The adventures and misguided ponderings of EcoNutJob

Thanksgiving in Ohio

2009-11-30T20:28:00.003-06:00

More to come. Just some of the goodness.

Plymouth to Watertown

2009-10-19T00:40:00.002-05:00

Makes me happy.

Pimp My Ride....

2009-10-19T00:35:00.002-05:00

About time for the yearly post that nobody will ready.

This is simply to post photos of the new bike - a Motobecane that I'm stealing parts off of to build up this Redline Conquest Team frame.

I'll talk about what else I've been up to [TC marathon, etc] at a later time.

What I've been up to?

2008-11-13T08:31:00.018-06:00

I figured I'd give a little update on what I've been doing since the Rainier trip. I'm doing it in photos, as I wouldn't want to type the 10,000 words necessary to convey similar information. I'm leaving out a lot of school work and field work, because well, I'll concentrate on what the 3 readers of this blog might be interested in.

Me on the Summit of Rainier

Steelhead Half Ironman

In the hotel room the night before - apparently with my grandmother ...

Steelhead results...

The Blubber Run.

TRIP TO OHIO

My cute faux-neice

My Cousin's Kate's Wedding [in Ohio]

My Dad at the Wedding

Family Drinking [me drinking a Cosmo like a proper metro]

More drinking with Family

Even more drinking with Family

It's Getting Deep in Here

2008-09-03T21:18:00.003-05:00

Watching the RNC. I'm sorry but it's not even intelligent discourse.

I vomited a bit in my mouth watching Mitt, Huckabee, and Rudy.

Hillary and Women ...

2008-08-30T23:46:00.002-05:00

Hillary and Sarah: NYT article

I don't understand this anger at Obama by HIllary supporters. It might be a small few after the DNC - at least I hope so.

Here's a quote from the article:

"Yes, they said, they were troubled by Ms. Palin’s opposition to abortion rights. But Ms. Hoover said she felt betrayed by pro-choice groups, and in particular politicians like Senators Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who were helped into office by pro-choice groups like Emily’s List but came out early to support Mr. Obama over Mrs. Clinton, despite her being the first viable pro-choice woman to run for president."

Does this mean that being a woman makes you obligated to support another woman? Obama is pro-choice.

By supporting the republican ticket or not supporting Obama -- isn't the average Hillary supporter helping folks get into office whose values are counter to your own.

I definitely understand [at least as much as I can] that there has been and sometimes still is a boys club that favored men over the qualified candidate -- to the detriment of particular woman and society as a whole. Isn't it the same thing to vote for a candidate just because she is female -- with particular societal detriment if we have another republican 4 years.

Coming

2008-07-27T10:46:00.001-05:00

Coming home a day early!

Rainier: Breaking News

2008-07-25T00:37:00.004-05:00

News Just In:

Mark B, Rozzi L, and William Eddy successfully summit Mt Rainier in a stunning feat of bravado, endurance, and good looks. Rumor has it they charmed the mountain into submission. They followed their successful summit bid with pizza and Alaskan Amber beer. All is now quiet on the Western Front.

We will update this story as details become available.

This photo is thought to be Mark and Rozzi at the summit at sunrise.

Make

2008-07-21T09:38:00.001-05:00

Make sure you know whether your flight is in the am or pm- else you spend a lot of time in airport diners

Lightrail

2008-07-21T07:46:00.001-05:00

Lightrail to airport! hauling a 80lbs of gear on a bus and rail is not easy. but at least i have that option in the TC.

Packing

2008-07-20T12:03:00.001-05:00

Packing for Rainier and seeing if mobile blogging works.

A great way to spend a Saturday ...

2008-06-22T19:16:00.009-05:00

... is on a bike. Did a good 135 mile ride on Saturday. The weather was beautiful - steady 10-15mph wind out of the NW -- so I headed that way first. Felt great, kept a decent pace. Of course -- stopped to eat at McDonalds (suckas) but did eat healthy (Grilled Snack Wrap and about 10 small cups of Powerade). Did fill 1 bottle with pop as I was leaving, stupidly using my well-sealing camelback bottle. Soon as I opened the lid, sticky money shot all over my face. I felt like I was in a gay porn with the sugar fairy.

This area of Minnesota is really pretty as well. Lots of great fields on the sandplain.

Miles 103-113: I hate you. Storm front moved in, and brought some really large gusts that I had to pedal straight into. Photo below is said front.

Total mileage I'm estimating at 135. My GPS said high 120's -- but it always measures less [~5%] than cyclocomputers [maybe it is only measuring flat earth distance traveled?].
Average speed: 18.1mph [but should be a bit higher if mileage is really underestimated]
Calories burned: 8123.

I don't have to worry about the beers I had after the ride.

State Fair Affair: El Fin

2008-06-20T11:45:00.000-05:00

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Nature Valley Grand Prix 2008: Stillwater Crit

2008-06-16T15:21:00.003-05:00

Road out to Stillwater with Cat 6 and Freewheel. Great trip until I f-ed my rear rear derailleur hanger. It's getting fixed right now, and it was about time to give up riding for a few days to get wheels trued up and change out chain / cassette.

