CWM and Beyond!

So, the first class of my last semester is set to begin in about thirty minutes. I'll try to fit everything possible that needs to be here, I'm way past due for an update! To begin, the Chris Webber Memorial Ride. Epic, amazing. In every way it is a bike and build trip, only it's nicely compacted into a week rather than eight or nine. We rode from Orlando to Ft. Lauderdale, had amazing weather the entire time, and had a blast every single night. Despite the brevity of the ride, I have to admit that the emotional impact of the trip was equal to P2S. I added another twenty nine brothers and sisters to my already large bike and build family, and finally got to meet the Webber family. It was a moving event, to say the least, and I fully intend on continuing to do the ride year after year for as long as I can.

I got in a few shortish runs (four or five miles) during the ride. Admittedly, it was hard getting used to the humidity and heat after running in the winter; the fact that I had ridden about seventy miles on my bike earlier those days also probably had an effect. I don't think that I drank enough, and I didn't bring water with me on the runs. But they were all succesful with no bonking, although I did get lost while we were staying in Cocoa. My navigational skills have always been lacking. My runs got a bit curtailed by the end of the trip since, in true Mark fashion, I got sick. I'm still sort of getting over that infection, whatever it was. I consider myself lucky since one of the fellows on the ride, Travis, contracted bacterial pneumonia on the second day. He handle it a lot better than I would have, certainly.

So I left Florida very much in better spirits than I had entered into it. Bike touring, I'm convinced, is good for the soul; my soul, at least, loves it. Or perhaps it's just bike and build? Whatever the case, though I still had a fever and a cough, I came back to Virginia grinning and that grin really hasn't left my face since. I've ridden my feel good high into a new chapter in my life as well, because in only a few short months I will be GRADUATING! I've never been so excited and despite the state of the economy I'm not at all scared. I've got a new lease on life, because I'm doing another tour this summer!

Katharine had approached me some time ago about making a trip down the west coast. Specifically, she wanted to ride from British Columbia to Mexico. Sounds crazy? Nah, we're old pros at this point. It sort of developed from there, and she's written up a tentative itenerary from Victoria to San Fran, where the two of us will probably be stopping for a while to take a wilderness EMT training course in Yosemite. But there's a little not so secret secret about this tour. It's not just a "for fun" bike ride. Nope, get ready boys and girls because it's Big Reveal time. Drumroll... I probably will end up staying there when we're done! Yeah, I'm moving out of Virginia in a very big, and novel, way! It's gonna be awesome, and I'll be telling everyone about all the details as they emerge. So open up your knowledge baskets and get set!

Ahhhh, Rejuvenation!

Sometimes it happens in the least likely of places. The dead of winter, for example. But we have been having freakishly mild weather as of late. A few things have happened that I am very, very excited about. But before I go on listing exactly what they are (don't worry, it's a short list), I'll do a little bit of pontificating about myself, and some peculiarities of mine.

I find my remedy for boredom, or just staleness in my life, has usually run to the physical. Around this time last year, it was discovering Bike and Build and starting this blog. A year has passed since I began that journey-phew, I really can't believe it- and a lot has changed. I have a new definition of myself, what I'm physically capable of. I have an intimate connection to seven or eight states that I've ridden through now, and a bond with a group of people that I don't think I'd be able to fully dissolve even if I tried. My soul is healthier, I think, for having seen so many sights and felt so many emotions. I treasure every mountain pass and every moment I can look back on a freak out (read: Shira screaming at Peter in Nebraska) and not stiffle the laugh. We suffered a lot and learned a lot and it was ecstasy, every moment of it. I have, and will always, enjoy reminiscing about it but it is time to look forward once again!

I've decided to tack another lofty goal onto the "things to do" list for the year. I plan on completing at least a half Ironman and possibly a full by the end of the 2009 calendar year. There's a half in Montauk that looks promising, and if I get my way I'll compete in the Wisconsin or Maryland Full Ironman. I've been playing with the idea of competing in one for a long time now, and I am just so excited to be taking my first steps again on another road. It keeps one focused for certain. For those of you who don't know much about the Ironman, it's considered by many to be the golden fleece of athletic achievement. I'd have to agree, when it comes to endurance anyway. By the numbers, a standard Ironman is a 2.4 mile open water swim, a 112 mile bike, and a marathon to be completed within 17 hours. Each leg is an achievement onto itself.

I come into this knowing full well the likelihood that I will not complete this race. It does not discourage me, and it is not an excuse to not try. I feel that, as Shira once told me, "the process is the goal". I think that, whether or not I achieve the concrete goal here, I'll discover things about myself and enact meaningful change within my own life. That is worth far more to me than nabbing that finisher's medal; nonetheless, I shall work hard, I am already working hard. If my personal experience and transformation doing this is anything like it was biking across country, I know I won't be disappointed whatever the outcome.

