4 hour trainer ride!

It's over and what an experience. Not necessarily a good one but it was an experience for sure. Read about it here.

4 hour trainer ride!

It's over and what an experience. Not necessarily a good one but it was an experience for sure. Read about it here.

4 hour trainer ride!

It's over and what an experience. Not necessarily a good one but it was an experience for sure. Read about it here.

Big Snow !

3 Hours of playing in the snow for Sam and I today. IT WAS GREAT :)

Here are a few pics!

Big Snow !

3 Hours of playing in the snow for Sam and I today. IT WAS GREAT :)

Here are a few pics!

Big Snow !

3 Hours of playing in the snow for Sam and I today. IT WAS GREAT :)

Here are a few pics!

The Enemy!

The Enemy!

The Enemy!

Merry belated Christmas and so on..........

Wow!!!! Another year is here. Monkey Boy made it to Florida (he has some good stories to tell).I guess the gyms will be hopping for a few weeks now then things will go back to normal. I hope to get back to spinning this week. It's been at least 2 months since I have last ridden but I have done allot of hunting.

Speaking of workouts....

My son started back to Tae Quan-Do. He is really excited to be back at it an I am happy for him. I really was against the whole martial arts thing but die to my previous experience with somebody that had taken Tae Quan-Do when I was a kid (Story to follow) but his School is great and His instructor, Master Andrea Casagranda is phenomenal. They really teach allot about respect and self control............

My Tae Quan-Do experience........

I apologize to you regular readers if I have already told this story but for those of you new readers out there here we go.........

Growing up in a small suburb of Pittsburgh I had allot of good friends, one of which was Rob. Rob was about as laid back as anybody could be and came from a good Catholic home. He went to Catholic school up until his high school years and l never saw Rob pick a fight. Now as all young boys we all had minor skirmishes but nothing that wasn't forgotten by the next day. Rob and the rest of our gang spent allot of time fishing and just plain hanging out. I also blame this group of guys for helping me to developed my somewhat sarcastic sense of humor that is always putting me on my wife's bad side.

Fast forward to high school, Enter The Dragon (Dale). Now Dale was a pretty nice kid. He and I never really hung out much but was a nice enough guy. Now Dale at some point started taking Tae Quan-Do which never really impressed me or anybody else but I guess that he was pretty good at it. Anyway I guess at some point he decided that he wanted to start trying out some of his moves and for whatever reason his target was Rob.

Now Dale knew that Rob had gone to Catholic school and had been trained by Nuns for most of his life but that did not stop him. It seemed that every time Dale learned a new move he sought out Rob to try it out. Now the real irony here is that every time Dale would get in his stance for combat, Rob would just cold cock him and that was it....game over... and Dale would run off holding his hand over is often bloodied nose. We all took great pleasure in the humor of all of this as did several of the teachers art our high school.

Where have I been??????

For those of you that are regular readers, you are probably wondering what I have been up to.....

• working
• sleeping
• worked on monkey boys bike
• Got a Christmas tree
• working
• worked on Steeves new ride
• working
• tried to see a movie
• working

I think you get the picture.


Haven't heard form Monkey Boy....

So at this point I can only assume that Monkey boy has started his trek to Florida. It was supposed to start Saturday. I worked on Stevens new TT bike and he had not heard from him either. So we will assume he is on his way and should be about 300 miles into his trip by now.


Like I said I have been busy......

So the Christmas peak is finally coming to an end and I should be able to get back to a somewhat normal life. I hope to get on the bike this weekend for the Tour de Liquor and then back to spinning next week. I wont be able to teach a morning class this year but hope to do some in the evenings.

We also got our Christmas tree up and decorated. Of course flick and his mom were unable to decide which tree to pick and I as usual had trouble explaining that trees look much smaller out in the woods than they do in our living room.

I also forgot that Flick myself SAM and Goliath have been working on a new christmas dance number...Enjoy

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I think my brain is asleep.....

So after another long day I headed for the gas station for a fill-up. So I pull up to the pump and run in to prepay since it seams that there was a rash of pump and run when prices were high...although I heard of none.

