305

Finally got a chance to get on the MTB today. Cooked in the heat from 1500-1700 on 305. Great trail, great time. Always a pleasure to clean it on the SS. I certainly don't every time, but it felt reasonably effortless today. Probably the rest.

The front of the Comandante feels a little unsettled since going to the Arch build. I don't know if it is the spoke tension or not. Very possible given my somewhat poor wheel building skills. I think I need another half turn or so into the spokes. I almost crashed on an iffy section of the downhill, which reminded me of the crash I had time trialling the Whiskey 25....losing the front wheel. Another consideration is that there is a slight grabby spot in the front brake which might be enough to set off a front skid in sketchy situations at the speeds I like to descend.

Anyone out there have any ideas on how to remove a sticky spot in a disc brake? Sounds like time for an MTBR search.

Speaking of MTBR. I visited a couple times tuesday to look at the firestorm my thread started, and to "log out" from various computers at the hospital, etc where I have logged in in the past. Since then I have been off totally.

Don't really understand the incredibly vehement reaction that thread brought out. It in retrospect was not a great idea, but since I had never done anything controversial in three plus years, I was probably due. Dan said it best in comparing what I did with going into a bar full of alcoholics you've been drinking with for years and saying "This sucks, I don't want to waste my life drinking anymore, just thought you'd like to know." Sorta helps me understand the reaction.

I also think that in our society it is okay to be anything you want so long as you are not religious, or God forbid a Christian who actually buys it. At least in certain circles. Of course in certain other circles you are outcast if you don't claim a Christian like religion even if you don't buy it. None of us are as non-judgmental as we perhaps think we are.

Bought some trail runners for the first time. Went with the Montrail Hard Rock after trying a few brands. The Solomons and Go lites were very cool and comfy, but I felt more secure in the Montrails. The decision came down to stability (Montrail) versus flexibility(Go Lite). I don't trail run, (yet) so I don't really know which is the best way to go. Definitely two markedly different design philosophies. The Go Lite Sun Dragon's were very, very light, and very comfortable with a huge toe box (which I like). Their marketing seems to put an emphasis on the flex of the shoe as critical to traction/etc while running. I can appreciate that, but it is still marketing, and they felt flimsy to me. In the end, the sturdy feeling of the Montrails with nearly equal comfort won me over. Go lite makes a beefier endurance shoe that might have had a better chance, but was not available to try. I think the Montrails are still lighter than my usual New Balance 851's. Will test in combat Sunday.

Go to Manzanita sports and buy stuff. Very good, and patient folks. I have never had that kind of service when buying shoes before.

I'll leave you with two images from family camp. I love Abby's face in this one.


She needed all that attitude for this:


I couldn't believe she did it. She was the first to want to zip, and the first to launch. Sort of shamed the older one's into it.

More on the family blog.

Running

Three days, two forty minute runs without any dificulty. Not bad for taking over a year off. It seems commuting by bike for the last 2.5 years has given me a "base" of fitness I never had before. My prior resumptions of running after time off would have seen me dying by about 20-25 minutes into the run.

I'm enjoying it more than expected. I would like to be able to run for two hours in relatively rugged conditions, and will work toward that goal. Hopefully Dan and I can start working out again together, just running and not biking.

Work efficiency had definitely increased since shutting off the 'puter. Speaking of which, gotta go.

Why I left MTBR

I could write a treatise here, but don't want to waste more time of my life on this.

I had a week off to sit a bit, think, listen to God, and my own heart. I need to be done with MTBR for the following reasons:

1. It is a huge time drain. 1-2 hours a day.....come on. I have way too many other things to do that are way higher on the priority list. Things that are suffering due to my addiction. Things like family, sleep, work, a clear mind, maybe even a run or two. All of us only get so much time in our lives. It is by far our most precious resource. I believe my time is God's time, time he has loaned me to live for his purposes on this earth. For the most part, when I blow my time on MTBR, I have not been wise in my use of it..to my shame. Blowing something that is yours is one thing, but blowing something you are a steward of is a much bigger deal.

2. I am an addict. I can not seem to use the boards in temperance. Even a peek leads to way to much time. Addicts need to avoid the addiction, period. I think the photo posts and race reports are inspiring, but not sufficient to keep me there. The temptation is to use the boards as an avenue of escape instead of engaging in the real life I live with excellence in every area. I don't suck as a husband, father, bond slave of Christ, or surgeon, but I am not living up to anywhere near my potential in any of these areas partially because I escape in my mind daily via MTBR. I want my life to be about engagement in the world, not escape from it.

3. MTBR has at its core a culture of consumerism/discontent. That is not what I want my life or my desires to be about. Reading the boards leads to discontent. You are always looking for the next best thing. If not the next best thing, you are looking for that next best riding spot, or riding achievement ("ooh, he cleaned that", or "wow, he finished that race" or "check out this place to ride"), or riding vacation. True peace, true contentment comes from wanting what you have, not having what you want. What you have in equipment, what you have in fitness, what you have in riding spots or time to ride, or folks to ride with.

