Man...where did this week go?

Holy crap...It's Friday already and I haven't blogged all week. So I started my week by running at lunch time on Monday...My legs still hurt...is that normal. I have been out on the bike twice since but my quads still ache. It is no wonder you never see somebody running and smiling at the same time, I'm pretty sure it cant be done. But life must go on.

Tuesdays night ride......

So I was unable to make the Tuesday night ride this week but had a chance to get out with the "Disenchanted One" on Wednesday. We rode out to the Blairseville speedway and back to town. The weather was pretty balmy but still was not super comfortable by the time we got back. I also got out last evening with Monkeyboy, Nate, Wallwork and the "Disenchanted One". It was 55 deg when we started and 44 deg when we returned. That's the real drawback to riding this time of year...it is really hard to decide what to wear.

Good ride today.......

Had a good ride today. Sean and I were supposed to ride this morning but he begged out on me so I was just sitting around trying to decide if I wanted to ride in 40 deg weather, go to spin class or just ride the couch til this afternoon and hope for warmer weather. The phone rang and it was Steeve and he said that he an Matt were meeting at the Oak Grove at noon and wanted to know if I could make it. So I wrangled up some sub 50 riding gear and headed out.

There must have been something wrong with weather bug today because when I left it said 44 deg, weather underground predicted a high of 47 deg, but buy the time we left town it was already 54 deg. So I was over dressed again but that's OK. Better to be a little warm that too cold, I just unzipped my coat a little on the flats and the only time it was really intolerable was on the climbs. I felt pretty good today for a guy that's has refused to train at all this past winter up until the past month or so. No heart problems either today, any ride without that is a great ride.

Monkeyboy....Creatine Junky....



So... Monkeyboy has decided to add, what he thinks it his newest weapon to his arsenal.... Creatine. I have had experience using this when I was into weight lifting and I as well as others I new had pretty good results with it under those conditions, however I havent known anybody that has used it for cycling performance.


I did..... no I did....did not....did too.....

So there has been some pretty good back and forth on the IUP Cycling Club message board. It appears that everybody wants to stake claim for being founders for the club. Now I suppose that they are correct that back in the day that they had a cycling club at IUP but at some point in time it disbanded and disappeared. I have known many people that have attended IUP over the years that were cyclists and always were mystified that there was no such beast. So...Last Year Dr. shim and Monkeyboy spearheaded the start of a new club which at this point is doing very well. They have a race team and have both Mountain and Road rides as well as casual rides for those that like to ride without pain.

Now Duane had to do allot of legwork to get this thing going. I am not sure of all the procedures but I do know that it was allot of work for him to do. Now if there was a club currently in existence he would not have had to do this. But hear is an analogy that may make it clear to everybody that it is a new club. Let's say I open a coffee shop in a certain building in a certain city. After a few years I decide to retire and close down. Years after my closing somebody else decides to open another coffee shop in the same building in the same city. So.....According to their logic that coffee shop would belong to me....right?

I will now respnd to Burpen.....(An ode to Burpen)

So as we all know people read our blogs, and for the most part they are not commented on and if they are it is usually some sort of rant back and forth between people that obviously know each other and are constantly goofing on each other. Lets face it folks, this whole blog thing is more about people taking themselves too seriously, not a forum for back and forth views and opinion. There is plenty of that out there these days and if I wanted that, that is where I would be. Instead I playfully write about personal and current events and try to make it entertaining all the while. Lets face it I have a family (and often times am interrupted in mid thought...Like right now)(OK I'm back Burpen 3 hours later) and a life so I take little time to proof read and with the added touch of posting links to add to the fun....well I think you can figure out where this is going...Man if you haven't been watching Star Wars The Clone Wars on Cartoon Network you are really missing a cool show. Every Friday my son and I go to guitar lessons then home for popcorn and Star Wars Night. (2 more hours...See Burpen this is what happens).

So where did I leave off....Oh ya. So this guy Burpen posts comments to my blog which I decide to briefly Ignore. First of all I really dont care and secondly they really do not apply and were mostly just a critique towards my inablility to keep on track of my thought process on part of one of my blog entries, Maybe....SO WHAT!!!!!!!! Plus, I thought it might be more fun to actually respond to him in blog format, where everybody might be able to read it instead of through the comments button (limited space to really complete a thought...assuming I can ;>) ). Why waste my time, you may ask, believe me I have asked myself the same question. Anyway, at first I tried to go back and clarify my one particular thought but to no avail....WHO CARES??? BURPEN DOES THAT'S WHO!!!!!! Whoever Burpen is....