Great races! Kristin Armstrong [the women in the yellow jersey] is truly amazing! I can't even comprehend how she can be so much better than everyone else. In a one woman breakaway the entire race, and was still taking time on the field by the end. The guys' race was sweet too - and scored myself a Jelly Belly Water Bottle. Apparently folks found it disgusting that I was drinking the remaining liquid in the bottle. Hope he didn't have any mouth diseases.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Nature Valley Grand Prix 2008: St. Paul Riverfront TT

2008-06-16T15:15:00.003-05:00

I tried to get a lot of the local MN racers. Let me know if anyone wants copies of any of these, as you shouldn't be able to download these directly.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Category 6 State Fair Crit #2 6-10-08

2008-06-12T12:00:00.000-05:00

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Rainier Summit Summer 2007

2008-06-05T19:57:00.001-05:00

700 Feet Short of Summit. Be back 2008.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Category 6 Racing Squad State Fair Crit

2008-06-05T19:50:00.003-05:00

I took the photos. I only appear in 1 of them.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Feeling Nekkid..

2008-05-31T17:37:00.007-05:00

SPECQ [David's] Cycling Hill Climb: 56 MILES, 5000 FEET OF CLIMBING, 3900 Calories.

7 MILE RUN: 7:30 MINUTE MILES and [fortunately] rather FLAT. 1000 Calories.

Total Food:

Before Hillclimb:
Banana 105 calories
After Hillclimb: Protein Shake (1 banana, 2 scoops Protein Mix, 2 cups milk = 105 + 120 + 220 = 345 calories).

Calories used = 3900 + 1000 = 4900 less calories taken in = 450. Running a 4400 calorie deficit for the day [not including maintenance calories spent].

Should I go eat now?

"That's Hot"

2008-05-19T14:53:00.002-05:00

Paris Hilton likes the new Category 6 jerseys designed by Twin Six

Say it is so.

2008-05-07T11:19:00.002-05:00

There has to be some aphorism that could be told to Hillary to get her to realize the fact that she will not be the nominee.

The only one I can think of is... It's no use beating a dead horse.

Got a better one?

Gluek Road Race

2008-05-05T22:52:00.004-05:00

Gluek Road Race on Saturday (3 May).

Sadly no pictures as I was finely kitted and not in fleece pants.

Again bad wind - nowhere near the level at Ken Woods.

I held on throughout the whole race, even though we were dropping racers on the climb every lap around. Finally on the last lap, some riders gapped me on the climb, but I certainly wasn't the last up the climb. 140 lb Mario managed to take down 220lb+ rider and keep riding (the guy hit Mario's wheel -- nothing Mario could do). It was a spectacular crash with this guy flying 10 feet off the road into grass and brush. We looked backed and he popped up almost instantaneously, so we knew he was okay.

I chase back up, and caught a few riders on the descent and sprint to the finish. Ended up 1 second behind Mario and maybe 10-20 seconds behind the winner [Noah -- who looked really strong and was a really good guy].

Met the big guy Mario took down at the finish. He was a good guy as well, and didn't beat our asses.

Mario 6th.
William 8th.

I'm finally getting some legs. I very nearly held onto the lead group for the final climb.

Sort of dumb that I can't graph all this data together. Top is heart rate and altitude, bottom heart and speed [i.e. slow].

The best part of Ken Woods.

2008-04-27T20:23:00.004-05:00

When the race was postponed 2.5 hours due to 35 mph winds, icy roads, and razer-like-snow being whipped in your face -- you get to eat a real breakfa(s)t! You'll notice no meat. I only eat bacon when it is wrapped around things, and sausage in a griddled or stick format. Bacon-wrapped-banana sounds absolutely perfect - a serving a meat and fruit, all the protein, fat, and potassium you'll need for the day.

The toast was even free. Toast and photo courtesy of Emily.

Ken Woods Memorial Race

2008-04-26T19:03:00.004-05:00

Wind Wind Wind. Delay. French Toast and Hash Browns. Race. Wind Wind and more Wind. Finish. 14th Place. Hot dog and brownie to help children in Tanzania [my favorite kind of hot dogs and brownies]

Skinny Ski. Yeah, I know I look like a goof, but I was warm!

Better race report to follow. Now it's time for lasagna.

A Sloppy Cronkite

2008-04-25T14:52:00.000-05:00

On oldie but a good.

Watch for the cycling metaphors

2008-04-25T14:30:00.000-05:00

The Audacity of Government

2008-04-24T12:13:00.003-05:00

This American Life: Episode 353 - the Audacity of Government

Great episode about the Bush administration attempt to expand executive powers -- even in cases of minor importance, and the no limits tactics to win more power.

This makes me sad.

Bush giving the country and the world the finger.

I want my scientists to be smarter than me...

2008-04-23T16:55:00.002-05:00

Teenage Skeptic Takes on Climate Scientists : NPR

At just 16 years old, Kristen Byrnes is attracting attention for her Web site, which attacks mainstream science's views on climate change.

She might be skeptical, but is she objective?

Went running....

2008-04-22T22:23:00.003-05:00

Como lake run. about 7 miles.

Eye of the Tiger

2008-04-22T18:50:00.004-05:00

Face to face, out in the heat
Hangin' tough, stayin' hungry
They stack the odds 'til we take to the street
For we kill with the skill to survive ....

