DClog

Nice Day For A Ride

Finished putting together the new bike and went for a 31 mile ride with my nephews, Matt and Nathan. The sky was deep blue and the sun was shining on one side with the crescent moon on the other. The temperature was a crisp 58 degrees or so and all three of us were wearing our complete GTC uniforms.

The bike responds well to accelerations and handles smoothly. It is just a little too big for me, but all in all it is an excellent bike.

Wrench

Spent some time putting the new Cannondale bike together, actually spent a lot more time stripping the parts off the old Genesis team bike. I say old but that bike was new 8 months ago, or 6,000 miles and 13 races ago. That's the first bike that didn't survive an entire year.

The C'dale might need a different bottom bracket and definitely a front derailler, so I'll have to visit the bike shop if I want to ever ride this bike.

Images

Well there ya go, this little puppy can embed images as well generate thumbnails and pop-ups of large images. It will also create a link to ANY type of file uploaded, for example mp3's.

Learning Curve

As I explore this MoveableType program I can see many possiblities for using it in web development. The blog is the easy and obvious application, but with some modifications to the templates and coding one could run a complete website with this app. Not that I would prefer to do it that way, but if a website client wants to update their site frequently, this could make publishing updates as easy as writing an e-mail.

New Blog Time

New Blog: I have been playing with blogger.com for the past few weeks and it works pretty good, but I'm thinking I might want a little bit more control, so I have installed "MoveableType" on my server.

Installation: Not too hard so far, it is setup to use the free mySQL database that comes with the hosting package. Let me get the basics under control first, then I'll start checking into plugins, customizing the stylesheets, and all the other goodies.

YIKES: WalMart

YIKES: Made it to WalMart by 6:01 AM, had finally carved my way through the crowd to the farthest back wall where the sewing machine I came for was located -- they were all gone already, and shopppers were lined up and down every single aisle with carts full of stuff. 6:15 AM I finally reached the exit and could breathe again. Stopped in Starbucks since it was on my way home and there were actually parking places available. 6:50 AM safely back home sipping on a Grandé Vanilla Latté. I won't be making that mistake again next year!

Shopping: a "first"

Shopping: This is a "first" for me. I've never been shopping at 6:00 AM or the day after Thanksgiving; this should be interesting. OK, out the door I go...

Foiled:

Foiled: I was looking forward to assembling the new Cannondale bike today, but because the frameset and fork came with the wrong crown race, a tiny but critical part of the steering system, I was unable to proceed. I was hoping to have it together for the WBL ride this Saturday winterbikeleague.com, now I'll have to re-assemble the cracked Team Genesis bike and hope it will last for one more ride.

Spared: I thought I was going to have to re-build the relatively new rear hub on my MTB, but as I was cleaning it up I discovered a small vine was tangled between the cassette and hub, and when I got it out the hub was fine again.

Thanksgiving: There is no family get-together this year. All my nearby brothers are at their mother-in-law's houses, Rachel is with her boyfriend and his mother, Bev and Ruth are playing cards and drinking wine... I guess I'll go back out to the garage and put my old bike back together.

Back In The Saddle:

Back In The Saddle: After having to take the past seven days off with zero cycling, I was very glad to get some saddle time today. My newest client, a Sport-class mountain bike racer, came over for a skills session and we had a blast in the woods, jumping logs, crossing creeks, carving turns, and bunny-hopping.

After the mountain bike ride I switched to the road bike and rode for 2+ hours with Matt. I trued his time trial wheel for him, and looked around my garage at the work I need to do on my own bikes, mainly re-build the rear hub on the MTB, and strip all the parts off the cracked Genesis frame and put them on the new Cannondale frame.

Music Biz: Last-minute holiday party bookings continue to come almost daily now. I turned down Susan's New Years Eve offer, so it looks like I might actually have that night off this year.

Web Development: AerusComp.com currently has highest priority and will be a huge project. The Tennessee Bicycle Racing Association wants me to put together a proposal for redesigning TBRA.ORG by December 6th -- another huge project. There is no cyclocross racing this weekend in Georgia, so I don't have to update that site this week.

Wassup: photo session

Wassup: Last night's photo session was almost fun. We did finally get a good picture where 5 out of 6 of us really looked good. Of course it was me that was glancing sideways with furrowed brows. Fortunately the shot taken only seconds previous to the "keeper" has me with a good facial expression, so I will perform a little PhotoShop magic and fix the otherwise perfect band photo.

What The... : Got a last-minute call yesterday to play at an awards breakfast this morning, so I was up dressed in my tux (again) driving to a gig through the morning traffic, before the sun was up. I had no idea there would be traffic jams in Gwinnett county at 6:30 AM!

Back to Biz: Tons of work today; Write a winter training plan for Cross Country Mountain Bike racer, Submit proposal for redesigning TBRA.ORG website, fax contracts and tax info to some holiday party clients, update Palm phone numbers, shop for gift and card for Renatta, all before going to my job this evening at V's......

Biz As Usual:

Biz As Usual: AM started with coaching clients on phone & internet. Next a meeting regarding the AerusComp.com website. Then on to the doctor's appointment (got more antibiotics). Back home and musician/music booking biz. More coaching biz phone & internet. Next: clean-up dress formal and go to "Moxie" photo session.

Expert Coaching Clinic:

Expert Coaching Clinic: I returned from Chattanooga late this afternoon a little worse for the wear. The classes were long and intense, very few breaks, and I didn't sleep well at all in the hotel. I did meet some good folks and established myself in the network.

