I WILL REPRESENT

Although Texas Tech wound up going to the Gator Bowl this year (better for them), I refuse to wear Aggie Maroon to the Alamo Bowl this Saturday. Since the game is sold out, 65,000+, I should stand out in my bright red sweatshirt in the end zone.

Keep an eye on the game and see if you see me. Bert, Mel, and I will be sitting on the Big 12 side end zone and I will be the lone dumbass wearing red in a sea of Aggie Maroon and Penn State Blue. I will of course be rooting for the Big 12 representative (Aggies), regardless of not being a fan.

If you don't see me during the game, hopefully you won't see me in any news reports of a dumbass getting beat to death by a mob of Aggie fans....

I TOOK THE PLUNGE

After mountain biking off and on the last six years, I decided to take the plunge and install "clipless pedals" on my bike. "Clipless" is a misnomer, because you actually clip your shoes to the pedals and become one with the bike, much like ski bindings. Like ski bindings, you have to practice clipping in, and getting out.


Luckily, Santa knew that I wanted to make the transition, so he brought me a pair of Crank Brothers Candy pedals and a pair of Shimano mountain biking shoes. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, it is a little unnerving to realize that your feet are otherwise attached to your bike's pedals, but once you get used to it, it is fine.



I rode McAllister Park for almost an hour this morning. Being that I haven't ridden for one reason or another in three weeks, I was starting to get winded after an hour. Since the ride had gone well with no spills, I decided to head for a more technical part of the park.


As many times before, I wound up falling twice, but more for indecision on my part than anything else. I should know by now that once I decide to head down a rock trail, there is no turning back. If you second guess yourself at any part of the descent, you will fall. That's what happened today.


I scraped my left shin, but there was no blood drawn, so I'll live. I hope the weather is good enough so I can ride again tomorrow, because everyone tells me that practice makes almost perfect. I'll keep you posted.

YO QUIERO TACO BELL

I live in the Tex-Mex capital of the world. There have to be more taquerias per capita in San Antonio than any other place in the world. As a result, I have become somewhat of a TexMex food snob, looking down my nose at Taco Bell, Pollo Loco, Taco Villa, and the like. Not only am I a TexMex snob, so is every other Hispanic in San Antonio.

The peer pressure to conform is tremendous. Because of it, I hadn’t eaten at Taco Bell in a couple of years….until today. In a moment of weakness and absolute hunger, I stopped in the Taco Bell down the street from work.

As a precaution, I wore my dark sunglasses, hoping I wouldn’t be recognized in my SYSCO CARES button down shirt. I stood before the cashier, anxious with anticipation. I reviewed my options on the menu above her and my palms began to sweat because I couldn’t make up my mind. Is it possible for so many options of culinary delight to be under $4.99?

I saw my old stand-by, the T-1 combo: a luscious Burrito Supreme, a Taco Supreme, and a DIET Pepsi. I placed my order, giddy with anticipation, then made my way over to the drink machine to fill my cup.

“Number 28 please!”

Oh my God, can it be? I haven’t even finished filling my cup with DIET Pepsi, and my order is ready? Who in the hell does it that fast? Certainly not any of the aforementioned taquerias that I frequent.

I sat down ready to plunge into the scrumptious feast oozing with sour cream before me. What should I eat first? It had been so long, I almost forgot that I always eat my taco first, so I will have the taste of the burrito as the last thing on my tongue.

I scarfed down the taco in the blink of an eye. After covering the insides of the burrito with the hottest sauce they had available, I took my first bite. I forgot how heavenly it tasted. How can one describe the leathery, chewy texture of the thin flour tortilla?

Forget the handmade tortillas from the taquerias that melt in your mouth. Taco Bell tortillas remind me of my younger years – eating anything at 2:30 in the morning, while nursing a decent buzz.

Finished with the repast, I sat on the plastic bench, stuffed and happy. As the meat sauce with too much black pepper dribbled down my chin, I thought just like seeing a movie you’ve seen a hundred times, “this should last me another couple of years”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!!

I want to give a Happy Birthday shout out to the love of my life - my wife Melissa! She turned 40 something today and I wish her many, many more! Love you Baby!

ENDO!!!

Endo - short for "end over", used in biking when one goes over the handlebars. often results in broken parts, bloody face, general humiliation and chingus. (Chingus - Spanglish slang; a pronoun used to define something that it isn't worth describing or left unnamed due to laziness).