So then this blog, too, will be a part of achieving the goal. I'll be writing periodically about my training and my progress. The races I'm competing in this semester will all be a part of that training as well. I am freshly returned from a nine mile run, training for the Shamrock Half Marathon in March. I'll be doing plenty of running while it's still cold out. Probably more of that than either of the other two disciplines, although I also want to focus a lot on my swimming as well. So if any of you are still watching this blog, please continue! Bookmark it even. It's bound to be a bumpy ride along the way, and I'll try to capture all of those feelings here.

Goals keep us focused, I think give us a sense of purpose where there might not otherwise feel like there was. I am very much relieved to have decided upon a new one! Remember, a goal without a plan is just a wish! In the meantime, I hope everyone has an excellent holiday season. I'll be spending the tail end of mine with some Bike and Builders in the Florida sun. And I cannot wait.

Peace out, Hombres!

Winter Sucks

I need to buy a trainer... ugh. Don't get me wrong, I really love the winter. Once you reach Thanksgiving, it's pretty much a clear shot to Christmas and New Years; all three are excellent holidays. But the weather just isn't fun for cycling, or exercise in general. Sure, there are plenty of people who are willing to wrap up in wool jersies and gloves and ride to their heart's content out in blustery winter gusts. But not me. I think it's safe to say, my days of regular exercise are over.

On the positive end, I'm finally updating this blog, right? There's a few little hiccups to mention since last post. For starters, I made it onto the Chris Webber Memorial Ride Roster (quite a mouthful, eh?)! I am super duper excited to get on that, especially because Jake and Marty are both doing the ride too. I've been racking my brain recently for inside jokes with which to relive my past experience and simaltaneously alienate everyone that's not Jake or Marty. A few that come to mind are Peter's pterodactyll cry and yelling "I'm not sweep!" while passing people, and something about food hoarding. Actually, a lot of these are about Peter. Heh heh...so yeah.

Moving on to other news, Barbara had some excellent bits of her own! She is now a leader for the Central US trip this summer; I'm wicked jealous, and intend on somehow hopping on for an hour or day or week. I'll also be pressuring some friends of mine who are contemplating doing a trip to sign up for CUS. There's only a few spots left on any of the trips, people! She's got a lot of work ahead of her, no doubt, and I'll marvel at her ability to complete her pre-trip responsibilities and hold a job, but hey, she's up to it.

Thanksgiving was a good one this year, on multiple fronts. It's pretty much my favorite holiday ever because we travel to Kentucky and stay at my aunt's very beautiful and very rustic home. And they're hippies who love extreme sports and physical activity and good beer. And my god the food. So, I ate a lot, and sat in front of the fire a lot, and watched my little second cousins be absolute terrors and wonder fondly if I was really that bad when I was their age. I'm sure I was worse, in fact. But as usual, it's always a lot of fun to see that part of the family, and watch it grow. And then there was the mountain biking and trail running on their property. Totally freaking awesome. And it gave me justification to stuff my face.

So yeah, I'm back at school now and putting off writing two papers, due tuesday and thursday respectively. It's gonna be a hairy week, but I think I can pull through. Until then, send me bike related presents or money! Because I need both!

Looking Forward

So... riding has slowed down a little bit now. Fall's been good so far, but I know before I even realize it, there'll be snow on the ground and I'll be stuck in the gym or on a trainer. It's been a good season. Mountain biking was a ton of fun, and so were the races that I've competed in. Oh, on that note, I did fairly well in my duathlon. I finished the whole thing in 1:06:47; 2 mi run, 10.4 mi bike, 5k run. I placed something like 8th overall and 2nd in my age group, 20-24. I was a little upset by that, since I was the only one from the team that didn't medal. Even though I got better times than them. Damn my age and possession of a certain appendage, hahaha!

The guy who beat me was an old alumnus from the team and a very cool guy, but I certainly have a competitive streak in me. For my first duathlon, however, I'm still very pleased, and the overall experience was way fun. Sadly, the season is sort of winding down. I probably won't race again until the season starts up again in the spring, but I will have a lot of fun training in the meantime! I've got only fun things to look forward to in the future, which brings me to the meat of this post. I've been looking into some cool projects and rides for when the weather turns appropriate again. Most of them are either runs or long rides/races. Some of them are job possibilities.