I'm a lot like Rocky. East coaster [sort of], Italian, don't really like Mr. T, Italian. Well, a little like Rocky. More like Rocky than Hillary Clinton.

Rocky wouldn't have gotten anywhere if he didn't set goals and challenge folks to fight, so I'm going to do some of the same in this post. Rocky would have probably won the fight against Apollo in the first movie had he (1) not been fighting the god of the sun and (2) been able to clearly articulate his goals to Mick, rather than slurring them. If only Rocky had a blog.

GOALS FOR 2008
1. Upgrade to Cat 4. Sad that I'm still a Cat 5. Be a solid 4 too.
2. Top 3 a race.
3. Finish in the top 50% of the half ironman in August
4. Do at least 1 adventure race this season [it's a rebuilding year]
5. Mountain bike race
6. Track race.
7. Ride more miles [somewhere between my grandmother and AllthewayRay]
8. Still have crotch feeling at the end of the season.

throw working hard on my research, getting better at calculus and mathematical modeling, and reading more books on the list too.

I also might try to do a marathon, but that depends on my legs hold up with a reason of running. So far so good this year.

Durand Results

2008-04-20T12:27:00.003-05:00

10 David Riggs
14 William Eddy
18 Mario Hernandez

I'm happy with that. I'm just happy to finish in the pack and not to crash.

Durand Road Race 4.19.08 "Worm Race"

2008-04-19T20:35:00.004-05:00

The Durand Road Race in Wisconsin was my first cycling race of the season. It's a rolling course, but no long climbs [good for me].

Race start was 11am -- Register at 10am -- Drive 2 hours -- so had to leave by about 8am. I carpooled with specq and Mario, and met Justin and Emily there.

So far so good. Ran out of the house without eating and made the mistake of eating a McGriddle from MCD. First one of those in a really long time. All of the guys were in the same race (Cat 4, 5, citizen- 3 laps or 41 miles) - not that we have much strategy - but it was still nice to have teammates in the same race.

Race start. 45-50F, forcasted to rain, but we are lucky enough to have mostly dry roads, and little rain. What we did have was worms. The rain over the previous few days had brought all of the worms out onto the road and worms were just shot all over the place by bike tires. Flying by my head, all over my bike, landing on my shoulder. Fortunately none in my mouth.

First lap is good, seemed to be a really slow pace, and the lap took forever. Second lap quicker, but my stomach turned a bit, likely from that aneurysm-in-a-wrapper that I ate earlier. I started to fall off a bit on the climbs, but only a few feet and quickly caught back up on the downhills [the group would slow a lot on the downhills which i don't understand]. Justin, who looked strong fell off the back, on the largest downhill as he grabbed a bite to eat. The other 3 of us hung on through the 3rd lap (which was better). The pace naturally picked up towards the end, people ran into each other, yelled at each other, and someone ran me off the road and into the dirt shoulder. I slowed, got back on the road, and angrily caught back up. Not that exciting, but we were all there for the final sprint. Mario took off and was quickly out front. He went too soon, and couldn't sprint to the end. Specq and I tried to sprint as best we could... I didn't have too much zip in my legs, got boxed in at one point, and then released without a draft. Still I gave it a try.

Final result Specq >> Cuban > Mario > Justin. I can't say what place we all ended up in, but I wasn't probably better than 15th or 2oth.

A few side notes: Guy in pink, broke away alone on first lap, broke away alone on second lap, led a lot of the third lap. Definitely "most aggressive rider", although not sure his tactics were sound. At least he gave it a shot.

I don't understand why it seemed like everyone was hitting the brakes on the downhills, especially right before the big climbs. A way to isolate and tire those who are not good climbers or just the perspective of someone enjoying the draft. There was A LOT of braking.

After race -- food in Durand. Cheese curds, beer, Pattymelt and mashed potatoes. $20. Eating twice the calories that I burned during the race. Priceless.

Bacon-wrapped ??

2008-04-19T20:27:00.000-05:00

Time Lapse Photography

2008-04-18T19:23:00.001-05:00

I am starting to get into time lapse photography, and have tried to make a few videos out of it. Here's one early attempt. I might do this at some cycling events, but I'll have to think about the best way to go about it.

Pope Stalker

2008-04-15T16:33:00.004-05:00

I'm not saying that it's bad that they meet, but it doesn't take away the queasy feeling.

Doug Mills / NYT

My Blog Has Impacts

2008-04-15T11:06:00.004-05:00

Pope Expresses Deep Shame Over Priests’ Sexual Abuse

By JOHN HOLUSHA

Published: New York Times, April 16, 2008

Pope Benedict XVI said on Tuesday that the church was “deeply ashamed” over the sexual abuse scandal and “would absolutely exclude pedophiles from the sacred ministry.”

Nice hats....

Time to change the stained glass?

2008-04-13T15:03:00.007-05:00

NY Times Image

With the pope set to visit the US on Tuesday, I thought I'd comment on the Catholic Church. I was baptized Roman Catholic, although my family was never the go-to-church-every-single Sunday sort of family. But I did end up going to church a lot around ages 10-12, as my older brother went through a religious period. I don't mean to talk much about current beliefs except to say that I haven't been religious, since high school or before, and have only been in churches as late for weddings and funerals. I also want to say that feel that religion is a personal belief, with a theology profession at the Methodist college I went to calling atheism as much as a leap of faith as in Christianity. I'd agree with that.

