WHAT HAPPENED TO THE GOOD OLD DAYS?

I remember when I was little, I spent a lot of time playing with my Hot Wheels. Mom would take me to the store and let me pick out a sharp looking Hot Wheels, then I was set! I strung that ugly orange track with the purple connectors almost the length of our trailer house, and I was in heaven!

As I grew into my pre-teen years, I needed something more to unleash my creative side, so I began building model cars as a hobby. After a while, I had amassed several boxes of spare parts, tires, decals, etc. I would heat up an old butter knife on the stove so I could chop the roofs off some cars, cut down the posts, and re-glue the roof to the car, making a chop top lowered effect.

I built low-riders and hot rods, did custom paint jobs with fish scales, fades, and even flames! I remember having a large scale Ford Econoline Van model, whose interior floor I covered with cotton balls to resemble angel hair carpeting. I took wood-grained shelf paper and lined the interior walls to imitate wood paneling. I even built a bed in the back and made felt curtains for the back windows.

For the piece de resistance, I took an old bicycle pedal and removed the yellow reflector. I inserted tiny wheat bulbs behind the face of the reflector, then hooked it up to a battery to simulate the old "diamond" lights that some stereo systems had. Remember the ones that would "dance" to the beat?

Those were my Good Old Days. Hot Wheels were a quarter and model car kits were 75 cents. And no, I didn't walk 12 miles to school in the snow either! It seems to take so much to make kids happy and keep them entertained these days. What with video games, lackluster cartoons, it is amazing some of them actually have active imaginations (until the Ritalin kicks in).

Where am I going with this? Nowhere! That's the beauty of having a blog. You get crap off your chest knowing no one is going to read it anyway...

Good night John Boy....

THE FRIENDLY CONFINES

After my butt whippin at Government Canyon last week, I was itchin to ride this weekend. I had an appointment Saturday morning, so I wasn't able to ride then. Bert flew in from a weeklong contract in Portland on Saturday evening, so we went for a ride this morning.

I had a new appreciation for McAllister park; nice, flat, McAllister park! Actually, our two hour ride was a good workout for me, as I was drenched with sweat afterwards. Bert barely broke a sweat, so the ride was just a warmup for him. He planned to ride after the Cowboy game with his cousin and a friend in Austin.

There were the usual suspects on the trails today, but we navigated the park without incident for the most part. There were a couple of downhills where my bike nearly went one way and me the other, but I was able to stay the course.

We went down the same trail that caused a minor concussion for my son Matt about 6 years ago. I was riding lead and had built up a nice bit of speed, but the particular line I decided to take was leading me directly into a tree. I tried to feather my brakes to slow down, but I wasn't slowing enough. At the last minute, I swerved to avoid the tree, and my hydration pak banged against the tree trunk; better it than me!

I had hoped to get to the gym this week during my lunch hours, but we have corporate auditors in the office, so I'll have to stick around to answer questions. Bert will be in California the latter part of the week, so I'll probably go riding alone on Saturday. Then, a quick shower, lunch, and settle in to see Tech vs. Missouri Saturday afternoon.

GOT DIRT?

Here is a true story I sent out earlier this year....(not me in the picture)

After a five year hiatus, I have recently rediscovered my love affair with mountain biking. It is hard to describe the euphoria felt from eating twenty different types of bugs, seeing a deer crap in the woods, and pulling spider webs out of your hair after a typical ride, so I won’t even try.

Today was no exception. Having ridden for almost two hours at nearby McAllister Park, I decided to take some trails to back track to where I parked my truck. I came upon Mud Creek, aptly named because it usually has mud, not water, in it. I approached the cliff of the creek to see if the terrain had changed much since I last rode it years ago. It is a steep drop down the bank, lined with rocks and roots, both of which I try to avoid when possible.

I spied a smooth section of dirt and decided to take that line, as it seemed to be the cleanest of the bunch. As I rolled over the edge, I prayed to God that I wouldn’t be killed or at the very least, my face wouldn’t be harmed, thus ruining my rugged good looks.

In the blink of an eye, I was at the bottom of the descent, feeling pretty good about my riding skills considering my 46 yrs of age. In a split second, I realized that the smooth line I decided to take was really a makeshift earthen ramp; probably built by some BMX Wannabe Kids (damn those BMX Wannabe Kids!).

Not having time to yell Bonsai!, Geronimo!, Bitchin! or some other cool saying that kids yell these days, I decided to just hang on as tightly as possible and hope for the best. After catching BIG AIR (probably only three feet or so, but it’s my story) I landed, and for a nano-second, I thought I actually pulled off a BIG AIR BMX jump worthy of a Jack Ass episode, or at least America’s Funniest Home Videos.

That was not the case however, as I soon found myself lying in mud. Being the conscientious person that I am, I immediately jumped to my feet to see if anyone had seen me bust my butt.
Satisfied that there were no witnesses, I felt my face for blood (remember the aforementioned good looks?), and found none. I straightened out my mud-caked handlebars and determined that my wobbly rear wheel could still get me out of the creek bed. After about 10 minutes, I was back at my truck and soon on my way home.