Anyway I come back out to pump my gas and for the life of me I cant find the gas cap on my truck...which is normally located on the drivers side. So I get in turn the truck around, walk to the other side and what do yo know.....no fuel cap. Now I am frustrated so I walk back to the other side and guess what miraculously appears.....my gas cap. So back into the truck and turn it around again and out again to pump. All the while some guy is watching this all transpire and all I could do was look at him...smile..and say..."its been a long day".

Monkeyboys off to Florida......

That's right folks and he isn't using his frequent flier miles either. He is riding his bike. this is a new endeavor for him and I hope that he does not regret it. Not saying that he isn't physically able it is just probably the wrong time of the year to do it is all.

I'm Beat.......

this week has really taken its toll on me. working from 2:30 am until some days after 5 weren't so bat until I got a cold. I figure I will be better by sometime after Christmas since that's when the hours at UPS will cut back.


Kick a man while he is down...........

So I have been working at UPS and doing drafting work. I was hired to help out with a project that is coming to an end so I am pretty sure I will be out of that job shortly. So as I said let the pointed toe kicking begin......

• Job uncertainty
• Grandmother admitted to the Hospital. Not sure what is wrong...maybe a stroke
• Feel like crap due to illness
• And for the cou-de-gra......... Sam was to the vet today, he has been limping around, and they feel that he has bone cancer and there is nothing to be done for him so his time with us may be limited

The bright side........

Some may wonder how that could be but the lord does work in mysterious ways.

• I know that I will find another job
• My Grandmother has lived a very full and happy life. Not extravagant but happy and full of love
• I will get better

Sam on the other hand is not going so easy.......

I have only had a few dogs in my life and only in my adult life. We did not have pets as kids. Annie was the first. she was a beagle and one of the best ones I have ever hunted with. we would hunt from sun up to sun down, and on more that one occasion I actually carried her out of the woods. I spent a lot of time with that dog both hunting and at the house in the yard. She was obedient and would even retrieve a rabbit that was shot ( a real rarity). then she got some kind of hip disease common to beagle and i had to put her down. I couldn't bare to be in the room with her when they did it so I left the room with tears in my eyes. they latter brought her out to me and I took her home and buried her and cried some more. She was my dog so my wife did not experience the loss I had.

Mandy was the next...Annie's replacement. She was a good hunter as well but I no longer had the time to spend with her so I gave her to my nephew.

Next was Lance.....the first family pet. He was a blond lab mix and had lots of personality. He would go mountain biking with us and was a hoot., He could not stand to be last but never got in the way. He was awesome but as one man dog. he never really took to my wife and wen my son got old enough to move around on his own Lance turned on him so I had to give him away.

Now Sam.....Sam is probably one of the best behaved Golden retrievers you will ever see. Obedient to a fault and goes out of his way to please and will chase a ball until your arm hurts. We would go to work with me every day. I would ride my bike he would run. He did that from almost the time we brought him home. He would stop at all the stop signs on command and never got distracted...even if there were other dogs around. He is truly a family dog and I know that this is going to be a blow to all of us. My wife is already crying about it and I am sure that my son and I are next.

Goliath....... Goliath is our dumb blond. He is also a golden retriever but has a totally different personality from Sam. He is a lover and desires constant attention. he is pretty cool but not near the dog that Sam is.

The Christma lights were hung from the gutters with care..........L

That is if you consider a ladder propped up on a one side with a brick with care...more like careless I would say. But what must be done by one man must be done and they all mostly work so I am happy. I don't particularly like ladders, as I have had many friends over the years fall off of them and I think the statistics bare out that.


Ahh the holidays..........

So may of you are used to seeing me on one of these since it is the holiday season you will probably see me in one of these I would be curious to know how much the volume has increased over the years since the Internet.....my guess is three fold but I don't know. I do know this.....Internet shopping rules these days and you would not believe what is on those trucks most days bot in items and quantity. I have actually put a shoulder to the door to get it shut some days.


Probably shouldn't say anything........

So my wife and I have been having some unsettling experiences with some people from our church. Now I must say that it is not earth shattering but it is definitely something you would not expect from people that you worship with. I almost decided not to blog about this situation since many who read this know me and where I worship, but then again, for me not to say anything is completely out of character. Not only that my wife and I think the world of bot of our pastors and families as well as our congregation as a whole so all the more reason to write.

