Beauty in Motion

Watch this video when you have a moment to yourself. The scenery, stories, music and emotion are amazing. This is cycling.

Rapha Continental – The Movie from RAPHA on Vimeo.

My Yellow Trail ride

Warning for the Yellow Trail

Halfway through my ride of the Yellow Trail yesterday I was convinced that I must have missed the sign saying "trail closed". This was the first time I have been on the trail since the flood waters. It was cruel and full of the biggest misquotes I have ever seen. My ride turned into a walk. I was very glad to reach the path halfway, where I then decided to ride up to Shelby Farms and do a lap of the Tour D'Wolf.



There have always been a few sand sections, but the trail is now 75% sand.



This was the first on numerous trees that have fallen and are blocking the trail.



I was amazed at the erosion that is taking place along the river. The trail is almost gone.



There were so many places that were just destroyed.





I decided to purposely crash my bike for a better angle of the trail.



I was just waiting for a snake walking through this section.



Riding through all that mess was well worth it. This shot is from a section of the Tour D'Wolf at Shelby Farms. This may be one of my favorite views in Memphis. I love the way the single track snakes up the hill.

I would not recommend riding the yellow trail. I don't know what the section between the path and Walnut Grove is like, but the side I rode is horrible. Go out to Herb Parsons or ride the Tour D'Wolf.

Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend.

Really Cool

Video: Beyond the Peloton, Paris-Roubaix

Tour D' Wolf (Muddy)

Bottoms Up

Obama's Armored Limo BOTTOMS OUT in Ireland

This is not a political commentary, only one of the funniest videos I have ever seen.

A+ for Effort

The large claps of thunder should have kept me at home eating bacon & cinnamon rolls with the kids. But no, we went anyway. As soon as we hit the trail the rain, thunder and lightning began. I crashed within the first five minutes, my riding partner crashed shortly after. Every tree root was like riding over ice. The effort was good, but the riding was piss poor. Just click on the map and check the stats.

Lesson Learned...

A Little Rain Never Hurts.

Favorite Number

I was cleaning out my gear bag getting ready for tomorrow's ride and found my number from the crit race Wednesday night. This has now become my new favorite number.

Final Crit Race - Daily Timeline

5:00 a.m. Woke up / hit snooze

5:07 a.m. Woke up again

5:20 a.m. Dressed & out the door

5:28 a.m. Arrive @ Give Yoga studio

5:32 a.m. Realize my yoga partner is not coming, It's me & one other student

6:05 a.m. This downward dog to warrior pose is kicking my ass

6:30 a.m. Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatnam - Yoga ends

6:35 a.m. It takes all my will power, but I don't stop for my after yoga Gibson's
donuts.

7:15 a.m. Help make breakfast & school lunch

7:30 a.m. Eldest child out the door

8:30 a.m. Head to work

1:30 p.m. Decide to go buy new tennis shoes

3:15 p.m. Pick up eldest from school

3:35 p.m. Eat a turkey sandwich from Vanelli's Deli, skip the chips, wheat bread

3:45 p.m. Drop eldest at tutor. Sit in car & watch Treme on Ipad (Great Show)

4:20 p.m. Tutor over

4:30 p.m. Drop eldest at home, throw on bib & T-shirt, load gear bag & bike

5:05 p.m. Arrive at Tiger Lane

5:18 p.m. Registered

5:25 p.m. Dressed, tire pressure set, ready to warm up

5:35 p.m. Legs feeling good, nerves....not so much

5:42 p.m. All riders at the line, I'm positioned on the third row

5:45 p.m. 3.2.1. Go

5:46 p.m. I make it through the first corner, sitting mid pack

5:50 p.m. Red Ant attacks, big acceleration. (thanks Farmer) I grind hard & am
able to hold the wheel in front of me. Drop avoided.

