Monday, June 29, 2009

Whoa!

I haven't posted in a few days. It's crazy how fast the time flies this time of year. Any time of year really...

There was a mountain bike race this past Sunday on some sweet new trail called Buzzard's Roost. I didn't make it. I'm glad too as I haven't been on my bike in a couple weeks. I know, it's nearly a sin to not have ridden my bike in that amount of time. However, with the move and all the crap that's going on and the added commute distance, which I might note, I don't know what that is yet.... I just don't feel I have things in order nearly enough to ride to work yet. Yes, I realize excuses are like a-holes...

Enough about that.

I'm pretty excited about the tour this year. Astana has too many GC contenders and everyone else is just has strong. Great year.

That's all.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

What the!!!

If you received an email from me last night with the subject RE: !!! do not open it. It came from my gmail.com account. Delete it right away. I haven't checked that email in weeks. I have the address forwarded to my work account so I can see what's coming in but I don't send anything from there. Don't do it!!!

This sucks. It can't be my infected computer, someone has copied my address and sent that message to everyone in my address book.

Damn it!

Friday, June 12, 2009

BHMBA in the spotlight

Hey, check out this post about the BHMBA on the Kona site. It's great news and a super good article about our little mountain bike mecca in the hills.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Rain and move update

It seems since we've put our house up for sale, we've done nothing but wait. Then something comes up and we get excited and emotional... then we find out the close date has been postponed. It has happened over and over again. There might be a light at the end of the tunnel. There is a possibility we could close as early as Friday.

We are ready. There are a few large items left to load and some cleaning to do, for the most part... let's move.

This experience has hurt my cycling time. I haven't been able to compete in a couple races and if we close Friday, it's one more race out of the books. I'm alright with that. This lifetime isn't all about me, it's about my family and providing for them and being the best dad I can. If that means missing out on a couple bike races, then so be it.

On another note, I should have a raffle for some of my things. Tickets will be $1 and this will go towards my Kona Ute. I don't know what I'm going to raffle off but it's going to be ok. Not good, just ok. I've seen other bloggers do this with amazing success. However, they're raffling off things like brand new bicycles, trips and great goods. I only have crap.

Hope you Tour de Kota'rs are doing well and staying dry.

And... it's still raining.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Rain

It is raining. It has been raining for days. Wonder how the Tour de Kota is doing with all the rain. Sometimes it's nice to ride in the rain.

Well, not too many people voted on what to get, Kona Ute or the Surly Big Dummy. 2 people voted for the Big Dummy and no votes for the Ute.

Unfortunately, if I ever get the opportunity to have an Xtracycle, I'll probably end up with the Ute. It costs considerably less. The big dummy is $1,000 for just the frame and fork whereas the Ute sells for just under $900 for the complete package. I realize it probably won't have the greatest components, but it is affordable.

And, it's still raining.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Waiting

We're still playing the waiting game with our house situation. We packed up a majority of our things over the weekend and they are in the trailer ready to be moved. Other than that, I have no news to report.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Tracking

I think I'm going to start tracking my monthly bike vs car items. I know a couple friendly bloggers who do it.

1. Biking Brady
2. Minus Car

It seems like a great idea and will be even more impressive to me when my commute is greatly increased if we ever get to move. However, I think it's still valid and will prove that I am out to do my part.

This new big commute that I will have to do seems to warrant a new bicycle. I know our friend Snakebite rides a Surly Big Dummy which I do find quite appealing. However, I could be persuaded to ride a Kona Ute which is very similar to the Big Dummy. I would have to order one either way through my favorite bike shop, Acme Bicycles.

The question remains, which bike shall I get and how will I justify the expense. So, comment back on how you think the expense can be justified. These are the things I have considered.

1. Gas savings from driving a 16 mpg truck every day.
2. I can pick up groceries on the way home.
3. It will serve as a hauling vehicle when things need to be hauled.
4. It comes pre-installed with over-sized panniers.
5. It looks cool.

So, post your comments, I'll compile them and post all the reasons why I should have either a Big Dummy or Ute.

Get out and ride.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Appraisal

The new appraisal on our house was done yesterday. The appraiser said the house was one of the nicest old houses he's seen. So, that being said, our house should have a good appraisal and everything should go though, hopefully. That means we might get to move next Friday. It's a week later, but at least it's still moving forward.

I haven't been on the bike in almost 2 weeks with all this madness going on. Fortunately the weather hasn't cooperated for a good ride. It's been very rainy here lately.

I went to a physical therapist for my knees on Monday. I received some good information from him and will continue to go back a couple more times. He's basically stretching some muscles in my hip flexors and quads which he thinks are to blame for my knee pain. Since my job consists of sitting all day, it has shortened my quads and flexors enough to wreck havok on other areas. I did go for a 3 mile run today with no pain.

Things are looking up.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Move Update...

Well, it looks as if we will not be moving this week. We were supposed to close on our house on Thursday. This past Friday we got word the buyers have been denied of their loan. Our mortgage lady stated that she could give them a loan. However, this process will now take an extra 2-2 1/2 weeks to complete. They have to change their loan type which means more inspections and more appraisals.

I will never sell another house again. This has got to be the worst experience ever. On top of that, I made a delicious cup of coffee that I would pour into a travel mug and enjoy on my walk to work this morning. The thing I didn't account for is all our cups have been packed. So, I instantly said screw it and walked without my morning joe.

I don't even care so much about the cup. What I do care about is the fact that half of our house is packed up and we are in a very uncomfortable state and there is absolutely nothing we can do about it other than wait. Waiting we are doing.

We've been told the worst case scenario is closing on the 19th and best case would be the 12th. It's only an extra 2 weeks, it shouldn't be that bad unless you've been told 3 separate times when the closing will be just to have the contract broken and changed once again.

I'm getting very close to saying screw it and we'll keep our damn house. But, we need to move. We need more space. Well, need probably isn't the right word, it would be very beneficial for us to have a slightly larger and differently organized house.

So, we're back on the waiting game.

Ugh!