Jiggety Jig

Got on an earlier flight and made it home by 9:00, instead of 1:00, hallelujah!

Caught the end of the Amityville Horror.  I think the Caveman is the scariest part:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Me like plus signs”

On a similar note, I read a good chunk of “Under the Banner of Heaven” on the flights.  Pretty interesting stuff. 

Our hotel was right next to the Mall of America, and featured the Waterpark of America, purportedly the “World’s Largest Indoor Waterpark”.  That’s what they claim, but until I see every indoor waterpark the world has to offer, I can’t validate.  Anyway, I wanted to try the standing wave surfing thing, but it was like $20 for the day and I only had like an hour to kill.  So, I ran.  For an entire hour, pretty much my record.  I guess I could look at it positively and say it’s faster than walking.

Anyway, home now.  Time to enjoy some halloweening action.

Leaving on a jet plane…

Pretty sure when I’ll be back again.  Midnight tomorrow.

As discussed, hitting out for the mall of uh-merica this arvo.  It’s work and all, but I am mildly excited.  It’s a short enough trip, which helps and it’s always nice to leave cube land, if briefly.

Of course, I’ll miss my girls.  Was lucky enough to walk Haley to the bus stop this morn.  Morgan came too, in her PJ’s and jacket.

I’ll be home for Halloween.  I’ll miss the cross race Saturday to hang with the girls.  Got reg. the Jeep too.  Wonder what it will fail for this year?  I mean besides not having a horn.  At least I didn’t wait until the last day of the month, again.  Oh wait, I did. 

Maybe I’ll race cross Sunday, Sunday, Sunday at Big Wheeler Farm.  If I don’t OD on candy.

An Active Blogger

Yeah, I am trying to stay on this whole web-logging program again.  The next couple days could be tough as I am going to Minnesota, and I don’t know what my time/connectivity will be like.  Yeah, Minnesota! !  Maybe I better watch “Fargo” tonight to brush up on the dialect.

The surprise change in weather yesterday suprised me like something that is surprising.  Even though it was forecasted.  I thought taking a day completely off exorcisms exercising might be good as I was a bit sore from an increased running schedule.  Only a day in, and I can feel the seasonal anxiety disorder kicking in.  Long and whiny story short, I need to get out every (single) day.  At least for a few.  So, see you at lunch time?  I’ll be the tall guy in the 53X11.

Morgan woke up in the middle of the night last night screaming.  I went in and she said that something in her bed licked her.  Actually she says “lick-ed”.  In any case, she fell back asleep immediately, but I was up for an hour or so after that.  Lots of thoughts running through this head.

Finally, I am still getting hits every day from people searching “tracking device in flu shot” or similar from a post (which alleged no such thing) over a year ago.  People, “the man” does not need to inject you with a tracking device.  Your cell phone has that covered.

So it begins…

First commute in the snow this morning.  The roads were pretty much just wet, but with the mega-wind blowing, it was ugly enough to count.  I am trying to avoid viewing winter as my nemesis as I have the last few years.  Nonetheless, the commute to work which is typically just a mild pain in the jugular becomes a full on throat slashing in the winter.  Howev, there’s not much I can do (yeah, yeah, I could move, I guess), so I might as well suck it up and try to enjoy the benefits.  With that in mind, I’m buying a night pass to Sundance.

Draper Cross

First, I don’t know why the pic above ended up in the post below.

Anyway, pics for Sandy:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dig the Wu Tang socks courtesy of SockGuy.