There are certain fanatical expressions of religion, however, which I believe are detrimental to society and to people. I can't agree with a religions [or people] that argue against evolution. There is nothing wrong with arguing against evolution via natural selection as a scientific argument [although it'd be an hard argument to make], so long as you don't have an agenda to disprove evolution. The psuedoscientific intelligent design arguments exist to confuse and muddle and ultimately to give ammunition to fundamentalist Christians. I guess I'd argue that there is nothing that mutually exclusive about religion and evolution, so long as you don't believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible. Actually, if you believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible, given the book's many inconsistencies, I don't understand how it gives much guidance at all. The Catholics to their credit believe in evolution.

But let's not let the Catholics off the hook. Growing up as a Catholic, I was a witness to many incoherent but ritualized practices. I remember not understanding what was going on, but still feeling some sense of awe at ritual itself. Sermons not grounded in teaching, but in preaching. The Catholic church might be losing a lot of members resulting from its being out of touch, but is still incredibly powerful in the lives of many people. I feel like many of their practices and rules don't live up to their responsibility towards these people. Only allowing male priests, not allowing priests to marry, not allowing condom use, even in HIV affected Africa [that is increasingly Catholic], and one big one, covering up molestation by the clergy.

In any case, it's time for the Catholic Church to change.

**Thanks to my sister Beth for this picture.

And I went to college in Michigan....

2008-03-08T14:09:00.000-06:00

Bud Light Swear Jar

2008-03-05T17:42:00.001-06:00

Maxwell's = Ice Castle = Fire + Firefighters + Water + MN Winter

2008-02-24T23:33:00.002-06:00

I guess this is what happens when you fight fires in the cold. Cool looking, but I'm sure thousands of people have these same photographs.

Ohio isn't so bad.

2008-02-22T17:27:00.002-06:00

Photographs taken at the Ledges, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Peninsula, Ohio.

Maybe I should have put these in my Photo Blog.

Who's the creepy one now?

2008-02-21T18:49:00.002-06:00

Come One Come all...

2008-02-01T18:58:00.000-06:00

Illegitimate Spawn of Birchwood becomes legitimate.

2007-12-20T10:04:00.000-06:00

The drunken gaze the won over Jonica.

Aren't we all looking professional.

Florida Coast to Coast Adventure Race

2007-12-18T12:52:00.000-06:00

We came in 2nd in the Florida Coast to Coast AR. I should do a complete recap of the events --- but it was a long time ago (Memorial Day weekend). A picture is worth 1000 words anyhow. In summary, 300+ miles in kayak, on foot, and on bike. 80 hours! 3 hours of sleep. Atlantic Ocean to Gulf of Mexico. 1 supposed black panther sighting, 2 wild boar sightings, and several snakes. 1 cartoon dog waving that probably was not there.

Team Gnomehunters, really tired after a long, frustrating trek in the hot sun.

Transition Area --- Tired

Kayaks are more fun on the water.

At the finish! Don't I look excited.

More Finish!

Awards ceremony, and a shower! 2nd Place!!!

Mount Rainier Photos (more to come)

2007-12-18T12:38:00.000-06:00

I went climbing Rainier with Superrookie's stepdad, even though I really don't know superrookie. He's the 2nd person in the picture below.

Major Update... Finally

2007-12-18T12:18:00.001-06:00

So my major update was going to be that I climbed Mount Rainier (well about 500 feet short of the top, before a team member just couldn't go any more), did a 3 day adventure race and came in 2nd (the Florida Coast to Coast!), that I was buying a house with Patty, and that I was starting a Ph.D. program in the fall.

The new major update is that Patty and I didn't buy a house, but instead broke up. Extremes --- yeah, I know. But I guess you can convince yourself that buying a house with someone will solve all of your relationship problems, which it will not. This made for a rough first semester in grad school --- I was homeless for nearly a month, which meant that I lived with random friends for a good month (special thanks to Mark!).

Life is settled now, living back in St. Paul, glad to be finishing up my first semester. It went fine, but am looking forward to seeing my family back in Ohio over holiday break.

Sorry this isn't funny --- I just don't feel funny right now. Subsequent updates will be funny.

Major Update

2007-07-26T13:57:00.000-05:00

I guess it turns out that this blog has not made into my "routine" yet. Then again, people who know me, know that I am either incapable of maintaining a routine or have decided that a lack of a routine makes life more interesting.

Yet - I will still try to blog more frequently - and hope that a few of you are still around to read.

I will try to get a few update posts in the next few days as there has been some exciting developments in my life this summer.

2007-05-22T13:12:00.000-05:00

I will be in Florida this Friday 5/26 to monday 5/28 doing an 80 hour Adventure Race called the Florida Coast to Coast.

You can [likely] follow my progress at the following websites
SleepMonsters.com This should work, but if it does not, just look around for Florida Coast 2 Coast updates.

The race website

My team is the Gnomehunters and we will be in the 4 person Elite category.
Team website

Please do check it out. It'll be nice to be connected to my friends and family across the country and it will help to support these websites and this race. If you have any questions about adventure racing, let me know!

