Full of Thanks

I

am Thankful.

Very Full of Thanks

That I am Here Alive and Able

to enjoy My Family.

My thought go out to the Green family,, Kyle is a Teammate to 

my daughter Sophia, and is the anchor for the downhill squad for the 

Ripon Red Hawks. Last month in North Carolina during a training run he crashed and

dislocated his hip, Well it turns out that when this happened that it caused some nerve damage 

and some other compilations that  will leave him with out the use of his leg for at least the next two years of recovery.

This young man is a ray of light and positive forward energy.

Heal Strong young man and get rad again soon.

Deep heat felt thought go out to the Family Of Steve Hed..

Steve passed away yesterday morning, after fighting for a week with some health compilations.  

Living and racing here in the Upper Mid West and being Part of Team Hollywood Cycles,

I have gotten to know the extended Hed family from the Wheel Builders all the way up to the guys behind the phones and at the desks. 

Steve was an innovator, who reinvented the Wheel,, his impact to the cycling world

can be felt in every aspect of the sport.

It is always sad to see Icons pass,, and even more sad to see a family lose out 

on years spent with their Father.

Be good to each other,, Hug and love the people around you...

Be Thankful for what you have and Thankful for those around you.

What about the Childern?

Well there you have it,, my first ride in some three weeks,,

Was it epic,, not so much,, thirty sweaty stinky minutes on the rollers.. This is going to be a long road back to the superhuman that I was just three months ago. I know that I can build more and get use to the hamster wheel. I could be worse I could be stuck on a trainer stuck in one place,, at least on the rollers I feel as if I am really moving. 

So that is that and I'll continue  to do a snow dance so the skis can get waxed and some more

silent time can be spent in the woods. 

Speaking of through the woods the oldest child is going to be home from school for eating day on Thursday and she is hoping to head up for the Cross for Tots event up in the six one two this coming weekend.

We went last year and I had a blast,,, riding in circles doing the twisty bowl decent and jumping the Hollywood Barriers.

The Pip needs all the cross work she can get as her Team is going to Prude in a week for collegiate regionals then  to Austin for the National race in January. Me I am on the fence about going and pretty sure I have no interest in lining up.  I have more of a hankering of going trashing with the boy 

at either the Layer or back down to Familia.

Been lots of indoor sessions happening as of late.. and the boy is starting to push it more and more.

Been good to watch him skate with the local pro guys and get tips and ideas for them.

 We both have a laundry list of tricks that we want to learn and or try.. 

 Again getting to spend time with him and watch the excitement grow has been the best part of coming out of retirement. 

So Back to the Grindstone and back to the #dontcallitacomeback...

Harder work,,stronger,,desire,,PartyOn!

LoSt then FoUnD

It is safe to say that i am suffering from cycling withdrawals or PCDS..

Yes that is right Post Cycling Depression Withdrawals..

So much so that while sleeping is happening instead of ribbons of  single track and the feeling of the perfectly drifted turn in my dreams or the perfect route to link up all the hills in a 50 mile radius of the house ,,, I am dreaming about cutting the grass on a hot summer day. 

What??

It has been a while going on something like two and a half weeks since I have smelled the scent of a slightly dirty jersey and some crusty T6 socks and thrown my leg over anyone of the 

whips in the garage. 

I have dusted off the rollers and leaned them up against the wall in the room that use to belong to my now at college daughter.. But have not mounted a bike of any kind on them.. 

I say hey! I am going to go and ride in place while watching old world cup cyclocross races on my phone that I duct tape to my handle bars. 

But that has not happened either.  For a moment today I started to get excited for the weekend as I thought I'll take the Blackbuck out and ride the crushed gravel trails and maybe even dip in to the quarry while my Nine Line tires kick up the 1/4" of snow on the ground. 

But then I looked at the date and remembered that gun deer season starts on saturday and that 

with all the medical expenses that I have at the moment getting shot or shot at while trying to feed my Jones would not be the best thing for me. 

