i hate to say it, but hip hop is dead. or at least popular hip hop. man, the stuff that is coming out today is sooo bad. i know there is plenty of underground stuff that is good... but im referring to the crap that is making it to the top of the charts. people should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this to happen. the lyrical content could not possibly get any less thought provoking.

anyways...

this weekend me & allie took care of Nina (my mom's mini schnauzer). even though she spends most of the time on the bed or the couch, it was still fun to have her around. she is soooo NOT a city dog. she is scared of catch basins, manhole covers, water shutoff valves, concrete, and any change to the surface she is walking on. the only thing she isnt scared of is cars. odd, huh?

sunday, we headed down to canton. i was feeling pretty good & was hoping to have a "good" day (good being relative). i got my typical lousy start from the back row of about 60 guys. I was feeling pretty good & moving up. With 2 laps to go, Allie yelled out that i was in 22nd place. huh. not bad. There was a few people that were in front of me & i burried myself to get into the top20. Well, i guess she misscounted, cause when i came back again with 1 to go, she said i was still in 22nd....and at this point, im totally dead... i went back & forth with 2 guys... ended up passing one of them on the final stretch... finished 22nd. about 2.5mins back from 1st & about 1min back from 10th.

now, i know 22nd isnt a great finish.. but im really happy with it. im improving & getting some confidence back. i just need to mentally get back to having a good start.

im resting this week.. then headed to adam's northampton race on sunday. next week is unh & putney :)

Sunday afternoon

10222006(002)
Originally uploaded by argylesocks.

yesterday i had one of the best rides of my life. it represented everythign i love about fall. chilly, fallen leaves & the smell of wood stoves burning. it wasnt a training ride. it was a fun ride. coming down this hill, i saw 2 piggies standing in the middle of the road. how cool is that??

BREITBART.COM - US full of Internet addicts: study

BREITBART.COM - US full of Internet addicts: study

yikes.

" According to preliminary research, the typical Internet addict was a single, college-educated, white male in his 30s"

Improving (sort of)

Yawn. I always feel really good when i run in the morning....for the first 2hrs, but by noon, im dragging. So today starts my 2 weeks of hard training. Well, actually yesterday started it & i did my required 20min recovery spin followed by a 1hr massage :) Hesser College has a massage school & the students are required to work on people, so they do it cheap... $20/hr cheap. aww yeah.

So im looking foward to this block of training & hoping that it will help me with the races in november. Thats kind of my new focus.

Anyways. me & allie headed back up to maine on sunday morning. cheered for jack & then got kitted up. The course was really cool & quite fast. The long paved climb worked well for me. I decided to take the pressure off & start dead last. it can only get better from there, right? So i just tried to ride a good race & work on my skills. I passed when i could. In the end, i finished 32nd. right in the middle of the field. Not quite what i wanted, but still better than saturday's pathetic ride. Weller won (again). I was 2mins from a top15 result, which is where i want to be. I think i can get there. i just dont know that it will be this season. next year. next year. everything is about next year.

On the way home, i gave up on my fuel efficient driving, in favor of pizza & beer, which were waiting for me at home. I was sooo hungry. I topped off the pizza with some Soy Delicious ice cream. aww yeah.

Downeast Cyclocross

I went into today with some pretty low expectations...and somehow i managed to not even meet them. it was embarrising. i promised myself i wouldnt get down about something as stupid as a bike race. but i cant help it. im discouraged, dissapointed, and pissed off. im not sure when i got to the point in life that my self-worth & the way i think others view me became solely based on my racing ability, but its a fucking dumb way to go about things...

im still planning on going up there again tomorrow...not really sure why. i certainly cant do any worse (yes. it was THAT bad).

refocus...

gloucester
Originally uploaded by argylesocks.

the lungs are getting better. or at least they feel like they are. Mentally, im still a little down & bummed. i had put soo much into trying to do the best i could to be ready for this race. i put way too much pressure on myself. all for what?

anyways, time to rethink goals for this year. im gonna train again, once my lungs are normal & see if i can pull something together for a decent result at one of the smaller local races.

its soo nice out. i love fall. this time of the year makes me both smile & want to cry at the same time. how is that possible.

listening: new lemonheads

Day 2

10082006
Originally uploaded by argylesocks.

View

the lungs have taken a turn in the wrong direction. Im wezzing and hacking up too much stuff so im going to skip todays race and just cheer for the IBC Team. i think im going to take the next few days off and try to kick this asthma problem. Oh yeah. In typing this from my phone, in bed, overlooking the ocean. I guess life aint that bad.

