Back to Racing

I have been wanting to get back to racing since the last race that I was in. Ok maybe not right after my last race but shortly after. I have not raced since May or June of 2007. My last race did not end well and since I am in grad school I knew that I could not afford a new frame if something happened to the one I have. Well about a year ago a very nice guy took that excuse away from me. Peter Erdoes gave me a frame that I have been trying to build up.

The build has been slow. To be fair it has pretty much stalled. But I really want to get back to racing. So I made a decision today to just do it. I have signed up for a race 3 weeks from today. YIKES! Yeah my training is probably 2 months behind schedule but in order to push myself to train at 5:30 am I needed the pressure of knowing that the opportunity to race was real.


While I am taking the risk that something happens to my Madone I have a plan in case it does. I will have to sell my Santa Cruz Superlight mountain bike so that I can a)repair my Madone and b)build the frame that Peter game me. I have been holding off on selling my mountain bike b/c I do really like riding it but I have not been on it for over a year now. Hopefully it won't come to this but I am prepared.

So now I just have to make sure I don't look like an idiot and my legs can actually keep me in the race for more than 10 minutes!

Hoops

So on a cycling related blog you would assume that anything entitled hoops probably has to do with wheels. While I do need a set of wheels to build up the frame I am still working on building...this post has nothing to do with wheels.

The hoops I am referring to are the important ones that you have to step through as a graduate student to earn your Ph.D.
They start far before you enter the program. Earn good grades, good GRE score, letters of recommendation, apply to school. Once you are in you have a whole new set of hoops to jump through. Take classes, do research, thesis proposal, thesis defense, written comprehensive exams, oral comprehensive exams, dissertation proposal, dissertation defense.

Well today I successfully proposed my dissertation so I only have one hoop left to jump through--dissertation defense.

Now on to the data collection and defense!

Remembering what matters

Often ours best plans simply don't work out. Missed rides or runs when we have a training plan, having to work late when we want to stop at 5 to relax and spend time doing something fun, ect. We all have had it happen and it can be very frustrating. When life gets in the way of my plans I tend to get very frustrated. Especially when I have been trying very hard to make all of the plans work out. Sometimes it can feel as if I will never be able to get all of the work done, spend time with my family, and ride. I can usually get two of the three in but not all three. Hence my continuing focus on getting the balance right.

But the last few weeks have reminded me of what is really important and no matter how discouraging it can be when things don't go according to plan I am very lucky. In the last few weeks several people close to me have lost someone close to them. My good friend lost his mother a week or so ago and my sister lost her dog after many amazing years. These losses have left me thinking about how lucky I am to have an amazing wife, son, sister, brother-in-law, parents, friends (2 and 4 legged). So when life gets crazy and you get frustrated trying to fit everything in take a moment to think about all of the people in your life that matter to you. Maybe a missed ride or run is not such a big thing.

2011 Goals

Ok so I have a pretty big list of goals for this year. Of course they are in several different areas of my life. While I do plan on going into more detail (basically so I am held accountable for each of them) later I want to get the gist of them down now.

Professional Goals:
-Collect dissertation data
-Defend dissertation
-Graduate
-Get a faculty position or post-doc
-Rewrite a number of articles and resubmit them to journals

Family:
-Spend more time with my wife and Connor
-Be the best dad and husband possible

Personal (non-family):
-Get back into racing shape
-Lose the weight I gained in the last 8 months (back down to 140lbs)
-Race ???


Ok so basically in order to accomplish all of these goals (this spring) I need to find the perfect balance in my life. Either that or stop sleeping and I am pretty sure that there is not enough caffeine in the world for that.

So more details later on how I will accomplish all of this and still enjoy life. Yes I know that some of these goals are a little vague and I will be making them more specific soon.

New Year - New Start

So it clearly has been a while since I last posted something here. The last seven months or so have been pretty crazy. Getting into a balance with family, work, and riding it seems that I can usually manage two of the three but not all three. Especially with trying to finish school and apply for a ton of faculty positions.