Aside from a scrape on my arm, a sore right shoulder and elbow, and having my butt shoved up my throat, I think I will live. Where are those Damn BMX Wannabe Kids with video cameras when you need one? I bet I really looked AWESOME!

GOVERNMENT CANYON 1 BIG DOG 0

DAY 2

I didn't think I'd be able to get out of bed this morning after my experience yesterday. Surprisingly, I don't feel that bad. My butt is sore, but that should be expected after a 3 hour ride. (Actually, more like a two and a half hr ride, since I had to walk my bike up much of the first hill.)

My right elbow is tender from a fall when I couldn't get my foot out of the stirrup fast enough, and my hands are sore from holding on for dear life on the downhill sections. But, considering what I looked like after we finished the ride (see pics), I feel great.

I need to get back into the gym, lose some weight, and build up my endurance before I try tackling those hills again. Stay tuned, I'M ON A MISSION!

GOVERNMENT CANYON 1 BIG DOG 0

More pics

GOVERNMENT CANYON 1 BIG DOG 0

Talk about an ass whuppin! I should have known something was amiss when Bert and I went to the visitor's center at Government Canyon State Natural Area to pay our fees for use of the park.

The two ladies at the check out counter smiled and said "$6.00 please". As I handed them my money, one of them said I would have to fill out a Day Use Trail Permit. She handed me a pen as well as the form and I noticed it was in triplicate.

Being naturally inquisitive, I asked " Why is this form in triplicate?"

"Well Honey" she said, "the green copy you leave on your dash board, the white copy you leave in the box at the trail head."

"OK" I said, "what about the pink copy?"

"Honey, the pink copy you put in your pocket."

"Why?"

"So we know who you are in case we find you on the trail."

"But wouldn't I know who I am?"

"Sure, but not if you're unconscious."

"Uh, thanks."

So began my Journey of Hell....

Mirrors may lie, but mountain bike trails that continue to ascend into the sky do not. I AM SEVERELY OUT OF SHAPE! There, I said it. No longer can I kid myself that 230 lbs is just 10 lbs I have to lose.

After a near out of body experience half way up the FIRST hill, I was about to have a heart attack. Bert, who is 35 and in good shape, would look over his shoulder, and if I wasn't in sight, he would stop and wait; bless his heart.

I thought I was on top of my game. Never having visited said Government Canyon, I did my research online. I found maps of the park; I even scoped it out on Google Earth. Much to my demise, neither accurately reflect the topography of the region we were about to traverse.

The trail started off fairly easily. A few loose rocks here and there, but after a mile or so, it started going uphill and uphill, and uphill....My neck was starting to hurt because I kept looking up so much.

At one point, I was huffing and puffing so much, that when I hit a patch of rocks that were bigger than my head, I decided to dismount and push the bike up the trail. The pictures I will attach will not do this hill justice. Now keep in mind, I said hill, not MOUNTAIN.

Can you imagine the crazies in the You Tube videos who ride MOUNTAIN trails? Wait, most of them are barely old enough to shave, so I shouldn't feel too bad.

Anyway, long story short, I didn't die. I had to walk a third of the trail going up the hill, but I DID IT. Bert was very supportive, saying I did a good job and he needed 20 breathers along the trail any way. I knew he was lying, but I didn't feel like making his ass walk home, so I went with the flow.

I may add more about the ride at a later date, but my brain is cramping now. Seriously, I don't remember when I was more tired than today. If it is any consolation fellow 40 somethings, I DID try to represent. I DID survive a 3 hour trail ride through some of the most challenging terrain I have ever ridden. McAllister park this AIN'T!!!

BLESSING OR CURSE?

As I mentioned in a previous post, the mornings are cooling off, making for excellent riding weather. Although I believe this is a good thing, so do several hundred of my closest friends. Ok, that may be embellishing a bit, but the last couple of weekends, it seems like I have literally been tripping over people on the bike trails.

Keep in mind these trails are not paved; I avoid those, as they are full of walkers and they think they are a superior species, as they do not have their asses planted on a bicycle seat. Therefore, they seem to think they exercise harder than bikers, thus deserve use of the paved trails. Fine, I'll give them that, as I enjoy riding off-road more anyway.

I digress. The off-road trails are now so full that you chance a head on collision even on single track. Since many of these trails have blind corners, that can be dangerous, and I simply refuse to buy one of the "sissy bells" they have at the bike shops now. I'd rather take my chances with another biker head on. I weigh 230lbs; I like my odds.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad so many people have taken an interest in mountain biking recently; I'm one of them. The thing that bothers me is that I have been riding all summer long, in the heat, sweating my butt off, with nary another soul in sight. Now, at the first hint of cooler weather, EVERYONE wants to ride.

Bert and I have decided to venture out and find new trails to ride. We are thinking about heading out to Government Canyon State Natural Area just outside of town. Neither of us has ridden it, and there are over 8600 acres to explore. http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/government_canyon/

We hope to ride on Saturday and I will try to remember to take my camera so I can share the scenery with anyone who cares to check out the blog.