I guess we'll start with the run. I've been cooling my heels a bit and keeping myself in general shape by doing a couple 5k and 10k races. They're fun, they don't require a whole lot of training. Really, they don't require any at the moment. And of course, they feed you and typically give you a tshirt when you register. And I am nothing if not about food and clothes. Still, I've had my eye on a few longer races in the spring. One of them is the Shamrock Sportsfest Half Marathon. A year back, I posted a bit about my training for their 10k race with my friend Jamie. This year, I plan on upgrading. Shamrock was awesome last year, and I suspect that free beer and music will be even sweeter after running seven more miles than last year. I've got a few friends who're going to run with me, and the more the merrier. If you're interested in coming along, check out their link: http://www.shamrockmarathon.com/site3.aspx

I'm also planning on doing some longer tours/rides in the near future and also near the start of summer. Yesterday I registered for the Chris Webber Memorial Ride, which takes place from Dec. 28th to Jan. 2nd on the coast of Florida. It's run by Bike and Build and is entering its second year of existence. I'm told that spots are extremely difficult to come by, and given out based on a lottery system. Hopefully I'll be able to get in, because I can't think of very many things I'd rather do during the cold cold winter than bike around sunny florida! If not, I'll have saved myself three hundred and fifty dollars for the registration fee, plus whatever I'd be paying for gas to get down there.

But what I'm really, really excited for is DEATH RIDE 2009!!!! I just started researching it today, after reading an article about the ride in a pilfered outdoor rec. magazine from our school of integrated science and technologies (ISAT). I'm so glad that I stole it, because this ride looks sweet. Set in the aptly named "California Alps", this race takes you up and down five passes over 129 miles and over 15,000 feet of climbing. I wonder why they call it Death Ride? Definitely check out their website: http://www.deathride.com/index.html It looks like the stickers and jersies alone are enough reason to do this ride.

On the employment end of the spectrum, I've decided to explore working for a number of outdoor adventure and recreation programs over the summer, as well as look into getting hired by a touring company. All of them are lofty goals, to be sure, but everyone also says "do what you love". And I know what I love. So far I've looked at Outward Bound, and will be talking with the brother of a friend who worked for their school in Moab, Utah. I've also explored a few cycling companies centered around the eastern seaboard and in the northwest. It's all very exciting!

So that's it for the housekeeping. Hope all is well in everyone's worlds, and of course that you're all spending some time on your bikes! Peace out, hombres!

Hello Fall, Goodbye Summer

When I woke up early yesterday morning to a slight frost on my window and my roommate's advice to "not wear shorts", I knew. It's here. Autumn is unquestionably upon us. Sure, the leaves had long since been changing, the sun had been setting earlier and earlier. I'd caught the dusky smell of a wood fire burning on more than one occasion. But a chilly morning is the only surefire sign that Fall is here.

The Summer is dead, or at least it's dying. My calves are only one muscle group now, instead of two like they were so many months ago in Iowa. All the hardships of living in a group of thirty, strong minded, hungry, tired individuals have been completely swallowed up by fond memories and nostalgia. And I was reminded again, today, that a thirty mile bike ride is suddenly a long ride again, when it would have been laughable before. Time's no longer my own like it used to be. Maybe it won't ever be again. I'll just have to get by on the days off and the weekends and the spare moments that I can find them. And that's okay.

I rode up Reddish Knob over the weekend. It's a great little mountain, twelve miles of climbing from the foot to the summit. Paved all the way up. I hadn't done it since the end of last year; while the descent was exhilarating, I distinctly recall the climb being...unfun. I took it with a group of five, all triathlon kids. I wanted to see how I stacked up. Not just against them, but against the mountain. All of us finished the climb within two or so minutes of one another. The mountain was still difficult. Still, there's nothing better to help you climb than the prior knowledge that you have it in you to climb even higher.

We started climbing around six o clock in the evening. Two miles from the top we were all greeted with the most beautiful view of a sunset I've seen in a long while. Golden gossamer clouds sitting atop lapis mountains, and the beginnings of a dark, star filled horrizon beyond that pink sun. But for the desire to climb the whole thing without stopping, I would have taken a picture. Maybe I should have. I was, however, able to take an artistically blurry victory shot of the five of us, grinning in the night. We descended in complete darkness. Sometimes our poor decisions are the best ones. But we didn't die.

I was able to talk to Ducky and Nick, who I carpooled, about my cross country trip. Both of them had been to various places we stayed throughout the country. Ducky had herself hiked in the Tetons, which we only had the pleasure of biking past. Nick had spent a summer in Jackson Hole, working and skiing with some friends. Somehow, afterwards, I felt akin to both of them despite having only met them hours before. We'd breathed the same air, walked beneath the same sky. And we had all seen, with our own eyes, the same world.