So this whole thing started with one couple in our church and it had now blossomed into more. It actually started a couple of years ago, and actually it started with the husband. We have been attending this church since before were were married and only left for a few years since we were no longer in the area, but would still come back once and a while for a visit. It was a couple of years after we had come back that we were invited to a Church members home for a small dinner party. we went and had a really good time and met some wonderful people, including said couple. We talked and had some wonderful fellowship, but from there it was down hill. At first he would only speak to us sporadically at church and all but ignored us if he saw us in public...today it is as if my wife and I do not exist to either he or his wife...except for the few times that they came into my former business looking for a deal or when we give them not choice but to say hello. Now what bothers me the most about this particular couple is that He is a deacon and she is a worship leader in our church, which to me seams hypocritical and as a church member am concerned for how the church is perceived when others outside the church encounter these people (read the Sunday ride report at the bottom) because I find it hard to believe that we are the only ones.My wife actually could not wait to get out of church last Sunday after hearing him read from the lectern and watching her help lead worship.

Like I said there are a couple of others as well. One is a person that is in our home fellowship group. this person actually goes out of their way to avoid us wbut their spouse is always friendly the other is another couple that we used to attend their home fellowship group, and there have been a few others as well that I don't know quite as well.

I am really in a quandary because my wife is fed up and wants to try out some other churches. while I really like our pastors and don't want to jump ship.

A 23 degree mountain bike ride is better than indoor training any day......

Back on the bike today after over a month off. Between Archery season and work I have not had much time for anything else. Starting work at 3:30 am and finishing up my day at 5:00 pm makes Rich a tired boy, zombie like you might say. Oh well, I enjoyed the season and work isn't so bad either.

Man did it feel good even though the temperature did not go over 30 deg and was closer to 20 when we finished. Monkey boy, Scott and myself did 1 1/2 hours in whites woods today with little trouble. Riding in the snow is plenty fun but can also make steep descents , with switchbacks impossibly fun. The riding was superb and I actually was dressed correctly. Dressing for winter riding can be difficult. Don't wear too much or you will sweat to death, wear too little and freeze. the only thing that was cold on me today was my toes as usual. I could not find my winter booties so shame on me.

It was really good to get out and ride with monkey boy and this was the first time I had ridden with Scott.


I"ll keep buying them til I fond one that shows me what I want to see......

So I was helping out around the house today and came across another scale. Now you must know that over the years I have seen many of these devices in my home and rarely place a foot on them, but finding this one today made me curious so I asked my wife how many of these things we needed to buy, her reply....."I will keep buying them until I find one that tells me what I want to here." I really did not expect that response but I guess that all of these years of being around me and my smart@&& friends for the past 15 years, a little is bound to rub off. Which means that my son will probably be a comedian when he grows up, or just be plain intolerable.

Dirty....Dirty....

Well it has been quite some time since my hands have been greasy but they were definitely dirty today. Steve brought over Hannah's bike for me to swap the comps to his new/old TCR alliance frame. this should be a nice upgrade for here. She has been riding an OCR2 for about a year now and doing quite well with it.

Steve is all a twitter over his new ride, a 09 Specialized Tarmac frame that he put his other parts on. He really likes the way that it rides, nothing quite like carbon.


Spooky.....Spooky.....


My son and I carved pumpkins the other evening. He drew the faces and I cut them out. he did a pretty good job for a little guy. He still wont touch the pumpkin gut though.I did however sneak up on him and dump a handful down his shirt. He nor his mother failed to see the humor in that, as usual, but did find humor in him doing it to me. That made things all better.



Speaking of Spooky..........

Did you happen to catch Obamas 30 minute, I'm the greatest thing to happen to government infomercial last evening. I hope that the public realizes that it was just that, a commercial, not necessarily reality TV if you get my drift. Shoot, after watching that I was almost ready to vote for him.Unfortunately though the general public is much like my son. If it on a TV commercial it must be true. Grab onto your wallets folks...its going to be a bumpy ride.

Sundays L.E.R.......

