that I get tomorrow off so I will get a long bicycle ride in, hopefully the rain won't be too bad, I got my rain bike back together

No more School

2009-03-14T10:13:00.000-07:00

until fall term. I need to work more and save cash for next year, after talking to Seth, i found out how freaking hard school gets, he was saying the class load will make it near impossible to work, cycle and study, so if i can save enough over the next six months I will be able to work minimally next school 'season'

on a sadder note, the rain bike is not together anymore, and it is raining today, haha, at least the TT bike is together!

I can't Belive it!!

2009-03-12T13:27:00.000-07:00

I get to class this morning, i hand in my paper, and WHAMMY!!! the teacher drops a bombshell, one more paper! haha i didn't believe it at first, but sure enough. so i am currently working on that right now.

in other news, i need to sell my Kestrel Talon!! It is a 2007 model year, size 55, carbon frame and fork, comes with front d. it is basically brand new, never ridden in rain, only $350 OBO!!!

Last Paper!!

2009-03-11T20:30:00.000-07:00

My last one is done!!! I am very relieved, it was a long process, I wrote about limiting Congressional pay, arguing their pay should be directly related to their constituents, I hope it goes over well. I have a history test on Monday and I am done with this semester, So excited!!

On some other news, saw my friend David last night, haven't seen him in about five or seven years, we caught up on some stuff, I guess he is getting married so congrats to him.

I should look into getting my books for next semester so i can get a head start.

I am ready for a sleep!

its time

2009-03-08T18:50:00.000-07:00

Its finally time to quit the hamburgers and the colas, its time to eat more broccoli, cabage and orange juice. It is race season and i have put it off too long, now i face the task of racing and loosing weight, i will never let this happen again, too many colas during the winter + not as much riding as i should do = chubby mckenzie

One More Week!!!

2009-03-07T16:52:00.000-08:00

I am writing my second to last paper and only have five classes left until i am done with this semester!!! i am very excited :) on my ride today i helped two chicks and a dude from the U of O team fix his flat. Lenny and the crew were already at the bottom of fox hollow by the time i climbed to them. they said Galen is very strong, this i do not doubt, though i am excited to see this crank breaking strength :) haha man it is windy outside. Read a post that people from eugene have to leave at 5 am to do BB#2 that is insane!! i like leaving my house sometime around ten, that is what i like to call premium leaving time. tomorrow is supposed to be snow showers!!

WOOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!

2009-03-02T09:43:00.000-08:00

I freaking got an A!!!!!!!!!!! I was super excited to get back my paper today to turn the last page and see a 100 thats what i call freaking good!!!

FOOD!!!

2009-03-01T20:01:00.000-08:00

Is it just me, or does a Sam Adams and some meatloaf with Frank's sauce really help out the writing? I guess we will find out!! haha

So I havn't been sleeping well, it sucks. Never sleeping more then 8 hours and never having the eight hours be of any quality really takes a dig on you after ten days of training, you just die. I took off for a nice four hours yesterday and only made it thirty minutes, I was so dead 150 watts felt like a sprint between Nick and I, except there was no one around to see me lose, again. So I turned around and came home, took a shower and went to town. My mission was simple, buy some new pillows, some that wern't so soft. On the way to Target I happened to see a huge banner "2 for $3" my favorite banner, a blinker and a sharp turn through a post office parking lot saw me hustling into a Carl's Jr, or CJ's Lounge. Two Famous Stars later I was ready to do some pillow shopping. I made it to Target and then have a chart for how people sleep. Heck, I don't know how I sleep, so I had to call my Megs, she explained to me how I sleep with frightening detail, I pucke up two pillows and came home. After my sister started to make dinner then ditched us for some friends, we decided a trip tp Speedy Burger would be a good idea. We get to Creswell and Speedy Burger closed twenty-five minutes earlier. So we just kept going until we got to cottage grove and guess what is right off the interstate? A freaking CJ's Lounge!!! We were feeling pretty plush with the cash so we dropped nine dollars!! Two Famous Stars, two medium fries and two tacos is what we ended up with. We made it back home just in time for cops, and let me tell you, when a police officer asks if you have a job, don't reply, "Of course man, I sell weed!" it isn't the best thing to say when you are trying to deny throwing cocaine and a stolen wallet into a bush. Needless to say, this dud ended up in prison. Then within the half hour, my mom wanted some cottage cheese, she was sick, so off to Pleasant Hill we went. We get there abour 8:40 and hit up the cottage cheese aisle. After that it is straight to the beer cooler where the six pack of Sam Adams made it's way here. After we got home from that little adventure, I was beat, so off to bed I went. Since then I slept a lot better but still feel super tired. Today I did nothing but write this paper on why we should limit Congressional pay, giving my six ideas that should be ammended to the consititution, We can only pray. Now it is off to sleep, I have school from 8:30-10 and work from 12:30-8 I hope to squeeze in a ride.