I've always favored experiences over objects. Material things get worse, degrade with the passage of time. Our memories only get better, develop and are enriched as the years pass over them. I realize now that I had not seen my experience for all that it was. I realize that I'll always be realizing it, as I re-examine and re-evaluate all those days and nights in unfamiliar towns and unfamiliar roads. We were in Heaven and we didn't even know it. So I guess, as much as I bemoan getting farther and farther from my trip, it's a good thing. I'll carry it in its perfection, forever.

Oops.

Sooooooooo, I flipped over my handlebars on the trails today at the first step down. It was a bummer, as I'd ridden over it like twenty times before without incident. But I didn't break anything, just banged up my arm a tick. And my pride. Oops.

CENTURAYYYYYYYYYYY!

The two rides I was looking forward to did not disappoint. As expected, the brick was tons of fun. I had decided to go on a mountain ride with Jessie on Friday to get in some much needed practice on the blue trails at Hillandale. Yeah, any experienced mountain biker (my roommate for example) would probably laugh at me. But honestly? The technical aspects of the sport are not something that I quickly latch onto; I'm much better at thoughtlessly-at least I think so anyway- going fast. That works pretty well on the road, but generally that'll get you flipped over your handlebars when you ride mountain. I'm making strides for sure, and generally after a lap around the trail I am significantly looser on the bike and therefore less prone to wiping out. Still no bad falls yet!

But anyway, we had to cancel the mountain ride on account of rain, since the last time we rode the trails wet we were slipping and sliding and quite a few people bled. I decided that the rain was a perfect excuse to slip back into my chams and jersey and become what Jessie describes as "the asshole road cyclist". So we set out on a moderately paced twelve mile ride down route eleven. Now, route eleven's definitely not a very difficult road in terms of terrain. There are a few rollers and some of them are pretty steep, but honestly after the rockies, cascades, apalachians and catskills, I've had to rethink whatever I used to deem difficult. Still, I was really excited that I could push at a pretty good pace and feel very comfortable. I really don't feel like I've gotten in enough saddle time. It turns out that the reason we were moving so fast is because we had a tailwind, which we realized when we turned around and had to fight through it...uphill.

After cleaning the water and grit off of myself and the bike and chowing down a dumpster dove everything bagel with humous at Jessie's, I was ready to head out to the Brick. I arrived to the meeting place to find a few runners and no bicycle. The practice director was having second thoughts about the bike leg, as I was the only one who had yet turned up with a bike, and it was a bit rainy out. Thankfully, other bikers turned up-Zach, a sophomore riding an Allez Sport, and Kristen riding a rusty mountain bike without a helmet. The ride was on!

The ride-a nine miler out to the trail we'd be running at-turned out amazingly. The weather cleared almost as soon as we hit the road in earnest, and it was great chewing the fat with two athletes I'd never met. Much more impressive was the fact that Kristen was able to keep up with us on a mountain bike with platform pedals. Even more impressive is the fact that she ran five miles on top of that. I can't wait until the next brick workout-I'm also pretty psyched for the long ride on wednesday at 1 PM. Finally something fun to do before my class at five o clock.
But the more pressing subject of the journal, and appropriately the title, was the century I rode in this morning.

I got back in the saddle in earnest this morning, at around six AM. It was equal parts unpleasant and nostalgic to be getting up before the first light. I would've seldom gotten up so late as six o clock during bike and build, but then my roommates wouldn't have kept me up until three AM either. Suffice to say, I had a ton of energy as I headed out the door to the park. The Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition has been holding the ride that I was in for twenty six years. It definitely showed. The whole ride worked like a well oiled machine, and provided some of the best food I could have expected for the measly fifteen dollars I payed to register.

I ended up running into some Bike and Builders on the ride, much to my surprise. My buddy Dan, it turned out, had convinced some of the riders from his route to come out for the ride. After a little goading to ride with them on the century-I had since gotten cold feet and conceded to riding only the fifty miler-I joined them on the lineup at eight o clock. I ended up getting to know a little about his friends Rachel and Emily, and the way that their trip worked. It seems every route has its own particular flavor, and the NC to SD trip sounded like it was pretty tasty. I also ended up chit chatting with a woman from Charlottesville named Peggy who had been convinced by her cyclist husband to take up the hobby. She insisted that we were biking twins-which was sort of true, although she was riding a much sweeter Roubaix- and I ended up getting her number. I plan on giving her a call when I get into the Charlottesville area for a ride.

All in all, a very successful, very endorphin filled day. In fact, I'm still riding that high, and plan on riding it for the rest of the week. Peace out Hombres!