The last few weeks have been wonderful. A trip back to NC to see our family and travel with Connor for the first time was amazing. The only thing that did not go smoothly was the snow storm the day after Christmas. We had arranged to have Connor baptized the day after Christmas and the snow ended up closing everything in town. I guess it just gives us another reason to get back to NC soon!

I have been working on figuring out a way to get the balance in my life so that I can get my work done, graduate, find a faculty position, spend tons of time with my family, ride, and maybe even race. My plans are coming together in my head and once I put them down on paper then I will share them here!

BBQ and the 4th

First....Happy 4th of July!

Since we did not go back to NC for the 4th we decided to bring a little NC here. Since I can not get either of my favorite NC beers (Duck Rabbit or Highland) we decided to try and make some pulled pork. Anyone who knows my BBQ preferences is probably shocked right now but yes we did a pulled pork today. All I can say is WOW!

The first attempt at brisket did not go so well but my first attempt at pulled pork was a huge success. I smoked a 5 lbs pork shoulder for 6 hours and it stayed moist and was falling off the bone.

Here it is before I shredded it:

Here it is after...read to eat:

My pictures do not do it justice. It was amazing. Since it is just my wife and I here tonight we have enough left for sandwiches in a day or two and some to share with folks on campus.
While it is not up to Wilbers status (http://www.wilbersbarbecue.com/) it was amazing and just what I needed after a 67 mile day on the bike.


To top it all off my wife made some amazing hush puppies and home made peach ice cream. I am letting dinner settle and getting ready for a big bowl of ice cream!


Now back to watching the Star Wars Marathon on TV and waiting to try and see some fireworks from our house while Connor is asleep.

July 4th (When I became a cyclist)

Happy 4th of July (a day early) to everyone out there.

This 4th of July is a little different for my wife and I (and Connor) because it is the 1st one that we have not spent with our family in North Carolina. Since Connor arrived in May we realized that our typical drive from TX to NC was going to be too much for us this year. So we are going to try and make the best of it and make some NC BBQ tomorrow and try and find some fireworks. But today I wanted to take a minute and write about our 4th of July traditions.

The 4th of July for us always has two important parts. 1. Spin Cycle -CCC- 4th of July ride in Cary NC. 2. Spending time with family grilling, hanging out, and watching fireworks from either Regency Park in Cary or more recently Shallotte NC.

The Spin Cycle 4th of July ride was my first group road ride and when I became a true cyclist. I rode this for the 1st time on 7/4/2003. I had been mountain biking for a year and a half and had some hard rides but nothing that compared to my first experience on this ride. I had ridden a total distance of 25 miles at one time and then decide that I could jump into a 100K ride and do well. Big mistake. Not only did I not use any sunscreen (DUMB), but I did not drink enough water at the start, rode too hard starting out, and basically made every mistake possible. I had to get  off my bike and sit down on the side of the road following up the "climb" up High House road a mere 3 miles from the finish. Following several minutes of recovering a friend came back for me and we limped in (including a stop a gas station 2 miles from the finish for more water).

I finished the ride, drove home, and collapsed at the foot of the stairs for 45 minutes in my riding cloths. I bonked and it hurt! Many folks may experience this and never go back for more or at least never that much but I knew I wanted more. Yes it hurt and yes I was off the bike for a few days but I realized that  I loved it! I became a CYCLIST!

I have not missed that ride since then. Even moving to TX did not keep me from making it to that  ride. Well this year will be my first time to not do that since that crazy first year. So if you are in NC and looking for something to do go out and ride the Capital Cycling Club (Spin Cycle) 4th of July Ride and pedal a mile for me. http://www.capcycling.org/events-fireCracker.php

I will be out on the road tomorrow morning thinking about all of my NC friends riding those beautiful roads.

Just as important as the 4th of July ride is the time with my family is even more important. I have been very lucky that they have been able to come out and visit us here in TX this summer. I will be thinking about them tomorrow and would love to be sitting back in Shallotte tomorrow relaxing after the ride, grilling, playing corn hole, drinking a Duck Rabbit or Highland Brewing beer, and heading to the beach to watch fire works.

Well until later, enjoy the tour and have a happy (and safe) 4th of July