Are you playin' the fooseball behind my back!!

Memorial Day weekend what can you say... a lot of tourists around these parts. The main task for the weekend was some good riding friday and saturday, intervals n' the like, and then help D move into his new place. Let me tell ya i feel like i'm on spring break in his new place...Unfortunately the pool and hot tub are being worked on, but he you can't argue I guess. All I need now is a drink with a little straw umbrella in it and I'd be set. Besides the view the apartment is pretty sweet especially with a bit of the fooseball...
The skinny dude is my bro and the overly huge dude is his roomate Pete. Let me tell you beside being like 260 pounds, Pete knows 4 types of martial arts w/ and w/o weapons and seems very scary, but he's pretty cool when it comes down to it.

I thought yesterday that we pretty much picked the worst day to move in, because it felt like we were being broiled alive with boxes in our hands, but today was pretty much hell as well...I still don't know if I'm a little mentally unstable or if i just have a pain fetish (unhealthy doses of both being prerequisites of bikers), but I decided that it would be a good day for a nice ride...maybe some intervals...By the end my blood was prety much sludge and I was jonesin' for a couple cold tuna sandwiches. I'm not sure if i actually accomplished much out there except improving my summer tan though...On other fronts I'm beginning to formulate a blog series that hopefully will get kicked off this week...stay tuned-your civilized life depends on it!!
Other cool shit, I'm beginning to really like the band Iron and Wine...it's pretty much sad bastard music, but you know it something new and cool. Well I think I'm going to get my ass handed to me in some foose-peace out.

R and R

These past couple of days have really gone by. As of late I've been entertaining myself by 'training,' hanging out at the bike shop (I can't believe I'm that guy), and pretty much chillin'. I find it funny, my bro always feels that he's being a bad host cause he has to work and then after we don't really do much besides hang out and watch movies, but honestly after last semester I could use the rest- thanks bro for letting me be a bum at your place.

I got my grades in and I guess I wasn't skirting the 2.5 that I was freaking out about a month ago. I ended up with a 3.39-so that's pretty huge especially cause I got a A in Min Pet II and a B+ in Sed Strat. Really when it comes down to it at this point in my college career I don't care too much about grades in classes outside of my major.

Switching gears, riding around the greater Oshkosh area I'm not going to lie pretty much sucks. I was here all last summer and I could bearly find anything that would qualify as a hill. In EC we know how to roll the 5 min climbs at least, here your lucky to get out of the big ring. Though I do have to say, in Osh-vegas' defense, you do learn pretty quick how not to be affected by headwinds. I swear I was riding into 15 mph winds for an hour. Whining aside there are a couple jems out here...
Hopefully I'm able to get some good workouts in this weekend since both MNSCS and WORS decided to have all their races on the same weekends!! Whatever, maybe I'll get a hold of Monty the old(60?) One Man Wreckin' Crew!! I shit you not that man can throw down on any ride over 75 miles.
Funny story, last summer for S and G's I called him up for a ride around the lake (100mi) and of course he was up for it. We leave early and fast. I was cruzin' at 165 bpm within the first 10 miles and I knew this was going to be a bitch by the end. Because I talked a lot of trash around the shop, I knew that I wasn't going to be the first one asking to slow down. So Monty, myself, and my pride rolled on at 20-25 mph. Around 70 miles we had a massive headwind coming around the short end of the lake, and Monty goes to the front and pins me at 180 bpm for about 10 minutes. I pull around, thinking I could help out and give him a break, and he pulls right back around me saying, "I don't care if you draft, but I don't like to." At this point I couldn't help myself and decided it would be best for the both of us, in the end, if I hide. We made it into O-town at 5 hours-see you tommorow, good riddens. The next day at the shop, he comes in and asks me how I feel, I say pretty trashed, he agreed. He asked if I had planned on going that fast, I said "shit-no!" "well then why didn't you say anything, I definitely wasn't expecting on going that fast" "I wasn't going to be the one to tell you to slow down I thought you wanted to go that fast" "So we spent 100 miles wondering whether the other person wants to ride as fast as we were going?" "I gues so..." We both laughed. Monty the one guy that deserves the bike he rides.

Sorry about the long-windedness, but hey it's better than every post being a photo blog. Well I think I might make myself some tuna. Peace.

Weekend Recap

Finals are finally over, thank god!! So this semester that seemed to go by so damn fast ended with some fireworks. Thursday night my dearest friends Melissa and Melisa both turned the big 21 and had a slamming party at their place--Jimmy Buffet/Caribean themed!! So I found it only fitting, since I'm not one to draw in the lines, to go a little above the expectation of dressing up...The one the only King Triton! At the party the beer and margaritas were flowing like water so I thought it might be best to pace myself with a pitcher instead of a cup...
One of the Birthday Girls is on bottom and Sara in the middle no pun intended. The night was fun filled with dancing...
Ah...whatever happens in Shenan's stays in Shenan's!! Friday came too early and I had to check out a butt-ton of residents, which was a pain cause I still had to finish writing a paper too. I managered to get it done and under my prof's door just in time for round two at the bars. No pics sorry but it was more a post-finals semester have fun.

Saturday I checked out my last residents and myself and made the long drive to Osh-vegas where I'll be staying with my bro for a week or so. When we got to his place I decided around 8:30 that, "you know what I think I might do the Alpine Valley race...shit it only happens once a year and I think I'm up for some pain." Off to the races we go I guess.