I have enjoyed the last three years, but enough is enough. I can't say I won't ever go back, but I am taking an indefinite hiatus. If I do come back, it will be under strictly limited circumstances to post specific reviews, to research specific trails or equipment or ask specific questions. I no longer feel the need to be a "netspert"

Missionary Patriarch

Just finished the first chapter (see book links upper right). The language is old, but the story is very, very rich. Very convicting/challenging for a father.

Paton spends the majority of the chapter reviewing his family history growing up in a peasant cottage in Scotland. Specifically, he focuses closely on the relationship between his father and mother, and his father's example of piety. Paton is the oldest of 11 children raised in a three room house, and participated in the family business, and had a lot of time to know and observe his own father. He describes vividly the joyful upbringing, while certainly not rich, not having to go without. His father was first and foremost a man of prayer, retiring several times each day to a small chamber to pray for the family. Daily family worship/bible reading/prayer occured. All the children were clearly home educated. His father wanted to be a minister, but was led to a more mundane profession, and looked on his family as his flock. He had apparently a wonderful and joy filled marriage even up to old age.

Paton's love and respect for his parents and his upbringing clearly shine through in his memories. For me, it is neat to see and hear these sorts of things coming from another century and time. Times change, but people really don't. The struggles, worries, joys, and faith we experience in our lives have been experienced many times before. It is easy for me to forget that, and think of 18th century Scotland as a dull joyless existence. This book is bringing another time vividly in to focus for me.

I love biographies. Every time I read them, I wonder that I waste my time on anything else. Perhaps, I just love hearing people's "stories" We all have one, and they are all interesting. Learning the story also helps us to love the individual behind it.

For you racing fans

Two minutes of incredible driving.

Blue Like Jazz

I wanted to write a killer long review of this book, but who has time. This will have to do.

I was given the book by my friend John Haley. It is essentially one young man's spiritual journey, with lots of stories from his life and others illustrating Christianity as it is lived in post-modern society.

I liked it.

I am probably the tail end of the so called "modern age" and the beginning of the "post-modern age" Coming from a fairly conservative scientific background puts me more in the modernism camp, but I am learning about post modernism. Post modernism was alway a rather dirty word in conservative Christian circles, so I never understood it as a world view as anything other than relativism; moral, scientific, everything's relative. My first introduction to post modern thought and Christianity's place in it was A New Kind of Christian which I also recommend.

The author is a clear example of Post-Modern Christian thought. He is also hilarious. I had more than a few great belly laughs at his descriptions of life. He is brutally honest like myself and this will be offensive to some, especially in mainstream right wing Christianity (including me) camp. He pulls no punches with the flaws of the church, faith, or himself. I found the honesty very refreshing. I definitely don't agree with him about everything, but I appreciated the opportunity to think through the issues from a new perspective.

I wanted to add some of the hilarious excerpts, but have not the time. I recommend the book to believers not afraid of challenging or rethinking/renewing their faith, and to those with no belief who like great word craft and honest writing.

Here is an interview I found. If you find it intriguing, the book will fill in a lot of details.

I will read it again a little more thoughtfully I think.

Enjoy.

Spider girl

Rachel taught herself a new trick.

She is far and away the best climber in the family, and is starting to get strong. She definitely out does her 18mo older brother in strength to weight ratio I think. He can not do the above trick which vexes him.

She is a total girly girl, with about zero competitiveness until I first took her to the rock wall at the Y. She dug it way more than the other kids. She would just attack a problem over and over. She like puzzles, and is a tenacious/compulsive kid and I think climbing must appeal to that personality type (not that I would know).

I call her my little tarantula.

A good day.

What a great day. Up at 0430, off for rounds at 0530. then rode north on the Peavine to the end for outpatient day..ten cases. Nothing like an hour of riding pre-work to get the juices going.

I just really enjoy cruising along the Peavine North. Oh so slightly downhill with great views all around. I haven't ridden it on anything but the CX bike for a while, so today on the SS Zion was really an eye opener as to how bigger tires can roll the softer portions of the trail. The flotation was excellent, and they felt a bit faster and way more comfortable than the 38's on the geary. Air volume is a good thing.

All in all rode about 2 hours of low key commuting, not bad for a work day. Unfortunately missed out on Chris' group ride of 37-39-38-37 tonight. I wonder if these folks have families they want to see at all? Still, that would have been a most excellent ride at 39 is probably the most relentlessly technical ride in these parts, and I've never heard of a group that wanted to ride it.

Riding past the Granite Dells is always fascinating. Very, very cool rock formations. I could sit and look at them for hours.

A great morning ride, a great day at work, a great evening ride.

I'll leave you with a photo of a current obsession. Way more dollars than bikes, so I will stick with two wheels.

Surgical Perspective

This guy gets it.