5:52 p.m. Rider down entering the concourse

5:55 p.m. Pace settles / still sitting mid pack. Feeling good

5:59 p.m. 5 laps left board comes out, I'm still in it

6:02 p.m. 3 laps left, we enter the first turn, big crash. Peleton gets split.
I hammer again and close the gap on the front 7-8 riders. Heart rate
spikes.

6:04 p.m. 1 lap left board comes out. I'm sitting top 10, not out riding solo.
I crack a smile.

6:06 p.m. I enter the final corner, get into the drops & out of the saddle. This
was my first opportunity to sprint to the line. Felt great. I cross the
finish line.

6:10 p.m. I ride to my car & change clothes. I want to do the Carlton dance, but
I keep it cool, like I've done this before.

I hung around and watched the Cat 4's and the Cat 1,2,3's

7:45 p.m. Arrive at Young Avenue Deli - Let the cold beers begin.

8:30 p.m. Get handed a celebratory shot of Jagermeister. Seemed cool at the time,
not so cool the next morning. (Thanks FOIL w/ DI2)

9:00 p.m. Someone in the group orders Pimento Cheese Fries, Unbelievable!

9:30 p.m. A friend and I walk across the Street for sushi at Doe and a PBR. I
would regret this also in the morning.

10:25 p.m. Back home

10:28 p.m. OUT!

LIVESTRONG OR LIVINGALIE???

Blow Out

Had a really good ride going today. But if you look at the map, you will notice that my ride ended abruptly @ the corner of Poplar Pike and Forrest Hill Irene. I would like to thank that fine shard of glass that blew my rear tire out.

Tomorrow night is the final crit race at Tiger Lane. The weather is once again going to be perfect. Pack the family up, put a few cold ones in the cooler and come watch some great racing.

City Tour

Grande Soy Chai Latte Cappuccino Extra Whip w/ Bacon

So I was all fired up about riding today. Legs felt remarkably great this morning after yesterday's hill repeats. Douche and I had it all planned out. We would meet at his house by Galloway and head downtown, then turn around and ride to Collierville and then back to his house. The ride would be around 60-65 miles.

I woke up @ 6:30 and took Mojo for his morning walk. I noticed that it was a little cool and breezy, but nothing drastic. I filled my bottles and loaded my bike, to Douche's I went. I arrived at 7:45 and was immediately molested by Zeus, the world class hunting dog. After 10 minutes of convinging him that I was not a rawhide, I got my gear on and we headed out.

It was early enough that we decided to take Union to downtown. I popped a gel to ready the body for the day's intense workout. We started off at a nice pace, the legs were warming up. We went under the Poplar overpass and onto Union and it hit us immediately, the wind. It was blowing out of the North something fierce. I buried my head and thought about how miserable this day would be.

We kept our good pace all the way up Union until we hit McClain, It had only been five miles and I was silently screaming "please let's stop at Starbucks". We made it just past Cooper and I heard the words that would define our ride. Douch said "pull over here, I want to look at this new farmers market". The intense ride was over. We made it for 5-6 miles. We peeked into the windows of a dark storefront, nothing to see. As we pulled back onto Union we came to a mutual agreement, a nice tour of the city was in order.

We rode over the Auction Street bridge and checked out the river, still high. We then decided that a cappuccino was in order, so we went to Cafe Eclectic in Harbor Town. We each ordered a large cappuccino. Douche wanted some lemon, blueberry, bacon scone, but they were out. I went straight Americana and got a bacon, egg and cheese. I did add a little sophistication by having it on a croissant. We spent the next 30 minutes doing nothing.



As you can see, I really enjoyed my croissant.

We finished our breakfast and got back on our tour of the city. Our next stop was at Cafe Society, but I don't know why. Douche just said pull over, so I did. We stayed there for 10 seconds and were back on our way. We then headed over to the Fairgrounds, we were gonna pull in and check out the BBQ Festival set up, but we didn't.

We continued down Central and decided to do a garden tour of Chickasaw Gardens. We cruised through looking at houses, the whole time Douche announcing "left turn", "right turn". I felt like I was riding my bike on the Zippin Pippin. We did come to the conclusion that most of the houses in Chickasaw Gardens sit on very small lots. We were really getting a workout!