I warmed up with TJ who I haven't seen since....December? Crazy that man is putting in a lot of miles on and off the bike!! I'm not going to lie about how awesome I felt and how I had an ok start, but then really turned on the afterburners in the latter half of the race to come into 2nd in my age and 7th overall--cause I didn't do any of that except the last bit about placing. Shooting ya'll straight I felt like shit warming up, felt like shit at the start, up the hill and for the first half of the race. My legs weren't going to do the max efforts, for some odd reason maybe all the bumpin and grindin' (hey my core workout for the week)!! I was, however, able to easly get focused on the climbs kick it down...
I ended up catching up the "The Beast" and road with him for the last lap which was prety sweat to have someone with me in my quest for pain!! One of the cool things that I was witness to out there was when Doug lapped me. Though the comp guys were let out pretty late, you could tell he was on fire! Honesty it was pretty sweet to see him out there rippin it--makes me realize how much more I have to do to even come close! Weekend Warriors Need Not Apply!

So now it's Monday and all I want to do is sit around and really do nothing for the first time in a month. I might think about riding sometime mid-week, but other than that I think i'm rockin' the professional bum lifestyle. Peace out!!

Night Train Baby

I have honestly never worked this hard for grades in my life. I oddly found a sense of pride as I handed in my 16 page Sed. Strat paper, rock exam, and strat. section at 5 am this morning. The crazy thing is that I hadn't gone to sleep yet. People talk about it, but to truely pull an all nighter is something to be cherished...

It was pretty crazy working on my paper up until 3 hours before it's due at 8 am. Funny thing though is that I'm not all that tired, but I think that's because I don't really have an accurate frame of reference since the past 3 weeks I've had 4-6 hours of sleep most nights.

Yesterday though as a staff we went out to Famous Daves to have an end of the semester thing. Oh god do I love F.Ds-favorite restaurant hands down!! I'm sure everyone else got the picture that I love BBQ...

I am the Walrus?!? Anyways so now it's time to do some MTBing, chilaxin, and studying. Peace out A town.

Total Annihilation!

Sunday Sunday Sunday!!! Watch as the Midwest's best battle it out for the podium around Iola Bump and Jump Speedway!! Watch as they go gangbustas' up steep overgeared climbs, twisted singletrack, and death-defying decents that would chill their mother's blood!! 30 buck's buys you a whole seat but you'll only need THE EDGE OF IT!!!

The Bump and Jump-tough power driven race. Last year I had a shitty time with a flat tire so I wanted to bitch-slap some demons this year. To get myself in the mood I did some visualizations of the start... With my head in it we went to the races. Pit shot of the Sova's restless and in effect...With a nice warm-up in, Bill (the Beast) Street and I lined up for the start. I find it so interesting how familiar the whole starting line feeling is even though I haven't been at one since September, but it all came back. Quick prayer-something about not dying, and the Beast and I were off like banshees up the left side...The pace was do-able, but the dust was crazy sittin' 15ish after the climb. Lost the Beast when my skewer came un-done up a climb. Tightened up I was on my own. Pedal, pedal, pant, grin-and-bear, flex, and squeeze. On lap 3 I was pretty worked...my back had about enough of this power-climb shizz so I was in the saddle for the rest of the race. I periodically saw Chase who was baggin' the race, cause of no front brake, who would follow me and called me names and made fun of the size of my genitalia. Thanks. Finished out the race annihilated and in 20th (correction) -not bad considering the circumstances. I got a lot to improve upon, though I have to say, outside of the bonked singletrack pinballin' I was cuttin' up the singletrack pretty alright the first half of the race.

Now it's time to hit the lab as hard as we hit the first climb. It's funny cause I have a seemingly insurmountable amount of shit to get done in the next two weeks. Hopefully I'll be able to make it to Cable this weekend...but first Calc-Alkaline magmatic differentiation, deep-sea sedimentation, cross section, strat-section, term paper 1, term paper 2, take home test, rock exam.... But first to conquer--My Room!!

Peace! BTW GO KABUSH!!!

Radio Down

I apologize for the media black out. Excuss is geology. Last week/weekend I went to Arkansas on a field trip looking at oceanic facies down there. It was pretty cool. Lessons learned 1. Don't be model driven 2. 6.5 brats+buns+salad+beans+bottle of wine=gut rot like a maw and some respect. These next weeks though I can't promise much in the ways of coverage except for the WORS opener recap cause the final sprint of school is on and someone decided to lead this one out early. I honestly have about 10 projects that need to be finished in the next 2 1/5 weeks. Scary!! Well I'm going to rely on some photos to talk for me since I need to get going on a presentation for tommorow.

This is me pre MTB season-half Shriek half Wolverine...This is me now ready for some pain...Almost as standard as license plates, rifle and lasso are a must when cruzin' to the local Walmart...

The calm before the storm at our campsite...I realized while sitting in the back of a stuffed 15 passenger van cruzin' through some small town in Arkansas that I really get to see a lot of 'America' while studying geology...maybe I can translate that to seeing a lot of the World. Well like Chad always says, "the world is your playground!" Well I think i just fell of the monkeybars and hit my head-fuck! Peace.