So here we go...my individual response to each part of each question.......Buckle up! so you may follow he took excerpts form this linked post... (man why m I even doing this)

Quote from blog... "Unable to agree to disagree?"

Burpen Response..."Does "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists" sound familiar to you? Callous polarization as a political tool is not a new idea, and certainly not new here. Difference is it's not coming from the president's mouth anymore, which I think is a positive change.


Afib Rebuttal..."I think you are a little off base here. He is an O'bama appointee which makes him an extension or at the very least is perceived to be speaking to what are the beliefs of the presidient and that is why I feel it was a mistake for him to bring it up."

Quote From Blog..."It has even gone so far as to eliminate the teaching of such things in some of our school systems."

Burpen..."What has gone so far? And how exactly does this sentence have anything to do with the topic at hand? I think you kinda lost me there."

Afib Rebuttle..."Touche....ADD dude...Not a college writing course."

Burpen..."As for learning "form our mistakes" [sic], I heartily agree. But as a devout Christian, I was shocked at your suggestion (through the image linked by the word "past") that we might kill Jesus Christ a second time! Certainly the world has wised up to the idea that the first crucifixion was a grave error (no pun intended). And even the non-believers are now all well aware, 2000 years later, of the fact that He can't be permanently killed, so what would be the point?

Afib Rebuttal..."Man so much to cover here but i will try...without getting off track. First of all I am a Christian as well but I am not naive to the current views and attitudes towards Christianity, Christians or our views and beliefs.

• According to some poles there is a current shift away from Christianity.I as well am close to finishing a book by Lee Strobel."The Case For The Real Jesus" I highly recommend this one for anybody...both Christian and Non Christian to read. It talks to the point of how people...even those that you might say are theologians are losing their faith and turning from Christianity.
• So you are wrong in your belief that all people agree that Jesus did die on the cross and was resurrected to sit at the Right hand of god the father.
  
• Many people that claim to be Christians have established their own belief systems incorporating things they like from Christianity and combining them with other religions or current world views suit their own needs.
• The previous has also lead to a shift in what is currently viewed as the new favorite bible verse Mathew 7:1-5 ^"1Judge not, that ye be not judged. ²For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.³And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? ⁴Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?⁵Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye."mostly focusing on the first 2 verses. Replacing John 3:16 ¹⁶"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,^a]">[a] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.as the top favorite
  
• I have also noticed a real shift toward strict theology among many Christians I encounter from real bread and butter Christianity these days as well. This can be a good thing but I think that it makes it hard to be fishers of men if the fish cant figure out what the bait your using is.

So yes I believe if Jesus walked the world today, and given the opportunity, it could very well happen again. But as a believer I know that it cant. Mathew 7:1 -5 Remember?

Are you still with me Burpen??????

Burpen..."Interesting new version, but you still haven't logically connected racism to revisionism."

Afib Rebuttal..." Do you really care that much? Do I not make the point that our youth...mostly in college are indoctrinated not taught...Maybe not but the is what i meant"

Burpen...It's kind of telling that you chose to both disapprove my earlier comment and surreptitiously edit your post. Revisionism indeed; you're a coward and a hypocrite.

Afib Rebuttal...." Do I really need to say anything here? I think it is obvious here thatI had a plan for your comments. Not an of the cuff rant Plus I'm no coward.....

But I might say you are a hypocrite. Lets face it if you wee so shocked by my statement and link why then did you come back" god bless you and yours.... :>)

A Note to Burpen........

I am not a hypocrite....Just working on a responses to you to post as a blog entry. I am sorry that you feel so slighted but do not be disheartened I will make you famous in the Blog Kingdom. And remember that we must all live in the world but not be of the world while at the same time not seeing the world with blinders on......

I hate cell phones

So why is it every time I need to get hold of somebody their cell either has a dead battery or is in their car? Especially when one of the 2 people I tried today would have a fit if I did not answer my phone when she called. I mean it never fails. I had to find out what time my niece got off of work today so I could meet her to retrieve my son, and I was unable to reach either of them.

God Bless America..........

Caught this guy on the news this morning.......probably something we should all do.



Lets face it..if our Representatives are allowed to get away with it without penalty why shouldn't we all. And while we are on the subject what happened to transparency, no earmarks and going through bill and getting rid of pork? I guess he is promising that for later on now.

I love/hate this time of year.......

So Duane and I did the eastern shore loop this morning. You cant beat 56 deg at 8:00am this time of year and by the time we finished it was 66 Deg. His new Special Ed is pretty sweet and he got a great deal on it to boot. He wishes that it had better components but by the time he really gets sick of it it will be time for another bike. He probably will upgrade the wheels though. It came with Shimano...which aren't bad but Mavics would be sweeter.