Guest Blogger

2007-05-02T12:01:00.000-05:00

I have made OptimusOwl, the famed blogger and myspace contributer a guest blogger on this site.

Hopefully I don't live to regret this.

"Because it is there"

2007-03-28T18:43:00.000-05:00

I'm going to climb Mount Rainier this summer with a couple of Adventure Racing friends (Trex and Rozzi baby from Gnomehunters) and actually Superrookie's Stepdad. I've done a fair bit of hiking in the mountains, and have done some mountaineering before. I lived in Colorado in the summer of 2000, at the University of Colorado's Mountain Research Station, at 9500 feet. I lived in a small cabin, heated only by a woodburning stove. I hiked all over the Colorado, I especially loved to sleep in the subalpine meadows and hiking above treeline. If you've never been above treeline, it's an amazing, harsh, but beautiful place.

I don't have any mountain pictures scanned, but here's Adam at the Great Sand Dunes National Monument.

In the fall of 2000, I went to Ecuador and Peru with a school trip to study Latin American Literature, Spanish, Tropical Ecology, and South American history and culture. I spend 7 weeks of the semester living with a host family at 9,000 feet in Riobamba, with a 20,000 foot volcano, Chimborazo right in my backyard. We hiked up to 15,000 on Chimborazo, and hiked to several other mountains including El Altar, where we hiked right into the collapsed volcanic caldera that's now a huge lake (not unlike Crater lake) Two other guys of the trip and I got the idea to climb Cotopaxi, a beautiful conical volcano that's 19,350 feet tall. We found a guide service, and some time to go, got our gear. We met up with our guides to give some of the rental gear (plastic double boots, especially) a try and to get better acclimated. Our guides were unique to say the least, they were both really short, in the range of the low 5 foot. One of them liked to tell us how he liked to masturbate in front of mirrors using squashed banana flesh. But they were actually pretty competent.

Dead Cow on the Paramo, on the approach hike to El Eltar. The paramo is cold, harsh place, supposedly only 1 kind of cow can even graze up here, and there are a lot of them that die.

Cotopaxi -- USGS Photo by J. W. Ewert

Cotopaxi Summit at Sunrise - 2 Guides (short people) and American (tall person)

I spend a lot 5 years in Ohio and Michigan going to school without any major trips into the mountains, aside from a few trips into Appalachia. Fast forward to 2005, when I did the 93 mile Wonderland Trail that circumnavigates Mt. Rainier. This is one of the most beautiful and enjoyable trails that I've been on - it goes from very dense temperate rainforests to subalpine meadows, alpine tundra, and glaciers. It ascends (and descends) 24,000 feet. The camps are beautiful, and while a lot of people hike it, away from the main access points there is great solitude. The only thing that bothered me was that I was hiking all the way around the mountain, with no shot of getting to climb it, and seeing climbers heading up it. Well I guess now I will get my shot.

Wonderland Trail

Okay Rip on me...

2007-03-27T17:16:00.000-05:00

Because I said this on Tuffy's blog about prize money in the local bicycle racing scene.

Your judgment of equality can differ based on your goals and assumptions.

I only commented on the fairness of prize monies, not on the categorization. There's no objective fairness in sports, there are simply rules that define the sport with subjective fairness. Categories are not necessarily fair, nor is one race. But those are the rules. Heck it’s just the same for every sport, e.g. changing the strike zone in baseball it favors 1 type of play over another, and some players over others. It’s based in part who you want to appeal to – if you want appeal as a sport that nearly anyone can do, categorization is a good idea. If you want cycling to be only for the elite, then 1 race is good. To continue the example, if you want to favor hitters over pitchers, etc. I know I wouldn’t race if there were not categories, I'd have to enjoy some other sport or aspect of cycling.

Why do the higher categories deserve more prize money? If I put in $25 and the Cat 1 put in $25, why is it good for cycling that I pay for their prize money? Maybe they could have beat me, but I wasn’t racing them. I was racing my own category. Maybe they wouldn’t have beat me. Honestly, there’s no way I’d beat a Cat1-3 at anything so don’t everyone get all pissy and think I am being cocky, but there’s no way to know who'd win unless by direct competition. I’m not opposed to them getting larger prizes, but not out of my pocket. If it is out of a sponsor’s pocket than I don’t care. Alternatively, I don’t care about splitting prize money, every category gets the same amount of prize money regardless of how many riders. I’m not opposed to no prizes either.

Future

2007-03-27T11:18:00.000-05:00

So, I will be going to the University of Minnesota to get my PHD in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior. Guess I'll be in MN for a while.

Also, I was fortunate enough to get the NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) for the first 2 years of the program, which will provide a tuition waiver and a nice stipend. I'll have guaranteed funding for the next 3 years of the program as well.

And I'm the 2nd Cat 6er to get this fellowship in two years - Plan B got it at Notre Dame last year. We're more successful at getting NSF fellowships than we are winning bicycle races. That might not be a bad thing.

People in cars....

2007-03-26T21:07:00.000-05:00

The warm weather brought out every cyclist in the Twin Cities. Over the winter months, many of the dimwits who drive cars forgot that bicyclists use roads too. I went for a 2 hour drive today and manage to get yelled at twice. And I consider myself to be a considerate cyclist - I reasonably obey traffic laws, although who stops at every stop sign and waits at every empty traffic light.