So I teeter back and forth about what to do,, every time I go to the beer fridge and look over at all the shiny King Bling lined up in a row I think damn it I need to ride..  And I know that I will and maybe even soon,, but trying to flip that switch again,, to light that fire,, to rev that engine has been really hard for me. 

The break has been good I know that it has,, even if it was unwanted I will or should be able to come back #dontcallitacomeback with the same eye of the Tiger that once infected all of my vision. 

It has been the bigger picture, the grand landscape that I have had to get into perspective. 

I have never left  I have been here the whole Time!

Some sparks were ignited over the last weekend as we ,, and the we being Team Hollywood Cycles all got together up at QBP for the end of the season awards party. 

Many plaques were handed out to members of the Black and White,, along with 

Multiple awards for all the different categories that were raced.

And once again the award for fastest Pro/Elite team went to the THC* team.

It was great to be surrounded buy the Mountain Bike family again, lots of 

high fives were slapped and multiple hugs were handed out.    

This cycling nerd is not washed up or a has been,, just in search of his 

legs that were attached to the head of the heart.

A wise man once said " Party ON"

And that is what I will DU..

Rebate

The reset button was one of my favorite buttons to push when I was a kid playing video games.

If things were not going your way you could push it and start over. In the early systems that meant that you would have to start over at the beginning of the game, and then as hard drives and memory got built into the game consuls you could just restart the level with out having to 

go all the way back and start from scratch. 

Here in my world I have hit that reset button and I have not quite decided if I am 

back to the beginning,, or I get to start the level over.

Before we left for Colorado I had been riding as much as I could and enjoying the freedom again 

to pedal, but coming home we ran into winter.

Now I have dusted off the rollers and have threatened to start riding them just so I can be riding again. It is not my favorite thing to do but it is pedaling,, and that is what I need to do,, it is time to start rebuilding getting the blocks together so when weather breaks and  the roads clear I can be back out on top of my rig turning circles.

Some of you may say as you head out today to ride your fat bikes,, Why don't join in on this fun?

I would love to join the fat bike revolution but the price tag is what is stopping me.. The most lingering   injury from my wreck is that to my pocket book.

As of now we are looking at 11k in bills that are going to need to be paid. I have thought 

of doing a go fund me campaign, but every time I see them pop up the people starting 

them seem to be much worse off them me and it just does not feel right,, to stick my hand out and ask for help. 

So I hit the reset button,, again..... And again it clears the anger and pain out of my head and I start 

to plan and build and try to get back the super powers that were smeared all over Hwy 77.

One of the things that has been a soul saver and rebirth is the 

midlife Sk8board resurgence. The time that has been 

spent on the back of my seven ply USA maple deck have fueled fires

that I have not felt since the night before my fateful crash.  A lot of time has been spent with my boy

traveling and thrashing. New faces and new places have been giving me reasons to keep pushing it.

But this is not a replacement for my real passion in life..

I am a cyclist,, I am Bike Nerd,, I make pedals go round.

The rest button has been pushed and what needs to happen is this video game super hero needs to 

jump the pitfalls and get to the next level..

#dontcallitacomeback... It is a #restart!!

W Cubed

As the dust settles and the fog begins to clear,, I am slowly able to take a step back and start to make scene of the past five daze. 

We blew into Denver last friday morning, and I say it like that due to the strong winds that were blowing down the front range. 

After shaking out the DIA, and car rental, the three of us made it over to see my 

Ninety-Seven yer old grandpa. Blows me away that the man is still not only living at home but still has so much of his wits about him. It was a great visit and a good chance for James to spend with his Great Grandpa.

From here we busted up to "the Peoples Republic of Boulder" for some lunch with an old friend,, but first we found our selves a skatepark and were eager to try out our new gear. 

Unfortunately we never got too deep in to the session.. As we were getting out of the car with the wind gusting up to 40mph the car door caught the kids finger as it slammed shut causing some pain and discomfort and making the idea of skating not top on his list. 