Nervousness??

2009-02-25T19:54:00.000-08:00

I always find it a bit odd that when i have a day that has some specific, extremely hard goals for me to reach on the bike I get nervous. The same nervousness I used to get on the gate at State in Grants Pass. I usually put off the riding for a bit, and then when i do go, the first few miles I worry about how I will do for the day, but as soon as the first interval is done I feel so much better. Then I feel good for a few, but the last few get extremely hard, especially when we are talking VO2 max intervals, they are freaking hard. But today I got through them, I hit most of my goals and the numbers were better then last week which is always nice. So now i am beat!! I am ready for a sleep and to start tomorrow, which includes a recovery ride!

I Freaking Won Minesweeper!!

2009-02-24T13:24:00.000-08:00

If I was computer savvy like many other bloggers, I would be able to show you exactly how my game of minesweeper turned out, instead you will just have to take my word for it. I have been playing a lot in the past month, mostly in between writing paragraphs for papers, helps me take my mind of the grueling task of trying to find the best ways of proving my arguments. Well after 349 games, I was not expecting a victory any time soon, then last night at approximately 10:27 pm, my dream came true. I freaking won!!! it was my 350th try at this game called MineSweeper, well at the hardest level at least, all I can say is, I am glad I got that victory out of the way.

Two more weeks of class then I get a two week break!!!

Talk About Nice!!!

2009-02-21T16:32:00.001-08:00

Today was one of those days that was deceiving, but in a nice way! After staying with my megan last night, i woke up early and ate the stack of pancakes she made Annabelle and I, along with some orange juice, though i didn't get the sippy cup! haha The Megs and I got some coffee and the local starbucks and she delivered me to my car. I came home listening to some XM radio and remembered I had some gatoraide still mixed up from yesterday, that was pretty awesome, then I remembered i still had my secret energy gel mix all topped off in the flask, so I was jumping for joy. Around 11:30 I rolled out of the garage and started my one interval today, some nice tempo. I rode for about twenty minutes and then ate the banana i had stashed in my pocket. It was etremely ripe and thus a little hard to peel, but I had waited to a very quiet section of road to eat. My legs were feeling good and my Ipod was providing me with laughs, courtesy of a Mr. Glenn Beck. My time out in the semi-sunny day was coming to an end so I turned left to head back home. When I got home I had just enough time to grab my super secret recovery shake, and settle in for two hours of Bob Roll, Phil and Paul and my personal favorite Craig 'I often comment on bull riding' Hummer. It was a great race! Now I must attempt to write a paper.

Is it possible to get an A on a paper?

2009-02-18T19:25:00.000-08:00

Papers are wierd, because no matter how hard you try, you can never get an A, it is always a B for me, so that got me wondering if my megan had ever gotten an A on a paper, she also only got B's, so now i am curious if anyone out there has ever got an A on a paper?

I think it might be cured!!!

2009-02-17T21:43:00.000-08:00

I am very tired, if all goes to plan, i will be asleep in less then ten minutes!!!

insomnia?

2009-02-17T09:18:00.000-08:00

is it possible to suffer from insomnia when you don't ride? it gets hard for me to sleep when i don't ride, i feel like i'm not even tired. with a full work day and no riding, my legs ache a bit from either standing all day or racing the previous day, yet still no sleep :( wierd.

oh well, i should sleep well tonight because i am tired!!!!!!!!