Endo - that dreaded word in the biker vocabulary; it usually means something bad. In my years of riding I had never experienced one...until yesterday. Thankfully nothing was broken, just bumps, bruises, raspberries on my legs and elbows, and damaged pride. That's about it.

Another bad word in the biker vocabulary is "tentative", as being tentative can cause you to endo. I was riding a trail along a dry creek bed that I had ridden a few times before. As I descended down the side of the creek, I was mashing on my back brake to slow my descent. My back wheel started to slide on the rocks, so I started feathering my front brake. As a result, I slowed too much and hit a large tree root in the trail that refused to budge, so my bike did.

Physics will tell you that when one object (bike) hits an immovable object (root), something has to give (me). I flew over the handlebars and landed with my arms outstretched. My head hit a rock, but fortunately I was wearing a helmet with a visor, which took the force of the hit and popped off.

As I mentioned before, I skinned my shin, bruised my left quadriceps, and banged up both my elbows, but I survived. After brushing myself off, I got back on the bike and rode another half hour, until my front tire went flat.

This morning, although still sore, I decided to go for a Turkey Day ride. The weather had turned brisk overnight and was about 45 degrees when I left. I was still able to break a sweat after an hour and a half ride. Michael Jr. called this morning and said it was snowing and sleeting in Odessa; I'm glad our weather wasn't that bad.

I hope everyone enjoys the day today and gives thanks for all of our blessings!

SNAKE BIT

After several months of riding various types of terrain without so much as a slow leak, it seems like I have been snake bit lately, as my rides have not been complete without a flat tire. Today was no exception.

Bert's bike has been in the shop the last couple of days for repairs, so I went to McAllister Park alone this morning. From the start, the ride didn't feel right for some reason. About an hour into the ride, my front tire started getting real unstable and I wiped out a couple of times on fairly easy turns.

I stopped to check, and sure enough, my tire was losing air pressure fast. I wasn't far from my truck, so I decided to head back so I could change the tire there. A few minutes later, I had changed the tire and was ready to get back on the trails, but the tire still felt unstable.

My best guess is the last time I was at Government Canyon and had to hike the 2 1/2 miles because of a flat, I think the sidewalls of my tire were so abused that it caused them to weaken to the point of being unstable now. So now it's down to Performance Bikes so I can buy a new front tire.

My day wasn't a total loss, as I was able to get an hour's workout, and a couple of pics of the airport from the top of a hill on the south end of McAllister Park. Later, Bert and I went to the Auto Show while Mel went clothes shopping. All in all, it was a pretty good weekend!

FACING MY FEARS HEAD ON

Those who know me know I don't like heights, but I like to ride high roller coasters. Those who know me know I'm claustrophobic, but I'll ride in elevators.

Those who read this blog know that I took a pretty bad spill in June at McAllister Park riding a particular trail, but not knowing that someone had built an earthen ramp on the trail. I went airborne and wound up with a slight shoulder separation that required weeks of physical therapy.

Today, I faced my fear and rode that trail again; I WASN'T going to let it beat me. Sometimes I can be hardheaded that way; call me stupid, call me what you want, but I AM NOT A LOSER!

Anyway, Albert and I decided to ride at McAllister again this morning. We arrived at 7:30 AM, hoping to avoid the crowds. We rode for three hours today, so I got a GOOD workout. Before we left, I decided I wanted to head back to Mud Creek, the site of my demise in June.

We stopped at the top of the drop off to see if there was anyone on the trail. I tried to get my foot out of the stirrup and it wouldn't budge....TIMBER! I fell over. Any sane person would have taken that as a sign to give up and go home, but NOT ME!

I picked myself up, brushed the rocks off my knee, and got back on my bike. I inched towards the edge of the dropoff, picked my line, and went for it! A few seconds later, I was at the bottom of Mud Creek, having successfully confronted my demon. Now mind you, I wasn't stupid enough to try the jump...I know my limitations. But I DID ride the trail successfully, and that was my goal. (pic below is Bert, not me)

Not only that, but I had concluded a three hour ride, which is a great workout for someone closer to 50 than 40! I was happy. Now, a day of football later, I feel satisfied and ready for the COWBOYS game! How 'bout them Cowboys!