It took a good lunch and some down time until he was ready to Thrash again,, and luckily we found ourselves at the Apex park in Arvada. 

Just a few block down from my Aunt and Uncles is the best park that I have seen and skated,, in the past year of my old man skateboard revival.

It is almost even hard to describe how well the park is put together, and I was blown away by the features and flow.  And the level of riding was spot on,, from young rippers to old dudes skating the clover leaf pool.. 

We would end up back  at this same spot saturday morning before heading up to the high country. 

The sun was shining and the wind was not blowing, for the first time in a long time there were more old geezers at the park riding then kids which was a sight to see.  Had some old friends show with their kids and we threw down and I had one of the best days on a skateboard in years and years. 

Still so much to sift through,, more parks were found and more stories were shared as we 

crammed in as much as we could before have to come home.

Now back to work armed with stories and memories,, and I am ready for more..

Flying High

One thing is for sure,, and that is I have let my self go..

A lot of things have changed for this guy but one thing seems to stay 

consistent and that is as I constantly struggle with body pain,, I am 

just letting my self get larger. 

For the most part being almost two months out from my crash the majority of injuries have

healed. I do have this gimpy shoulder that came from a stupid step off my Sk8 toy, and this out of everything hurts the most.  It seems to get in the way of most of what I want to do.

And it has me not only skating and riding somewhat off the back ,, but is getting in the way of off season training.  This off the bike work that I started has been kicking my ass,, parts of my body that have not been used in sometime are not happy that I am trying to make them move,, hold weight,, or do both of those multiple times. 

It's a long road and I know that I have a lot of work to du and just need to remember that all good things in all good time.. 

I have been spending a lot of time with this kid.. 

He has been pushing his limits a good bit,, working on getting ready for our trip to Colorado. 

For me it feels weird that I am going out there and not going to be planing a bike ride but seeing as 

the Doctor still does not want me on the single track i'll have to move in different way.

The Rocket has a new Flip skateboard coming,, and he is pretty stoked to riding 

on the same board as the guys he watches in the videos.  

And then when we take a on line tour of the different parks that we'll get to ride I 

see the smile grow and wheels start to turn. 

So the takeaway from today is as follows..... I am getting larger as I still in more of an stagnant state of prolonged recovery. 

The mini me is having a blast riding and is stoked to go to the land from which he came. 

And trying to hold this guy in one place for long periods of  time, not something easy to du.. 

I need to Move..

Loss of Time

Spring forward and Fall back,,, I am not sure that I fully agree with the concept of moving time for man kinds benefit.  After living in Arizona where the time stays the same, unless you live on the Res, you kind of get used to the idea of time being more of a constant. 

Now is it nice when they say in the fall that you get an extra hour of sleep,, sure but now I have to convince my body that it really is not one hour later in the day. 

And now more than anything we have entered the dark part of the year.  On the news this morning they said that the sun will set just before five o'clock.  That is just depressing. 

With Halloween on Friday and the switch of time on Saturday I knew that it was going to be a busy weekend of trying to find enough daylight to get all things done. 

My doorbell did not ring very often which was fine, I don't like people panhandling at my door for candy. 

The boy was out with some of his school friends who all ended up back here for  candy gambling ,,, a game that allowed them to get what they wanted and get rid of what they didn't.

I went to bed to catch up on sleep.

I had planed on saturday to get out on my bike and ride in the sun,, but once again time got away from me and after me and boy searched for a new skateboard and took a trip up to Winona, to skate the mini ramp there.  And on that note,, let me say the park has potential, it just needs someone to come in and address the surface and all the broken glass.

I did find the time to pedal yesterday,, went out and rode for a good while,, even showed some 

people around the trails a bit,, I played tour guide and just enjoyed some time on the single speed. 

But the underlying theme all weekend was how tired I was due to the damn hour switch,, Seasonal jetlag. 

Now I need to get my ducks in a row and get ready for a whirlwind trip to the 303 to see my Family.