So as we are riding along he mentions that he is going to try to get the Five Points road Classic back up and running. During the conversation he reminded me of an incident that happened back in 2001. Pap (the doper) had shown up alone and Hoovis' team kept attacking him. so at the end of the race something happened and Pap and Hoovis go fisticuffs. But probably was more like this.

So anyway I hate this time of year because I am totally out 0f shape.Too much hunting and work this past winter season. I hope I never do this again..it really stinks.

The running man..........

Ran into tom the other day while I was out on the bike. He was actually supposed to ride with us this morning, but I'm guessing he went earlier since it was so nice and they were calling for rain. Seeing tom made me think about how many good competitive cyclist we have here right in Indiana. We have Rodie's moutainbikers and adventure racers that have competed all over the world. I wonder what the average number of competitive cyclist you can expect to have based on your population.

And they call you a doctor

Now for all of those of you I know that are in the profession...please take no offense. So I hurt my back at UPS last week, not sure how exactly, but it happened. So I tell the supervisor and finish off the day, which was probably a mistake. So after sucking it up for a week I decided I better see a doctor, so they send my to an occupational therapy clinic. So two more days waiting to see the doctor go by, since they seem not to be able to work beyond 4:00 pm....on their late days.

So I get into the exam room in record time(getting close to quitting time), which I consider anything under 1/2 hr record time. The nurse asks me a few questions, though I suspect that she didn't quite believe me, then to my astonishment the doctor shows up a mere few minutes after she leaves. So she then asks me a few questions about what happened, barely paying attention, and where did it hurt? Then she had me do a couple little things like stand on my heals then toes and then bend over a little.......The diagnosis...your back is week 2 weeks therapy and back to work immediately.(lifting heavy boxes) does not make allot of sense to me but hey I am no doctor, I'm just the guy with a hurt back.

Now I understand that she probably sees people that don't really have pain and are trying to play the system a little, but that isn't me. And if she would have spent more that five minutes talking to me she would have figured that out herself. I like other cyclists are no stranger to pain let alone others at UPS, and have become accustomed to just shrugging it off and carrying on. Since last September I have had the bulkhead door slammed on my arm twice, by two different drivers. And when it comes to bikes I competed in a 24 hour mtb race with a broken wrist, ridden 20 miles with a road apple that covered half my thigh, and one time after being ejected from my bike at 30 mph over here handlebars, resulting in a dislocated shoulder, got back up and got right back in the mix. And I guess the most painful has been having to deal with my brothers wife for the past 10+ years. and believe me I have witnessed others that have dealt with similar situations and carried on as well, some of which have met my sister in law.

But as far as back pain goes, I have no intentions of shrugging that off. I know too many people with chronic back pain, and see how it affects their lives. I have over the years watched my dad walk crooked and bent over from pain from time to time. And my uncle is in constant pain and pretty much spends most of his life either standing or lying down because he can barely tolerate the pain he endures while sitting.

Spinning.......

Had a good spin class today. The class was full and Jim is quit the character.

Playing cards..........

So I had a feeling that this was going to happen. That is that if you did not vote for Obama you were a racist and that if you do not agree with his stimulus package then you were definitely a racist. (Maybe he should check this out and change political parties)Have we not moved beyond that by now? (according with this guy we haven't) Have we now lost our rights to disagree with our President now that we have an African American in office? I for one am proud that we have an African American as president. I don't think he is the right person for the job nor did I vote for him...but I do respect the office of the president and those that hold that position weather or not I agree with their political views and opinions or not.

As far as the open dialogue about racism goes, I am all for it. We should be open about it, but what confuses me is why the teaching of such things in some of our school systems has been eliminated or completely deleted form some text books.Is not the best way to improve ourselves as an individual and as a country to study the past and learn form our mistakes? Or should we just over time forget them and at some point in time repeat all of the atrocities that have been committed in the past?

If we are unable to agree to disagree as a free country then we are all in trouble.

Spinning tomorrow.......

Going to spin class tomorrow. Looking forward to a great workout. Jim asked me if I wanted to teach but I think I will hold off o that for a few more weeks, still out of shape , although round is a shape.This is really the only form of training I am getting right now and if I am going to race this year I need to get on the ball. I talked to Brian this evening, he.s been riding in Florida, and he has big plans for me this season, so I guess I have no choice.

Headhunters.........