Well I was riding down West River Parkway near the new Guthrie. I was riding as far right as I could given the road debris and a good straight line. This mid aged lady in her car decides that screaming to me that bike lanes are for bikes while she passed me would be a brave thing to do. I caught up to her in the pile of 4 cars at the next stop sign, and got right up to her now closed window (on the drivers side) and stared at her. I was really going to try to explain that I had a right to be on that road, and that narrow parkway trails are not great places for cyclists going fast, and that I was trying to be as compromising as I could. This was on a parkway for god sakes, it's not like I was blocking I94. Amazing how their courage leaves them once they are face to face with you.

And then later, in NE MPLS, going down some side street, this big black SUV driving by this fat guy lays on his horn while passing. This road was wide and empty, and I was riding a good line on the right side of the road. I caught him at the light (Johnson and 28th, by the Quarry), and politely asked him why he would lay on his horn. He went into this bit about how I was taking up all of the road, and I didn't care to obey any traffic laws (he saw me roll through a stop sign with nobody stopped or near it), and then it escalated to cuss words, fat insults, and middle fingers. Heck, probably shouldn't have done that, but he started that line. Okay, still should have rode off, but it was complete BS. In any case, I think he'd hate cyclists no matter what I did.

What encounters with cars have you all had? What do you think is the best way to handle it?

And in the famous non-verbal communication of ATWR -

Nicknames?

2007-03-22T15:12:00.000-05:00

You really can't make up your own nicknames, rather they have to be dictated to you by your peers and the circumstances.

For instance, Buck becomes a great nickname when you're riding your road bike in the Ann Arbor of Michigan - and 3 deer cross the road in front of you. They enter the woods, and you ride on past, at a slow pace to get a look at them. You continue on, but look back and see one young deer chasing you. You scream "fuck" and the deer jumps head first into your black spandex ass. Fortunately, the deer without antlers bounces off and falls to the ground, but you stay upright. That there creates the circumstance for a nickname but not the nickname itself. That has to come from a 4 hour car ride to do an Adventure race in northern Minnesota. The most quotable phrase came from Trex who said that you needed a T-shirt that said, "If you can read this, the Buck fell off". And from that point on you become Buck.

But you can have multiple nicknames, i.e. Cuban for being mistaken for a Cuban in Florida, having dark hair and skin, and generally looking unkempt. Unfortunately it's not for your love making abilities.

Me so horny. Me love you long time

2007-03-01T19:00:00.000-06:00

Play this song as you look at these photographs.

More sexy photo

And my step mom bought me this snowman for Christmas. Boy she knows just what I like.

BMC... oh how I love you

2007-02-23T11:43:00.000-06:00

The BMC road racer is finally put together! Well except for the bar tape. I might well contend that the bar tape is the more difficult part of a bike to get right. I need to thank Owen for being the brains behind this assembly. I'll gladly pull you at my top end speed (12mph) anytime you want.

And it looks fast, especially with the grey Michelin Proracers on there. It's cool enough to make me look good, but not so cool to look like a dufus riding it in Cat 5 races.

More pictures to follow. I have one picture, but I'll try to get sexier. Does anyone have a sister that'll pose nude with it. No thanks Morgan.

This was it half put together.

Is that a light bulb up your ass or did your colon have a brillant idea?

2007-02-14T10:27:00.000-06:00

Q: How many Bush administration officials does it take to change a lightbulb?

A: None. There is nothing wrong with the light bulb; its conditions are improving every day. Any reports of its lack of incandescence are a delusional spin from the liberal media. There is no shortage of filament. That light bulb has served honorably, and anything you say undermines the lighting effect. Why do you hate freedom?

Another Sweet Video

2007-02-12T16:07:00.000-06:00

Another Video from the 2006 Bicycle Film Festival

Yogurt Vs. Gasoline

2007-02-12T14:10:00.000-06:00

A great movie from the NEISTAT BROTHERS, played during the Bicycle Film Festival in 2006.

http://neistat.com/pages/video_holding/yogurtgasoline_holding.htm

Moustache Ride

2007-02-12T00:27:00.000-06:00

Moustache Ride Photo

Post Ride

Post Going to REI drunk

Post Sobering Up.

What I lack in density, I make up for in style.

Man of the Year

2007-02-11T19:31:00.000-06:00

Voted man of the year.

And I agree!

BMC and Borat....

2007-02-08T18:21:00.000-06:00

So part of my employment at the University of Minnesota is that I get to take free classes. Right now, I am taking Biogeochemistry and struggled last night to get my homework done. It wasn't because the concepts were particularly difficult, rather we needed to find many different chemical constants (standard Gibbs free energy change) for many different compounds. This information is not readily available, and searching for this information for 7 hours straight and only getting 2 hour of sleep, only found a few of the many that i needed.

This story, albeit boring is necessary to setup the following. Being extremely tired, being in able to concentrate on much, I needed a few ways to pass the day. Fortunately, Derrick of Category 6 fame send out a picture of him with the new BMC high end road racing frame, with the colors of the Protour Bicycle team Astana [based out of Kazakhstan, of which Astana is the capital]. For a bit of a plug, BMC is one of my team's sponsors. The bike is sweet, ultra lite, ultra stiff, stylish, made of carbon nanotubes, and is painted in the Kazakhstan national colors.