Anyway, I did the cross race in Draper.  It was a super fun course, and I definitely preferred the start of this one (pavement) over others I’ve done. In fact, had I gotten into my pedals off the line, I might’ve taken Sandy’s advice and hit it right there.  Not that it would have made much difference as I am just not so good on the technical stuff.  I can say I am pretty fit right now.  Like fit enough I would expect to be there, or at least thereabout in a local road race.  Not so much for the cross!  Bart was kind enough to lap me with about 500 meters to go (or 1 lap + 500 meters to go, in my case), putting me out of my misery.  For the record, it was like 63 and sunny when we arrived, but a downpour arrived just in time for the start and dropped the temp like 10 degrees.  It was fun and I hope to get out a couple more times this year.  Unfortunately, I’ll be out of town for a bunch of the remaining races, but we’ll see what we can do.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705339169/Cycling-giant-McGinnis-dies-of-cancer.html?linkTrack=rss-38

Cycling ambassador Terry McGinnis dies

By Jared Eborn
Utah lost one of its biggest ambassadors for the sport of cycling Saturday when Terry McGinnis, the executive director of the Tour of Utah, passed away after a long battle with cancer.

McGinnis was 46.

“He was a fixture in the Utah cycling community,” Burke Swindlehurst, a professional cyclist from Salt Lake City, said. “Everybody knew him, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard a disparaging word said about him. He was just a friend to cycling and a friend to everyone.”

McGinnis was also instrumental in turning the Tour of Utah into one of the biggest bicycle races in the country, attracting many of the nation’s top teams with its challenging terrain and demanding routes.

After the race was canceled in 2007 because of sponsorship problems, McGinnis was asked to take charge of the race. In doing so, the event has quickly become one of the most-anticipated races in the country.

“Over the last couple of years, since he was diagnosed, he wasn’t able to race much,” former teammate and friend Dave Harward said. “But he still did so much and was such a huge part of bringing cycling’s focus to Utah.”

McGinnis, who leaves behind his wife, Cindy, and two children, was diagnosed with cancer about three years ago. At the time, Harward said, doctors told McGinnis he had only a matter of months to live.

Still, with his competitive cycling life largely over, McGinnis jumped into the cycling scene as a coach and administrator — serving on the board of directors of the Utah Cycling Association.

More recently, McGinnis worked tirelessly to make the Tour of Utah a success.

In the advanced stages of cancer this August, McGinnis nonetheless was at the start, finish and all stages in between as the Tour of Utah welcomed hundreds of professionals to the Wasatch Front.

Harward, who said he visited with McGinnis personally on Friday, said his love for bicycling never faded.

“I was lucky enough to talk to him,” Harward said. “He said, ‘I’ve been fighting this so long and I don’t think I’ve got much more.’ It was pretty hard for all of us that have known him.”

Under his leadership, the Tour of Utah grew from a nearly dead race in 2007 to an event at the top of the National Racing Calendar’s priority list.

“He was pretty much the savior of the Tour of Utah,” Swindlehurst said. “To step in and resurrect the event, even though he was going through what he was … it takes a special person to accept that challenge.”

Few outside of his circle of friends understood his health concerns, especially just two months ago during the Tour of Utah.

“He was passionate about cycling and passionate until the very end,” Swindlehurst said. “He had incredible amounts of will power and will be missed.”

__________________________________________________________________________

Like so many of us, T Mac lived and breathed cycling.  I wasn’t as close with T Mac as many of the Utah cycling community were, but I can say I don’t remember ever hearing a negative comment coming from the man. Something we can all aspire to.

Rest In Peace, Terry.

Once Again…

Once again, a bike racing dream… Short one this time.  I was helping some young team get set up with wheels for Tour of Southland.  For those out of the know, this is a stage race in New Zealand.  I don’t know the dates, but I think it’s coming up in November.  Anyway, everyone’s favorite kiwi was helping me with logistics, translating (kiwi to ‘merican), etc.  Anyway, it got back to the team that I was some sort of “racer”, and as a show of good will, they invited me to come race, like immediately.  Next thing I knew I was on a plane.  So, I wake up.  Oh geez, am I racing today?   Realize I’m in bed, my own with Kelly.  Well, I am racing today.  Cross, and I’m going to get worked!

What does it all mean??

Haley Wins

Haley’s school had a “fun run” this morning and I was lucky enough to be able to attend.  To tie it into cycling, I saw Jesse Gordon’s mom there.  Anyway, it was supposed to be 5k, but I am pretty sure they fudged the distance.  By about half.  Then, they had the kindergartners do only one lap (the full distance was two).  In any case, I am not sweating the details, really. I swear.  It was pretty fun.  I ran with Haley and she held my hand the whole way,  so what more can a dad ask for, right?