Floyd did crash :(

2009-02-15T19:01:00.001-08:00

there you go, Floyd crashed the day before the prologue, this blows a little :(

ToC!!! cherry pie

2009-02-14T16:12:00.000-08:00

I freaking love that race, i am sad however that floyd didn;t win, he is an amazing rider, i think i heard that he crashed recently, so i will find out

wrote a letter to DeFazio, thanking him for voting against the spending bill, thanks Peter!

did a power test today, not as good as i would have liked, but not bad for the amount of riding i have been missing these past two weeks. Cherry Pie tomorrow!!! first time this bike has had race wheels on it, it is gonna be sweet!!!

Wal-Mart and Minesweeper

2009-02-13T17:17:00.001-08:00

Has anyone ever won the hard level of minesweeper? i have played 222 times and havn't won once, which makes me try more and more to win!!!

I finally settled on a paper topic, WAL-MART and why they are NOT evil. using the basic principle of the workers choose to work there, i have successfully argued that some people are just bored and hate success. people hate wal-mart because they are number one, they hate mcdonalds because they are number one, i'll give you one guess what number exxon-mobil is? thats right, number one! when did our country hate success?

two days till race day!

I got an A!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-02-11T10:40:00.000-08:00

so i get the test back and i see i missed two questions on the multiple choice, so i go and see which ones i missed. number twenty four, who shot Lincoln, i freaking know this, i must have just out the wrong letter, so i go look. Wait a freaking minute here!!!! it says the correct answer is letter D, there is no D, it was a mistake!! haha so i only missed one question, after the short answer questions, i got a whopping 192 out of 200, i think that is pretty good, i was happy :) now off to write another paper, haha maybe i should just post all my papers from this semester, it could be like a collection of boring papers, maybe i should publish it!! haha, that will help with the bills :)

SNOW???

2009-02-10T10:55:00.000-08:00

the only thing about snow that i like is it makes megan happy, otherwise i would try to melt all of it, i woke to what i could only call a valley blizard, luckily it has subsided!! now time to finish off the ramen and get on the bike for a quick forty five minutes, then back here to finish up a paper hopefully and then off to work tonight, gotta bring in the cash money!!!

Papers

2009-02-07T19:05:00.000-08:00

Geeze la weeze i have to write a lot this semester!! the hardest part is choosing subjects i actually care about, maybe this time i will write how president Obama's election proves America is no longer racist, but then again i can write about how anti-discrimination laws actually discriminate against hetrosexual white males

on a way better note, david over at inciter slothing hooked me up with a prototype shirt! soon i will learn how to post photos just for this!

racing starts in 8 days!!!

history paper

2009-02-01T17:25:00.001-08:00

only five days until it is due!!!

this was review???

2009-01-28T12:56:00.000-08:00

you know it is bad when in chapter one in a math class you are completely lost. at first i thought it was because in the first week i had three different teachers, the original was sick so we had some substitutes. it is now the third week and i am starting to realize that somehow i skipped a math class. so i had to drop it - without a refund - and next semester i will take the skipped class.

i start training again tomorrow, i took some time off to trun twenty one, but now back to serious training mode, hope to bring that lt power back to and above last years peak of 350 watts, which i don't think is too bad for my second year of racing.

some people think it is a bad idea to post power numbers, but floyd did it, and then he won the tour, and i plan on being glued to the tv rooting for him during the TOC

well i must write another paper, only seven to go!!

birthday

2009-01-27T11:41:00.000-08:00

yesterday was my birthday, number 21, it was nice. went to the steelhead, got the sampler! and it was free because it was my birthday!!

then a smaller group of us went to the horsehead, i was pretty surprised to find out there are so many bars downtown, we went to three and didn't walk anymore then 50 yards.

it was fun, i am tired :)

slacking :(

2009-01-19T10:30:00.000-08:00

sorry i havn't written lately, when i get home from school, riding and some homework i am beat!!! i promise to do better!

friday i turned in my first paper, that means one down eight to go, sad part is, when it comes to doing either math or a paper, i head straight to the paper, which means i need to do a bit of catching up on my math, i am almost caught up, so i am not worried, neither should you

well i finished a super nice two week training block, i believe i get a recovery week but i am just waiting to hear back from the coach.