So I don't know how long its been since you looked for a job but this new way of finding one stinks. It seems that 99% of companies list their openings with Headhunters, IE. placement specialists. I am sure that some of them are good but I talked to one the other day that really did not seem to know what she was doing. I wont go into details but, based on my conversation with her I wouldn't think she would be qualified to answer the phone let alone find somebody a good job.

Speaking of Obama...................

It is amazing to me how this economy situation has taken the focus off of what is going on abroad. Its like he is getting a free ride (SURPRISE) and not having to answer or face the hard questions about allot of important things that could have a major impact on our safety and that of our troops.

1. Shortly after Obama's envoy, Richard Holbrooke, visited Pakistan, that country surrendered to the Taliban and al-Qaeda. The Pakistani government now says the Taliban has the authority to impose sharia law in the northern part of that country.
2. The government of Kyrgyzstan is closing the US base that supplies NATO forces in Afghanistan.
3. A report by the Institute for Science and International Security says that Iran could have weapons-grade nuclear material this year.
4. Kim Jong-Il, the leader of North Korea, celebrated his 67th birthday this week by threatening a nuclear missile test.

Oh well, I guess we all knew that he would get a free ride form the media, since he is their guy. I personally don't want to see him fail. The fallout, I feel, would be too devastating to our country.

Time space continuum.......

So I was blasting Shawn about his abuse of the English language the other day.(I know Shawn you spell it SEAN). Of course he pretended that I hurt his feelings. Oh well, it could be worse, Nicoll could be involved in all of this.

Spinning again.......

Went to spin class last night. It was a pretty good class. Doug was there so we chatted about some of the events he is going to be putting on this season. He is also launching a magazine this season as well as a start up web store so I am interested to see how that all pans out. I will keep you updated as well.

Spin Spin Spin..........

Taught a spin class today and to be perfectly honest it hurt. I changed things up for the class today. Instead of progressions we did regressions, with allot of hard and easy change ups, muscle confusion for the heart. The ride kind of simulated a usual Tuesday night hammer fest with a lot of short efforts, changing resistance every 30 seconds from hard to easy. Everybody seemed to enjoy the class and to my surprise liked the METAL CD I put together.


February....Is old friends month.......

So I have had the great pleasure of coming in contact with Three people that I have not seen in as many as 20 years, Rob, Scott and Benay. Rob is a guy I grew up with. we spent allot of time fishing and being called little shits by his mom, God bless her soul. Scott and I became friends several years ago when the guy up the street would not put the cables he had purchased elsewhere on his bike for him. Scott had lost his left arm in and accident when he was younger but that did not slow him down. Nobody complained while he was along on a ride. He was also a phenomenal mountain biker.Benay is a pretty tremendous athlete herself. She has spent allot of time competing in adventure racing and has done pretty well.


Not for those under 18............

What the heck is going on at IUP. There have been two different events this past week that I found to be off the charts as far as quote "educational of societal value" goes. The first was brought to my attention by Mokeyboy. He saw this flyer posted somewhere on campus for some sort of discussion on Hooking up and learning what it means to be sexually responsible. No can you imagine what kind of people showed up for this one. And can you imagine the discussion...."So every time I get a few drinks in me I get this uncontrollable urge to spread my legs, and fall on my back, but I am on the pill. That's being responsible right?" And can you imagine all the perves hanging around outside waiting to strike up conversation with those exiting the meeting.

The other was this little gem called The Vagina Monologues, which is a play they were putting on to raise funds for the Alice Paul House which is a great cause, but, is using this particular vunue along with selling Chocolate Vagina's to raise money for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in good taste? or am I just out of touch?

It's a love hate thing......

Did a loop on the fixie this afternoon...around 20 mi. Now in my opinion riding a fixie is one of the best and fastest ways to get into shape....this is the love part......
to read more and see what i found today click here

It's a love hate thing......

Did a loop on the fixie this afternoon...around 20 mi. Now in my opinion riding a fixie is one of the best and fastest ways to get into shape....this is the love part:

1. It improves your spin
2. It's good for your knees
3. It improves your endurance
4. It improves your ability maintain a constant effort
5. It improves leg strength
6. It's stylish

But it isn't all good...

1. No gears
2. Climbing can be a pain especially here in PA
   
3. Not enough people ride more than 5 miles on one
4. If your not a a buck twenty five it aint easy
5. 165 mm cranks (no leverage)
   

Although it's got to be better than Fixed Gear Mountain Biking.....not single speed FIXED GEAR....that's just plain ?????


First find of the year........