He is the Peter Egan (Road and Track) of the surgical world. He understands where surgeons are coming from, and hopefully can communicate that to life to others.

A great read, and right on in many respects.

Excerpts:

"Surgeons, for better or for worse, by virtue of what we do, are mired in reality. Although our detractors say we are short on creativity and imagination, or lack expansive intellects, we understand that what we think and what we do on the job are fenced in on all four sides by flesh and blood. Artifice, speculation and the free associations that create monstrously long histories and physicals and endless differential diagnoses entertain and delight—but we have no time for embellishment. We are always looking for the best way, the only way, to get from A to B. An operation is a discreet event with hundreds of interconnected decision points with only a “yes” or “no” box attached to each bifurcation. This black-and-white world is no leisurely place for those in love with “nuanced thought.” In the yes-or-no world the clock is always ticking and the stern judgments of consequence and accountability require satisfaction with every move. It can be a harsh place in which to work."

"I thought of my philosophy professor from college, who wrote the definitive treatise on love. Everyone knew he had never had a relationship with a living thing, so I finally got up the nerve to ask him what qualified him to write the book if he had never been in love. He told me “experience distorts perception,” and made me promise never to become a philosopher. To punish me, he made me read “The Philosophy of Sport” by Paul Weiss, another philosopher who, at 5 feet 2 inches and 112 pounds soaking wet, had, by his own admission, never broken a sweat."

Enjoy.

Food for thought

You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.

Deut 8:17-18

The tendency of the rich and content (pretty much every American) is to forget God. To do so is the first step towards destruction. May I hold my wealth loosely, giving credit where it is due. God alone deserves the credit for health, intellect, opportunity. May abundance not lead to pride.

Nights

I like night rides.

I like riding them with Chris.

Just a blast riding all around Granite Basin for the last two hours. I am buzzed and probably will be up another hour. Nice and cool. Very dusty for the rear rider.

It was just what I needed after a stressful tiring two weeks with little time to bike/blog, whatever.

Chris and I talk religion a lot. He tries to convert me to Bionicon, and I try to convert him to big wheels. It is sort of like getting a fundamental baptist and Mormon missionary in the same room. Both good people but talking past each other. Of course I'm the correct one (as is the Baptist).

The flows are holding up well. The WB fork is getting stictiony with the dust around here. I changed the Curtlo set up to a flat bar (Syntace out of the pile, a little narrow, but working out okay.) I have to say that I like the handling better than with the Mary's. It did something to the weight distribution, because the front holds nicer in the corners. A little low, and the neck is a bit sore, so I raised it with one 10mm spacer. No flats in three rides now.

Put the old Pushed float on the Curtlo, and am debating sending the 1.5 year old RP3 to Push. It seems to be taking more air spring to prevent bottom out, so I think the damping is gone.

Finally, I was checking the trueness of my wheels, and noticed that the rear seemed straight, but way out of dish. Further inspection revealed a slightly bent non-drive side seat stay. Clearly crash damage. Don't know when it happened, but it doesn't seem to have any affect on the ride, so it stays.



G'night

Josh

For those of you following the Josh saga:

He returned home a week ago today. He can walk with a cane, but tires out. His attitude is great and the old Josh is totally shining through. His right arm/hand is near useless.

His life is also learning.

Endo

Joel had his first digger on his little push toy a few days ago. Took it right on the face.

Life is learning, eh. Especially at 18 mo.

Bailed

Yesterday was just not the day for the ride I wanted to do.

Plan: Long loop (up 62, down Smith and 305) done in the morning pre work in three hours.

Actual ride: Up 62, bailed down seven mile gulch, to 305 and out in less than two hours.

Bike: Curtlo

Complications: HEAT. I usually am ending my rides around nine, and to be starting that steep, exposed climb at nine on the hottest day of summer thus far totally took me out. I can't believe I was such a pansy in retrospect, but at the moment, it felt like the end of the world and I just wanted to get out. I was slowly pushing up stuff that was climbable, and moving at a glacially slow pace, with heart racing near max. I'm sure all the armor doesn't help things.

In addition, I started to have derailleur problems that I traced to a nearly totally frayed cable. Luckily I was able to get it into the lowest gear and leave it there or the cable would have busted. That left me with a two speed using the front. Okay for the climb, but I didn't want to coast back down to the car from the top of Smith. So much for the "extended cable replacement interval I was trying. Amazing the slop the Sram system will put up with.

Of course, by the time I got back to the car, I felt great again, and continued to feel great the whole day. Goes to show that our perceptions are not always reality. Gives me a lot of respect for those ultra-endurance folks because I know there are times in every long race where you feel like crap and just have to throttle back, maybe rest , and go at it later, knowing it will feel good or decent again.

Sort of like life actually. The real struggle is the struggle not to lose heart or panic when everything feels overheated, slow, steep and hard. It is a discipline, and sadly not one I am the greatest at.