Anyway, the story is not so much about the run.  The purpose of the event was to raise money for the school.  For every $10 the kid raised, they got a ticket into the opportunity drawing.  The astute reader will remember that “raffles”, or at least using the term “raffle’ is illegal in Utah.  In any case, we are not the parents who lug their kids around the block knocking on doors raising money for this kind of stuff.  We put in for a ticket, Kelly’s folks put in for a ticket, and Kelly’s brother put in for ticket.  So, she had 3 tickets in the non-raffle for the entire school. 

First name called- Haley Barrett!!  A digital camera!!  

A few minutes later, Haley Barrett(!) gets called again.  This time she had her choice of a soccer ball, a football, and a basketball, and oddly enough she went with the football. 

In any case, they only did maybe a dozen drawings, so I thought that for 2 of her 3 tickets to get pulled was pretty solid odds.

We spoke with another mom (I was feeling distinctly male at this event) and they had put in 9 tickets, so it wasn’t like we were the only ones who with our name in the pot.

Anyway, I’m sure Kelly will outdo me with a post with photos.

Also sure there will be another photo post in the near future titled “What you get when you give a kindergartner a camera” or somesuch.

Vivid Dreams

So, yeah, I’ve been having some pretty vivid dreams lately.  I’ll chalk it up to stress, because my life is just soooo difficult.  For serious though, I think it’s due to the ongoing sponsorship hunt that will determine the life or death of the dream team.  IJK, the team will go on one way or another.  I’ll get into that in another installment though.  

Anyway, night before last I had a racing dream.  This used to happen to me pretty regularly, when I raced all the time.  Not so much these days.  Anyway, I was off the front of some big pro race and it was pouring rain and cold.  So, I’m solo off the front and freezing going up this huge climb.  I see a house, and it just happens to be Kirk Eck’s house.  I go into  the house and change clothes as Eki and I were  teammates, like back in the day, in this dream.  Kirk came in just as I was about to set off again.  Apparently I had enough time on the group, to come in and change and hang out for a bit.  Eki, on the other hand, was a lap down and quitting.  Sorry, man, it was just a dream, I know you’d never quit.  Anyway, just as I was ready to get back out there, and continue kicking ass in some dry clothes, I woke up.

This morning, I had a dream that I was at Jamba Juice with Kelly, her brother Matt, and his wife Carrie.  We were hanging out in front of the JJ, when some hoods came up and tried to rob us.  The first hoodlum was carrrying a serrated knife like you might use to cut a bagel.  Pretty hardcore stuff.  I took it from him and yelled for the others to run, and then I woke up.  So, I guess I am the hero…in my dream, anyway. 

If anyone has any insights into what these dreams may mean, please post them in the comments section, I’d really like to know.

How to weekend

Awesomeness on the weekend.

The AB ride was great.  A small group, not suprising given the short notice, but the weather was mint and it was great way to remember the man.

Had a top secret meeting to discuss the future of our bike program. Fingers crossed.

Walked to the park with the girls in the afternoon.  They rode their bikes, actually. 

Saw a live action version of Cops.  Cuffs, canines, the works… probably not what you want to see right by your neighborhood, but you know, everyone wants to watch all the same.

Sunday was very low-key as Haley woke up with a fever.  Rode S. Fork with Kelly’s dad.  I don’t get a lot of chances to ride super easy or without time constraints, so I made the most of it.  Very relaxing.

That afternoon, I took Morgan for a walk/bike ride on the Provo River trail, while Kelly and Haley napped.  The colors have switched on in the valley, and the trail is fully canopied in radness.  Stopped by the swing on the way back.  Morgan would swing forever if she could.

Kelly made the best dinner ever.

After the girls went to bed, I took each of the dogs out for a run.  Something clicked and I actually didn’t felt really good running.  Generally, fast or slow, running pretty much isn’t too comfortable for me, so that was a nice change.

Hopefully we’ll open the cross account next weekend.