Found this perfectly good snow scraper with a brush this afternoon on the way back home......that's one for me Beachcomber :>)

What a slacker......

That's right folks....I have really been slaking this year, but decided today to put an end to it and commuted to work today. Now it is not for lack of wanting to everyday, it is just that my second job is on the way home from my first, so I would have to actually drive home and get my bike just to return from where I have just came. Fridays though I don't work the first job so I can now commute. I really enjoyed it too, except fort the cold fingertips but that's OK, my own fault for locking myself out this morning. At least I had everything else I needed. Actually I think that I will come home at least one other day and commute back just because I do miss it.

Monkeyboy on the loose...................

So I heard from Monkeyboy today, and he has started his own blog now. I say it's about time, although his claim is that he will out blog and out ride me this year. I guess he is trying to call me out or something, good luck with all that buddy.Hope he rights about his recent bike shop experience.


Jamming................

My son started guitar lessons today and I must say i have not seen so much enthusiasm since the other nights bicycle outing. I hope his enthusiasm ensues because it has made me want to take up the guitar again, for like the hundredth time. I started when I was around 9 and wish now I had never quit, but what kid want to spend his time learning songs like camp town races.I would have rather been playing tings like this...

Not that I was a Pink Floyd fan at teh age of 9 but I think you get the picture.

Whats your problem???????

I swear....if I hear another person with a good job, family and good health whine about life I may just punch them in the mouth. Seriously folks.......Well that's enough of that

One of my sons favorite Summertime sports.......

So I was headed out to clear the snow and my son asked if he could come out as well. He is not put off by adverse weather and makes the best of what is thrown at him,which I think is awesome. So out the door and straight to the swing.I think he would do this forever if you would let him, although he still refuses to make himself go so that means allot of pushing for me and his mom. Oh well, that's OK he wont be this little forever.



Doesn't that just warm your cycling heart?

So as I said I was clearing snow and my son finally pryed himself away from his swing and comes up and asks for his bike helmet. With now cohersion from me he is asking to ride his bike in 20 deg. weather with 5 inches of the white stuff on the ground......AWESOME :>)

BTW, Its official........My son now has more miles on his bike that I do this year. Oh well I will surely catch up and pass him...I hope to anyway.

Power in a Cup

While training is best measured this time of year by "time on the bike" and not by "miles", one thing remains constant...the sweet taste of espresso afterwards!

Power in a Cup

While training is best measured this time of year by "time on the bike" and not by "miles", one thing remains constant...the sweet taste of espresso afterwards!

Power in a Cup

While training is best measured this time of year by "time on the bike" and not by "miles", one thing remains constant...the sweet taste of espresso afterwards!

Hello old friend.....You werent missed you know

So I took another spin class last evening, which was my first experience with affib for the year. I should have expected it though having just eaten shortly before and with no warm up time having shown up just in time to start. Oh well, live and learn, it was a good class however and I hope to start teaching again in a few weeks.

Who cares what you people think..........

Came across this on another blog.......Do these people really believe that anybody really cares what they think or have to say. I would rather they all give up their citizenship and move to some foreign land...preferably one that we are currently bombing, a nice bungalow at ground zero would do nicely.

This is downright scary....although I am pretty sure that their golden child is not as liberal as they might believe which in the end is kind of ironic.


Speaking of friends.........

Ran into Doug at spin class last night as well. Doug is probably one of the most positive and motivating people you will ever meet in your lifetime. Some people don't know quite how to take him sometimes but that's mostly because of his incessant intensity.

Anyway he was telling me that his son and Toby shipped out a few weeks ago and are currently in Kuwait waiting for deployment to I think Afghanistan....... God luck, good hunting and gods speed boys, you will be in our prayers.

owwwwwwwww@!!@!!!

So I started back to spinning class today after too many months off of the bike and way too many hours worked....

The class was full, which was good to see but I was in no way ready to spend over an hour standing and spinning...but I did. It is actually the same spin routine I taught in several of my classes last year, except I don't remember it hurting so badly....... Jim says everybody hates it and loves it at the same time. I actually plan to start teaching some again in a few weeks once I get some of my legs back, until then I will just suffer. I wont be able to make it to many of the weekday classes but I have my own spin bike here so I will use that. I actually look forward to tomorrows recover spin. Probably about a half hour or so.


I hate house work....

So since Gail and I have both been so busy..me with work and her with school, the house has suffered some so today was clean up day, or at least the start of what will probably be a 3 weekend project. Its not really dirty it is just disorganized and I cant stand that. I am going to take a brake though. Brownie is coming over this evening and I am going to finish up his time trial bike.