david, you asked about my racing schedule, i will post this week, so be attentive!

now it is off to work

its been a hard one

2009-01-15T06:59:00.000-08:00

woah woah woah, i thought my school schedule was hard, but at the same time thought it was just me, then my advisor said so too. that made me feel better :)

i got all my classes planned out for the next two years, turns out that all i need to get an associates of science degree is three PE classes, bowling, here i come!! haha but for real, i need to lift some weights during the fall term anyways.

bicycling has been going good, this weather has been freaking amazing! i've only had to put on the knee warmers, by the way the castelli knee warmers have some pretty awesome wind-prooffing on the knees, which makes them nice :) i can already see they are my choice fo racing this year

in other news, i am writing about TTT'ing for writing class, forgetting to do my math all the time, and remembering that history classes require lots of essays and papers

NEW GOAL TIME!!!!!!
here it is - i'm not dropping out of any race this year, unless i crash or do some really stupd stuff, i am going to return to my old ways on never giving up

well its time for school, i sure hope i make it this time!

title?

2009-01-10T11:04:00.000-08:00

even though i view myself as a cyclist first and a student second, i get pissed when i don't get an A. when i get a B+ on a paper or a test there is a little rage in me. i am not raging towards someone else, but rather at myself. I know i am responsible for the grades i get, sometimes teachers suck, but that makes it far better when i do get an A. this semester, i am getting all A's. I don't care that, as one guy in my history class put it, "so you spend more time on your bike per day then you do in class" These twin turbos are going to for a record season :)

Week One - Over!

2009-01-09T10:22:00.000-08:00

the first week of class was a doosy!! my math teacher was sick all but yesterday, which meant the first week was a wash. but he is a good teacher, i have had him before, so we got all caught up and even better i understood it!

after all the syllabus came out, i found out i get to write nine papers this semester, so i will start after i ride today, because it is a lot. I better get A's on all of them :)

On a happier note, no need for the rain bike today!

for serious

2009-01-05T19:14:00.000-08:00

wow, i can't believe it. i must have been super excited about today because i couldn't sleep last night, at all!!! so i layed there for three hours, then i got up and hung out with my pops, one beer and my first time watching star wars later i went back to bed. that didn't work so well, so i went ahead and lost 5 or 6 games of freecell then hit the sack. 5.5 hours later i was in the shower!

first day of school came, i almost rocked the whole thing, then i made a novice mistake and shouted the wrong answer in math, hey, i forgot some things about reducing square roots. but i did write down the mistake i made, which is the point of a mistake. so i would say math class was rather successful.

started riding again today, took a month off as i am sure i have already said. it felt good to ride again. i'd tell you how many watts i held today but you might get embarrassed!

21 days :)

Wii and tomorrow

2009-01-04T20:06:00.000-08:00

I've never really enjoyed video games, i have always gotten bored. nothing is worse to me then sitting around and pretending to kill things. maybe this is because when i broke both wrists and elbows, all i did was play the playstation orignal. sat around all day when it was sunny outside because what else can you do? i am was actually surprised i could play because of the wrists. but long behold the Wii. we have had one for months in our living room but i have never played, until last week.

so here i was last week, i wouldn't say bored, but something similar. i was reading a book for school, trying to get a headstart. after 60 pages of reading why soldiers fought in the civil war i was ready for a break. normally i would hop on the bike, but i was under instructions from my coach to not touch it. see it was an exploritory week of sorts. but there was the wii, and no one was home. i closed the curtains, locked to door and picked up the remote.

holy cow is it fun, lets just say my mom and i have had nighlty battles with the sports games every night. she always beats me :( but that is ok, it is super fun.

it has also brought out some muscles i havn't used in awhile, the day after boxing my cousin, though we should call it total domination, i was so freaking sore!!

well tomorrow is my first day of this semester, wish me luck!