Of course, I decided to have some fun with this. I'll let the pictures speak [mostly] for themselves.

Derrick the cardiga-wearing director sportif of Category 6. Please note that wikipedia says this... "Cardigans are available for both sexes but are more typically worn by women."

Since this is Kazakhstan, I had though the most famous Kazakhstan should be modeling it.

And why not in his homeland.

Pussin out

2007-02-05T15:59:00.000-06:00

Lately, I've been pussin out on riding my bike the 5 miles to school. In my defense, I need to get my commuter mountain bike up and running, and right now only have a road bike with slicks on it. That rules out most days with snow.

But today, I went out to start my car, but the cold had killed my dying battery. So, I figured enough though it was -10F with windchills in the -25F range, there hadn't been any snow lately so I could ride the road bike in. I put 3 jackets on, 2 tights, and wind pants and rode. It was perhaps the slowest ride of my life. I think my grease got really viscous, making it even more difficult to ride. In short, I think I'll drive tomorrow.

Statistician

2007-01-28T15:54:00.000-06:00

A statistician goes into the woods with two deer hunting friends. The first friend shoots at a deer and misses by 10 feet to the right. The second hunter shoots and misses the same deer by 10 feet to the left. And the statistician says: we got it!

Two posts in seveal hours

2007-01-26T19:16:00.000-06:00

Something is in the water, else I am avoiding having to get on my bicycle trainer tonight or redoing my computer, because I am posting two blog entries in 1 day!!!!

I looked over Floyd Landis' case the other day. To be completely honest, from the start I trouble believing he was a doper. This isn't to say that a lot of pro cyclists are not dopers, but I just didn't want to believe Landis was.

You can find his case here.

It's been a few days, but overall it appears like the lab is incredibly sloppy, that there was some microbial processing of his sample which decreased the amount of epitestosterone in his sample (thus increasing his testerone:epitestostertone ratio), that the error rate in the repeated testing of his sample was really high, that the isotope ratio mass spectra data which would indicate whether he had exogenous testosterone was only marginally positive for 1 of the 4 metabolites that should be present, and that for all tests using other WADA certified lab guidelines he would have never been positive.

In short, I do not believe that there is adequate evidence to show that he was doping. In fact, I think there is almost no evidence. Obviously, I said from the beginning that I didn't want to believe he doped. But also, I'm a scientist, and do chemical analyses very similar to the doping tests for a living. I've ran thousands of samples using isotope ratio mass spectrometry. I talked to one of the top microbial biochemists in the country who said he didn't believe that Floyd's tests demonstrated that he doped. Finally, I can't trust a lab who can't follow the simple rules of proper doping disclosure to do the analyses correct.

Blogging... will it stick?

2007-01-26T17:11:00.000-06:00

I'm trying to actually blog on a semi regular basis. I can't say that I will put a lot of personal information on this site. But I'll try to put pretty pictures, some current philosophies, and updates on happenings in my life.

Right now I am getting into shape for the upcoming season.

Current goals are as follows:
1. Place top 3 in at least one adventure race.
2. Complete a half ironman. Boy I am not a good swimmer.
3. Do more bicycle races and have a few top 5's.

As far as what's happened since my last blog.

Both of my grandparents died this fall, 2 weeks apart from one other. Romantic and curious how it happens. This meant I was in Ohio a lot. Check out their obituaries if you like. Amazing people they were.

Alfred Altomari
Stella Altomari

Early before my grandparents died I went to Hawaii for a few weeks for the wedding of Patzoa's good friend Molly.

Many pictures to follow. Soon as I start to get them online.

I've also been doing some adventure racing. Finished the 24 hour Wild Adventure Race this last fall. We finished it in time, although our time wasn't all that great. Still, we finished, which is more than many teams did.

Photo at the Finish Line. Champagne is good after a 24 hour race and the associated exhaustion and dehydration.

That's it for now. Can't wear myself out on this blogging too quick.

Lance Armstrong Commerical

2006-06-27T12:18:00.000-05:00

Whether you like Lance or not- there is little denying that this is a good commercial.

2006-05-01T15:35:00.000-05:00

Long time no post: hey I'm new to this and am still trying to get the hang of this.

Plus, I've started a 2nd part time job, which between that, finishing my thesis, and bike racing has kept me unbelieveably busy. For those of you that don't know, my primary job is as a junior scientist in an ecosystem ecology lab at the University of Minnesota. My second job is at an Italian restaurant in St. Paul called D'Amico & Sons. It's nice to make some extra money to be able to go on a few trips (Hawaii with Patty!!!) and maybe buy a new bike and a new digital SLR.

But anyways: I'll do some bike updates.

22 April 2006: I finished 7th out of 50 at the Durand Road Race, my very first road race. I was thrilled out this result, as not only was it my first race, and my bike is between 5-12 pounds heavier than nearly everyone at the race, I didn't even have bar tape on. Essentially, I was able to hang with the lead pack the entire race. The only thing is that I'm slightly mad at myself for not going for a break away near the end. I had a lot of juice left in me, but I stayed back out of fear that I'd jump out on my own too early.

