December 21st, 2006 Glad to be alive*

Sorry for the delay in posting. Last Sunday we celebrated Christmas with the family since the inlaws are going away for real xmas. I had the luck to get out there and ride my bike. It is a 55 mile ride and again, like thanksgiving, I was fortunate enough to have decent weather. I rode the gunnar fix this time with a 4x18 combination and let me tell you about spinning all the way. Around the 50 mile mark I was starting to dream of a freewheel. The last 17 miles to Sycamore I took the Great Western Trail which is gravel. Thanks to a lot of rain and above freezing temps the gravel was like playdoh again. Hung out and had a couple Bananas by Mr Beavers territory. Nice ride indeed and all worked out well. Arrived and took a long shower and feasted like a Greek God.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday started my Trans Iowa training. That means getting up butt early and meeting up with Bill. You see Bill rides everday of the year since he does not own a car and must get to work on bike. He leaves promptly at 5:50 in the morning so you have a dependable source for riding. We have been riding fix for a while and he is a great partner. Some mornings were really cold and the riding was not easy. I rode with him almost to his work and then I branched off onto the bemis trail and headed towards the zoo. These rides turn out shy of 40 miles and this is what I need ride now. I received some moose mitts from Bill as a gift and have converted the Gunnar to riser bars to accomodate these. I will shoot some photos and post soon.
I had some knee issues with my new lake boots and the problem is that I can't get my ball of the foot over the spindle, which is where I like to be. Pushing the cleat all the way foward only allows me to get a cm in front of the axle. I guess I should contact Lake and ask for help. Otherwise the boots are phenomenal and keep your feet toasty.
The ruffian had already some transformations. I switched wheels to Deore XT hubs with mavic 519 toring rims 36hole and WTB nanoraptor 700x44c tires. My bike now weighs in at 24 pounds and I can still lose a pound without going crazy or to carbon.
I have been really excited about riding lately and I feel that 07 will be good . I just want to have the time to get out and clear my head and turn the pedals.
Today we decided to take a drive with the wife and the 3 year old. Going down the road and bam! we get broad sided by an 18 year old who failed to see a huge red stop sign. I banged my head on the driver window and still feel kinda funny. Luckily noboby got really hurt. My car has almost 4k dollars in damage and most likely will not be repaired. If I get a check for 3k I don't know what I will buy and for sure I am going to get stuck buying a new roofrack. So as MC says: "Slow Down" .
I hope someday people will stop using their cell phones, eating, drinking, textmessaging, grooming, applying make up, reading, writing, shuffling thru Ipods, etc etc while they drive. Stop all this nonsense because you are going to kill people.
Tomorrow I will be back on my Gunnar and be able to know how the impact affected me.
Keep well and keep your eyes open. Nobody is watching for you.
I'm out,
Ari