Health & Fitness: This sucks! I am going to have to go back to the doctor.

K9 Creature: The dog missed me and was glad to see me come home.

K9 Critter:

K9 Critter: After several consecutive days, I believe Samantha has a clue what the newspaper is now, but she really does not want to have anything to do with it. She will retrieve a ball, so I think I just have to convince her that the paper is like a "toy" then maybe she'll go get it.

Health & Fitness: Sore throat and sinus congestion is dragging me down again. I stare outside at the fantastic weather and sit here feeling run-down and sick. If I'm not better by Monday, I'll go back to the doctor.

USAC Coaching Clinic: It's almost time to start packing the car and head up the road to Chattanooga for the weekend. Speaking of coaching, I continue to get calls from athletes looking for a coach. If it gets to be more than I can handle, I may have to consider a different pricing structure in the future.

Health & Fitness:

Health & Fitness: No workouts yesterday hoping the rest day would help me recover from this recurring cold/flu/sinus thing... but, no. I'm now officially sick of being sick, and I want my good health back. It now looks like I will miss the entire 2003 Georgia cyclocross season!

Cycling Biz: Just pulled the trigger on a new 2003 Cannondale CAAD5 frame & fork. Overstocked last year's model from a shop in Miami. 63cm Team Saeco model, it will replace my cracked Team Genesis EPX frame. I can use the frame this winter, until the new 2004 (Blue) team bike comes in, then pass along the good deal to Dean or someone else.

USA Cycling Expert Clinic:
Depart: Friday sometime between 3-6 pm.
Hotel: Chattanooga-Days Inn Rivergate.
Clinic Schedule: Sat 9am-6pm and Sun 9am-2pm.
Return: Sunday about 5-6 pm

Business as usual:

Business as usual: AM activities included Coaching (new athlete Shey Linder), banking, race organization (state cyclocross championship), website design (aeruscomp.com & rideblue.com), booking musicians, faxing contracts, computer repair/upgrade, prepare for business travel, etc.

Health & Fitness: Still fighting congestion and feeling fatigued this morning. The weather outside is inviting, but I have to stay relaxed and rest up for the weekend.

Plan: run a few errands, get a haircut, spend the afternoon with my guitar, go to work at V's.

Workout:

Workout: Reverse loop of yesterday, Blackjack - Mt. Moriah, w/Doug. Cloudy and windy conditions, mostly worked on Doug's standing/sprinting form and pedaling technique on seated climbs. 36.4 miles in 2:24.

Samantha and I

Samantha and I spent some time again this morning learning how to retrieve the newspaper from the end of the driveway. For the past several years "Go get the paper" meant run around in the front yard while Tootsie retrieved the paper. I taught Tootsie this trick when she was about 5 or 6 years old, and now it's Sam's turn. Samantha will require more patience and persistance.

The past four weeks of flu-like congestion, minimal training, and no racing have taken a serious toll on my fitness and overall outlook. This morning's slightly elevated heart rate and blocked sinus signal a "day off" or very easy training schedule.

Workout:

Workout: Blackjack Loop at a moderate/easy pace, warm and mostly cloudy. 37.3 miles in 2:07.

I've got to get a new road bike frame, the carbon EPX frame cracked a couple weeks ago, and even though I don't ride it hard or much since then, the crack has gotten bigger and will surely be catastrophic eventually.

I tried out the new pair of Sidi cycling shoes from REI. These are by far my favorite shoes (I've worn out 3 pair previously), but these are 1/2 size larger (45) than the others and will be better for winter riding with more socks.

Expert Coaching Clinic:

USA Cycling Expert Coaching Clinic: I am registered for USA Cycling expert level certification clinic to be held in Chattanooga this coming weekend. The schedule is Saturday 9am-6pm; Sunday 9am-2pm. I will need to book a hotel for Friday and Saturday nights and bring stuff to take notes with.

The instructors will be Sam Callan, USA Cycling Science and Education Manager, Al Gandolfi, a USA Cycling Elite Level coach, and Mark Fasczewski, a USA Cycling Elite Level coach. Manuals and handouts will be provided, the test we take is a take home variety.

There are 16 people registered for the clinic, including pro cyclist Jacob Fetty and Todd Nordmeyer.

Here's a few photos

Here's a few photos I took from around my desk area, while playing with Ruth's digital camera yesterday: Nov 15, 2003

I feel much better

I feel much better now. The clouds moved out of the way and the sun came out and warmed everyone.

Workouts: Samantha and I ran/jogged up Waldrop Rd. (1.5 miles in 12 minutes). That was a nice warm-up, then on to the weight lifting, which I knocked out 2 sets of 20 reps each: rows, hamstring curls, secret weapons, squats/heel raise, step-ups, and push ups, also 50 reps each of crunches. Matt came over and we rode the 5 Hills Loop at a nice moderate pace; 39.6 miles in 2:15.

I found a cool looking orange stocking cap while running, I'll wear it.

Matt seems to have a renewed interest in his cycling and with his team, Roswell Velo, turning up the professionalism a notch or two for this next season, he really needs to get with a serious training program.

This is the FIRST entry

This is the first entry in this Weblog, and I am mainly just going to make sure that everything is setup correctly and is working. OK I suppose if you are reading this then it is working.

The weather is cloudy, but the outdoors still beckons so I think I will take Samantha for a short run up Waldrop road, then open the garage door and spend a little time with the weights. If I still have some energy left over I'll go for a ride on the road bike.