Lost drivers license

2009-01-02T17:36:00.001-08:00

ah man! i am one of those guys now!! haha i used it on monday to buy books for school, yet i cannot find it now, anywhere. a quick scroll to the dmv site says they are currently asking $25.50 for a renewal, a little pricey i say, but then again i think the tax on gas is too high, so is income tax, actually they all are. lets hope i get it soon, i have a birthday to attend in 24 days!!

NEW BOOKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-01-01T10:46:00.000-08:00

holy freaking cow, i went to the school book store to get my books the other day, and this was the conversation.

hi, am i supposed to buy all these for this class?

yes, it looks so, i am sorry

wait, does this mean i can choose either this book or those two?

no, these are different books, but it looks like you need both volume one and two

ok, so all five of these?

yes, you need all five sir

ok, thanks :(

so i bought all five books for my history class, i expected maybe three, but five?? holy cow, luckily it is my favorite subject, which means i should be able to get through them if i start now! Book number one is only 180 pages lng, i am on page 73 and classes havn't started yet. so i am feeling ok about it.

I bought a big calendar, one of those ones with extra space is all of the days, david tld me to, its already starting to pay off, thanks david

goals this year :
MT Hood Cycling Classic
State Time Trial
win more then one tuesday night crit
also learn how to race for more then an hour - this is my biggest goal of the season

This one is for David

2008-12-30T10:18:00.000-08:00

Bud, i think youre the only one who reads!!

the off season blows, its like, what the heck am i supposed to do? i check the weather and it reads like this

hours of daylight - 8.9
hours of rain - 10.0

how does that even work? i remember last winter i rode every freaking day outside, it was a bad winter, lots of rain and wind, but i did it. and guess what? i rode pretty well at willamette, i was so used to 35 and rain i didn't even notice. sure i made a bunch of tactical mistakes, but it was my second stage race.

this year will be different, my training hasn't gone exactly to plan since i re-started school, but it will go smoothly, i have about six months until my favorite race Mt Hood!! that race kicks some serious ass, i remember last year, the time trial was in 100+ degree heat, i was flying!!

also this next season i am going to take those things called recovery weeks and even more important, off weeks. i thought everyone was kidding around when they said you can't race hard from january to august.

i'd give you my power numbers but they are a bit embarrassing, i was pretty happy with them until i got on the scales, looks like this holiday hasn't been nice to me, or it was the stressful breakdown that made me not even look at the bike for three weeks, the difference is i am back on it now, i will have to eat smart to lose 8 kilos by june!

waiting for food to settle

2008-11-16T11:11:00.000-08:00

so i am waiting for my breakfast to settle. see, i have a hard time with bonking and i am not so sure why, it seems i am really unsure of how to eat. lately i have been trying to eat around 200-300 carbs 3-4 hours before my ride, then eating 100 carbs right as i mount my noble steed. it seems to be working fine. the bad news is when the weekend comes i don't want to wake so early! which translates into afternoon rides.

i bought a new frame this past week!! i ended up getting a motobecane le champion sl off ebay. brand new frame, fork, headset and front derrailer. this bad boy will be my race bike for the next coming months. then i can sell my way to big TT frame and turn my current road bike into my TT bike. this should allow me to ride in a better sized frame.

anyone want a 55cm Kestrel Talon? barely ridden!! was my TT, can be your TT or road bike.

well i am off for a fun day in what will hopefully not be the last non-raining day of winter.

My First Post

2008-11-11T19:18:00.000-08:00

as the title says, my first post. I've been wanting to start a blog for a freaking long time but haven't been able to find the time until now. I should be studying for my math test, but talking about cycling is so much cooler.

lets just hope my my sense of blogging lasts longer then my sense of myspace

as i have pedaled for hours on end i have often thought of what my first blogging post should be, sadly, like every awesome idea i get on the bike, i have forgotten them. i do remember that i wanted to look up which party Elliot Spitzer belonged to, and also see how many people belonged to the two big parties. sadly i used Wikipedia, which i found out in my writing class isn't a 'reliable source of information' which blows because there is so much cool stuff on there.

i hope this blog will develop into something more then just another blog about bicycles, but even though there are so many out there i still love to read as many as i can. just like peoples bikes, blogs can and should be interesting.

so here is my blog, i hope it interests you, now off to see how to make this fancy.

McKenzie