Low effort riding that is........ couldn't get out til after 1:00 on Sunday so I missed the regular ride and went out on my own. I was kind of glad to miss the ride because not only did I need a low effort workout but It has been a long time since I have just gone out by myself.

Riding with the group is allot of fun but riding alone allows you just to ride....no particular destination or pace, and nobody to talk to. It also gives you time to reflect. I guess that it doesn't necessarily mean that you wont have any conversation though. I most often find myself praying or just talking to the lord. As a christian I am as guilty as anybody for not spending enough time in prayer.Now I have made much improvement,but i believe that we all fall short in this area of our lives and that we should always seek ways or time to make it a part of our daily life.

I rode for about 2 hours and had a really nice time.


Still Hunting......................

Went hunting on Monday evening.....as usual I got there later than I wanted but had a pretty good hunt. Saw a small buck on my way in and rattled in a small six pointer that spent a good 10 minutes under my stand. I don't know if I will hunt any more weekday evenings though, getting up at 3:00 am every day for work and staying up until 9:30 pm is starting to wain on me. I guess we do turn the clocks back next week though, and it will be getting dark earlier so maybe I will continue.

Gone Hunt'in........

As I said before its Hunting season so the bike kind of moves to the back burner for a while.I was out both Friday and Saturday afternoons. Friday was a pretty good day. After walking in on another hunter I had to rethink my strategy for the day. So I set up in an area I have never hunted before.

I found a tree suitable for my climber and took a perch about 20 feet up and relaxed.I arrived a little later than I wanted to mostly because of the other hunter being in the spot I had originally planned to hunt but that really did not concern me. I enjoy being out as much as anything else, I just missed out on an hour of relaxation is all.. So after sitting for r a while I pulled out my rattling antlers and started to make some noise. I rattled for about 5 minutes and waited. then I rattled again for about 2.

Now I have never used any tactic for hunting that has worked as well or consistently as rattling except for a grunt tube. But that usually only works if you actually see a deer and can intemperate how he is responding to the noises you are making. So I waited about 30 minutes and started again for another 3 or 4 more minutes. I put the antlers down and just waited. I must have been off my game a little because I just happened to look to my right and there was a pretty nice little 6 point standing right there. He was a 1 1/2 year old deer and was sporting his first rack. Where I hunt the deer have to have at least 4 points on a side so I let him walk. I probably would have anyway since hes was such a young deer. That was the only deer I saw on Friday except for the one that I spooked when climbing down out of the tree.

More Hunt'in.......

Saturdays hunt went pretty good. I got out a little later than i wanted to and the deer were already on the move. All in all I saw over 20 deer on the day.

My brother and I are very fortunate to be able to hunt the property that we do. It actually belongs to some long time family friends of mine. it consists of 130 acres surrounded by about 2000 acres of private land. i have permission to hunt both their property and a neighboring property that consist of over 700 acres, so there is ample room. The only rule is don't shoot any of the does hanging around the farm house and don't shoot the white buck..... These are pretty easy rules to follow in returned for the great hunting opportunities.

The only other other place I hunt that produces the quality deer I see here are some public game lands close to my house, but I don't spend too much time there, even though I have seen some of the biggest bucks there as well.


I should really carry a camera....

So I set up in one of my favorite spots and as I said the deer were already on the move. So I did a little rattling and waited. I saw a bunch of does but no antlers. then about 40 minutes or so before dark 2 does come balling by my stand with their tails tucked and the hair standing up on their backs. they come to the field and abruptly stop and then meander on into the field. So I stand there for a minute listening and I here another deer approaching. Now I am pretty sure that a mature buck is coming due to the loud guttural grunting I am hearing approach. So I grab my bow and wait. Pretty soon he appears..........."THE WHITE BUCK".

Now he is not your normal white buck, he is actually a palomino buck. Brown at the head turning to spots then white at the rear. He also has a dark chocolate rack, and unlike most palomino bucks his rack is perfect. He is an 8 point with plenty of mass and I would say at least a 18" spread, and would probably score in the 130'-140's. Needless to say he is beautiful and would make an awesome mount.