[ Sent from my mobile phone using the Blogger widget from www.bluepulse.com ]

Glouster. Day 1

we are back @ the inn, right on the ocean. So nice.:-) things went as expected today. I blew the start and got shelled to the back. Mentally, i an just not ready to take the risks necessary to get a good start. Anyways- i just rode my own race and finished midpack, just under 4 minutes back. Not great but as expected. My goals need to change for this reason and I think im ok with that.....for now.

[ Sent from my mobile phone using the Blogger widget from www.bluepulse.com ]

doctors office

10052006(002)
Originally uploaded by argylesocks.

can you tell im a little pissed to be at the doctors 2 days before Gloucester because i cant breath?

"keep in fridge for better crunchy."

"keep in fridge for better crunchy."

Kittee rules. check out her page.

that crazy 4AD smell...

Last night, in the shower the oddest thing happend. I was using my loofa and i happend to smell it. i know this sounds odd...but keep with me. so anyways, i immediately recognized the smell. it was exactly the same smell that my first copy of The Pixies "Doolittle" tape had back when i puchased it in high school, at Lechmere's in Salem, NH. The best way i can...no... wait. i can NOT describe it. but there definately was a distinct smell to that tape.

i rode for an hour easy last night.. lungs felt fine.. but last night they seemed to worsen a bit. not enough to bother my daily activities, but enough to put racing into question. to say im frustrated, is an understatment.

listening to: Galaxie 500 "Peel Sessions"

The Post Punk Kitchen: Vegetarian cooking & vegan baking with no attitude

The Post Punk Kitchen: Vegetarian cooking & vegan baking with no attitude

these girls rock! its awesome to see soo many vegan/veggie websites popping up. sometimes i feel like im getting a little lathargic in my vegan activism. i have never been one to get on a soapbox, but its been a while since i spent the afternoon handing out "Why Vegan" flyers. Last night, i couldnt sleep at all. so i thought about things. lots of things. mostly just fretting on this race season, my asthma, my shoulder, the fear of crashing, etc. but at about 3am i had an idea of making some sort of flyer dispenser that i could mount to my car at races. hmm. people could walk by & if they were interested, they could take one...if not, they keep on walking.

anyways. i debated on running at 3am...but laid in bed till about 4:45am, then suited up & hit the streets. the lungs felt good. i think ill be in ok shape for UNH & Gloucester this weekend. by the way, i got a 11th place starting position out of 122 pre'reged racers :) sweet. last year, i had to start about 5 rows back. this year, it should be 1st or 2nd row. im just hoping i can make it thru that mad rush at the beginning & get to the 1st turn in one piece!!

and lastly: do NOT go see "the black dahlia" it sucked. aside from the hot lesbian scene, it was a total waste of time. me and allie spent more time debating on whether or not we should leave, then we did watching the movie.

Asthma

saturday's race made a mess of my lungs. the same issues i thought i had resolved came back with a vengance. saturday night was pretty rough. sunday was better & my peak flow levels were improving. this morning things are probably @ 90%. good enough to ride... but certainly an issue if it dont get completely better soon.

I am going to try to forget about Milford & just focus on the next one. Im headed to UNH on wed, most likely. A quick tuneup on friday afternoon... then its off to Gloucester. Me and allie are staying here (see picture).

Milford Cross

yesterday's race was an embarassment.  'nuff said.
 i crashed on my shoulder (again)   its fine.    but my ego is a bit hurt.