25 April 2006: Opus Criterium Series. I showed up for this race a bit late, and only had a minute to get my number on. No time to warm up. This is however, better than the first Opus Criterium raced on 18th April that I showed up for without my cycling shoes, and couldn't even race. Well...I hung with the lead group for the first 4 laps of the 12 lap race, but started to cramp up and just didn't have the legs. I fell back (but stayed on the lead lap), and finished the race all by my lonesome. For me, it's important to finish every race as I can. I just do not like the idea of giving up, even if I am misserible and have no chance of winning. Giving up should never be an easy thing to do. I was mad that I didn't place higher, but happy I finished.

29 April 2006: Race 3, the Ken Woods Memorial Road Race. My end of the week was insane. Thursday I worked 8am-3:30pm at the lab. Then 4pm to 10pm at the italian restaurant. Then from 11pm until 1:30am back at the lab. Then back up to work at 8am at the lab (until 4:15pm). Then worked at D'Amico & sons from 5pm until 11:30pm. Then I stayed up until 2am fixing my bike and getting stuff ready for the race. At 8am I was back up, getting ready to help the girlfriend move. Hmmm I thought I'd eat some cereal, an easy enough task. Oppps, the unopened gallon milk fell off the counter. Wow, it pressurized and sprayed everywhere (up to the ceiling). Hmmm an hour to clean that up. Now off to Patty's to help her move, and at noon, to the bike race an hour away. It was cold(in the low 40's) and rainy this day which made moving not fun, and a bike race less fun. I paid my $25 to race, and got all ready. Some really kind stranger even lent me a rain jacket to wear during the race. They start us. 30 meters down the road, my chain snaps, and I'm out of the race. So I just go home. I just drove an hour and paid $25 to bike less than half a football field down the road. Needless to say I was pretty pissed off. To top it all off, I couldn't find the wife of the guy who lent me the jacket, so I still have it. If any of you read this know this person, let me know who he is so I can get the jacket back.

On the bright side however, with the cold and rain, it wasn't a the worst race to not have to race. And I got my first picture of me in spandex, from skinnyski.com. I'm racing tomorrow, so we'll see what happens.

This is me getting my broken chain out of my gearing.

"P2: The Run to the Head"

2006-04-04T19:33:00.000-05:00

P2- Prunes make me go number 2 a lot.

In fact, I like them a lot, but have to make sure to limit my intake of them in order to maintain gastrointestinal harmony.

I'll tell you a story. I was attempting to finish a draft of my masters thesis at the end of the summer last year. I had already moved out of Ann Arbor, Michigan and temporarily with my brother in North Ridgeville, Ohio. But, I needed the reference capacity and environment of a university to kick my ass in gear. So I went up work in Ann Arbor for a few days. Most of my friends were gone for the summer, and I wanted to work hard anyways, so I just slept in my office. It was fine, and I got a lot of work done. I tried to limit eating out to once a day, so I bought a whole bunch of food at Trader Joes (Great Store!). Included in this, was a large bad of prunes. While writing, I continuously get the munchies, and in the course of 2-3 hours, I had eaten a whole bag of prunes. And in 2 to 3 more hours, I felt a sudden girdling in my stomach, a fear, then I was off to the races. Granted, the bathroom was a mere 10 feet down the hall, but it was perhaps the most intense race of my life. And I will say that I barely beat out my major competitor, Mr. Brown Shitty Underwear.

Moral of the story: Pace yourself when you eat prunes. But they also come in handy, for example when you're backpacking or traveling.

Constrasting Photo...

2006-04-03T23:02:00.000-05:00

See in previous post at age 26. See me here at age 18. I haven't really changed that much. More hair on my head and face. I weigh about the same. I'm not as strong as I was in my upper body, as I have switched to sports that require endurance and leg strength.

Thanks to Cindy for giving me the photo.

2006-04-02T19:03:00.000-05:00

To Shave or Not to Shave:

Okay, status quo for cyclists is shaving of the legs.

Here's what Outside magazine has to say about why.

Once and for all, why do pro cyclists shave their legs?
Despite what your silky-smooth cycling pals might tell you, there's no evidence that shaving enhances aerodynamics—at least any more than zipping your jersey does. The pros say it makes road-rash care easier and massage more comfortable: Knotted leg hairs turn nightly rubdowns into misery sessions. More than anything, going bare is a tradition, as with bodybuilders (and most women).
—Eric Hansen

Should I defy the tradition. Or should I go with it. The girl says I have nice legs and I should show them off. And of course I'd like to whip my legs out at a party or a bar and have them be smoother than some girl's. But at the same time I distain pointless tradition and am rather lazy.

What do the 1 or 2 of you out there think about what I should do?

2006-03-22T23:21:00.000-06:00

I resisted cell phones for many years. But then I cracked. I resisted the thin mint girl scout cookies for nearly 5 minutes, but then I ate the whole box. I resisted blogging, but now look! Where is my self control? I'll be tracking this season of cycling training and racing on this blog. That means that there will likely be hundreds of photographs of me in spandex, so be forewarned.

Not me, but a preview. The reason why a lot of cycling shorts are black. Mine are black. Fortunately, because I already have a girlfriend.