So he approaches the field and stops about 15 feet from my stand and works a scrape, then moves out into the field and walks right in front of me, nose to the ground. What an awesome display. I think that I am going to start carrying my video camera all the time now. There is so much to see in the outdoors and I would like to be able to share what I see with others.

Antler carvings

Didn't ride yesterday. My wife had to work so my son and I went to the woods for some leaf collecting and deer recon. We really had a great time. I really enjoy sharing the things I enjoy with my family and they are always more than happy to oblige. so we collected many leaves and also inspected some deer sign. It is so cool the interest young children have in things they know nothing of. i showed him sum Deer rubs only stating to him that that is were the deer rub their antlers. he said, "cool, antler carvings". then we went to inspect the pond and found a couple of scrapes which he dubbed "deer diggings". we had a great time, the only drawback is that I become so enthralled with explaining things to him that I often forget to take pictures.I di get this photo on our way out though.


The SNUGGIE???????...Oh brother......

I think that the Jedi should get credit for this one. It appears it also comes with some new fangeled Light Saber, you would definitely need it if you planned on wearing these things in public, an di wonder if they are fire proof.........Enjoy the lunacy...........

The original JEDI SNUGGIE...........













Then there is this of course........

Finally remembered what I did two Sundays ago.......

I just finished reading Steve's blog and my memory was jolted back two weeks. On that Sunday, Steve, Matt, Zewack, Nicoll, Hammer and Myself did the Three man loop. We stayed together pretty god until we left 286 to McEntire the steady climb and accelerations left a couple of guys a little short as we approached the steeper part of the road. We then waited and regrouped for the big climb to Parkwood and finally regrouped again at sportsman's club road. Everybody pretty much hung on til 422 then Nicoll took it up a notch and He, Hammer and myself spit the rest of the guys right off the back and never let up until the end.We all had a pretty good ride and it really feels good to come home with little or nothing left.


By the way which ones PINK.........

Went to the Benedem to see the Austrailian Pink Floyd on Tusday October 7th. What a spectacular show. We kind of decided to go at the last minute so our seats could have been a little better but there really aren't any bad seats at the Benedum Center so it was still OK. They played The Wall front to back with some theatrics and video. It is hard to believe how much they sounded like the original and I don't think anybody left disappointing, I actually have the movie playing in the background right now. If you have never seen the movie before it is a must see for any Floyd Fan..... set aside 90 minutes follow this link and enjoy or if you have already sen it, enjoy it again. They also played about a 45 minute set from The Dark side Of The Moon. If you get the chance to see this band or the Pink Floyd Experience you really should go.

This kind of puts things into perspective.........

A friend of mine did Iron Cross this past weekend and had a bad day (flat tire). Anyway he is a good writer and has written many anecdotal stories over the years, most of which are hilarious, this one however shows another side of Mike which is why we all love him so much.....enjoy.

No Joy In Muddville

Three major races this season and three major disappointments. Mohican 100‐total implosion with 10 miles to go and then a wrong turn, adding 6 miles. Wilderness 101‐broken rib at mile 67 and then limping into the finish. Finally, Iron Cross, my shot at redemption‐a torn tire at mile 47 of 62. I was well on my way to shattering my personal best, when it all went rushing away, like the air from the 3” gash in my rear tire. I’ve spent the last 24 hours sulking, thinking of wasted efforts from thousands of training miles, hours suffering in heat, cold, rain. Long lonely miles working towards goals left unfulfilled and dreams left unrealized.

The more I thought about things gone wrong, the more bummed I became. Then it hit me like a frying pan; what a complete tool I am. It’s pretty ridiculous that I could be so self absorbed to actually be upset that a couple bike races didn’t go well. Over the last two years; I’ve watched a friend return to the bike after a life threatening illness. I’ve watched another friend come back to competitive cycling after battling a heart disorder. So many others, with REAL problems. Financial distress. Marital problems. Sick children. Lost jobs. Fire. Plague. Petulance…Bad bike race… My God…please. Riding a bike is a luxury, racing a bike a privilege. My friends have taught me that. It’s a lesson that I’ve needed to relearn and apparently must remind myself frequently. How many things do we take for granted? Far too many I’m afraid. Go out and ride your bike…just because you can.