After our garden tour, we headed back home through High Point, lots are much bigger there. We pulled into Douche's driveway and that was it, ride over. Our 60 mile workout turned into a 20 mile breakfast run. I might have ridden enough to burn off my bacon, egg and cheese, but probably not the cappuccino.

There was one last garden we had to look at...



This is Douche's garden, he is very proud of it. He told me this morning that I don't give it any respect. So here you go. If anyone needs any thyme, basil or rosemary just give me a shout, I'll have Douche send you some.

Hill Repeats

Great ride and workout this morning. Clark had a group of us doing hill repeats. We left out from the Factory Outlet Mall and rode for about an hour to the climb. We then did 10 hill repeats, the climb was about 2 1/2 - 3 minutes. It was tough. In all we logged 40 miles. Great guys from Red Ant/Vineyard Vines, Wolf River Racing & Cirque du Velos.

Riding with "Douche" tomorrow. Pics to follow.

This great American 8 stage race begins tomorrow. Tune into Versus for all race coverage.

Amgen Tour of California, May 15-22
May 8 @ 11pm- Preview Show
May 15-20 @ 5pm
May 21 @ 7:00pm
May 22 @ 6:30pm

All the big boys are here riding getting ready for the Tour De France, plus some new young guns like Taylor Phinney & Ben King. Stage 7 will probably be the deciding factor of the race. It is a mountain top finish comparable to any the riders will face in France.

Will Levi Leipheimer win his fourth TOC, will Andy Schleck show the peleton he's fit and ready for a Tour De France victory or will George Hincapie show these young guys that he still has the legs. The racing should be fantastic.

Let's make this interesting. I want to know which rider you think will wear the yellow jersey on top of the podium & which rider will wear the white jersey.

2011 Amgen Race Leader Jersey



2011 Rabobank Best Young Rider Jersey



Tell me who you think will win each. The first person to name both winners will receive a $100 gift card to Frank Grisanti's. Remember to give me your name, don't just comment as anonymous. You can also give me your answers on Facebook.

Go to www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/ for daily race coverage.

Get Some

VH1 Storytellers: Kings Of Leon "Slow Night, So Long"

Save your comments about "Use Somebody" or "Sex on Fire"

You won't admit it, but you know you rolled the windows up and sung both songs at the top of your lungs.

Its Better than 1000 Island

Had a craving for pasta tonight.

First person to comment & tell me the dish will get a $25.00 gift card to Frank Grisanti's. I'll even stop by your table and say hello when you come in.

Interval Training

If you click the map, it gives you a full breakdown of the ride. I really like Strava, very informative.

Amazing Gesture

Quickie Between Shifts

Tribute

Video: peloton pays tribute to Wouter Weylandt

Tragedy Strikes Stage 3 of Giro d' Italia

Trek Leopard rider Wouter Weylandt was killed today in Stage 3 of the Giro d' Italia. The 26 year old was descending the Bocco mountain pass when his pedal became stuck in the road side wall, throwing him some 20 meters to the ground. He did receive emergency treatment by race doctors, but his heart later stopped.



My thoughts go out to his family and friends.

Godspeed

Monday Training Ride

Getting My Feet Right

This past week was the second in a series of 3 local crit races. I was really looking forward to this race after my first ended shortly after it started. You see, some guy decided to make his bike as wide as a semi and took out two other racers. I happened to be right behind the riders that went down and I had to lock up the brakes not to end up back here...



Now I must admit, the "Amigo" (that's really the cart's name) was pretty cool. I have never gotten as much attention by the ladies at Kroger as I did in that baby, but I still don't want to be back there.

Once I got around the crash and got rolling again the peleton was gone. I spent the next 15 minutes riding solo. I was angry, but not disappointed, I told myself to ride it out and chalk it up to bad luck. I loaded the bike up and vowed to have a stronger result next time.

Over the next few weeks I continued my training, I was feeling stronger with every ride. I also began to think about what I could do different for the next race, you know, have a strategy. I came across a photo of myself from the first race and realized immediately my first problem. Let me share...



I needed a new kit. I look like Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I'm sporting more colors than a swatch wall at your local Home Depot. I also realized that even though I've lost a lot of weight, I still need the XL jersey. That 1000 Island is still kickin my ass. So, I got online and ordered a brand new kit, size XL. I felt faster already. I also didn't look like I was smuggling grapefruits across the border.

For about a year, Kimberly has joked with me about going to get a pedicure. I always gave a typical Bid Daddy " Yeah Yeah Buddy" (Big Daddy is my dad & that is his response to everything) response and went about my day. But this past Saturday it clicked in my head, healthy feet must be faster feet. I hopped in the car and headed to Magic Nails. I jumped into the massage chair next to my wife and got settled in. After a quick scan of the room I realized I was in unchartered waters. The room was full of middle aged women texting and reading US Weekly, the room also seemed to get quiet, like I had interrupted a group 'my husband is a no good SOB' session. The young lady came over and it was my turn, I was nervous, as this photo shows...



The first thing she did was place my feet in a foot bath. She began to fill it with water, hot water, my damn dawgs were on fire, but I'm a man and I could take it, okay, I took it for like two minutes. Depressing Pedicure Moment 1: I had to ask for cooler water.



Once the water got to a manageable temperature, it felt great. I was really enjoying myself. I got my nails clipped, my cuticles somethinged and a really good foot massage. But then she asked a scary question. "Do you want the razor?" I looked over at my wife and she just began to laugh. I hesitantly shook my head up and down. The next thing I knew, she was shaving the bottom of my feet like a block of Parmesan cheese. Skin was falling to the floor like it was snowing. I was amazed. That bring us to Depressing Pedicure Moment 2: she announced to the entire store that when she was done, I would probably need a new shoe size. Nice. I buried my face in my US Weekly, I mean Sports Illustrated, and cringed. After another massage with some blue tingly jelly I was done. My feet felt great. Another wave of fast came over me.

Race Day. I spent the night before getting everything in order. I cleaned my bike, lubed the chain and filled my water bottles with my new favorite sports drink. If you have not tried the Gu Blueberry Pomegrante drink mix, run to your local bike shop and pick it up, it's great. I ate a good breakfast and lunch. I was ready. I got to the course early and signed in. They gave me number 266. I got dressed and headed to take some warm up laps...



Everything was feeling good. They announced 5 minutes till start. I rode over to the family for some last minute good luck. I took my position on the line and got focused. In the first race I lined up in the back, didn't work out very well. So this time I lined up on the second row. I just wanted to get off the line and through the first corner closer to the front. The started yelled "Go" and we were off. Ten yards into the start I knew I was in trouble. I went from top 10 to almost last place immediately. Where the hell was everyone going so fast, we just started? I pulled back up to the pack and tried to get into a rhythm. I held this position for all of 2 1/2 laps. They were gone, just like race one, only this time I had no excuse for being dropped other than my lack of speed.

I spent the next 15 minutes riding solo again. This time I was pissed. Being the guy people clap for because you are sticking with it is not fun. The same guy did it every lap, I wanted to tell him to shove his clap up his ass, but I was out of breath. Once again I put my head down and stuck with it. The whole time thinking how could this happen, I have a proper fitting kit and healthy feet. As I crossed the finish line my kids were there cheering me on, I think they thought I might have won since there was no one else around. I took a cool down lap to compose myself and then rode back to the finish and unclipped.

Race 2 - not good. But there is one race left on May 18th, and one more chance to stay with the group. My plan this time is not to over-think it, just let it happen. But now I gotta go, I'm late for my pedicure.

Congratulations

In my post "Win one for the Gipper", I spoke about a message that I received saying that my story and blog were inspiring. That message was from a young lady who has also overcome injuries and was training for her first marathon. Reading those words meant a lot to me and like I said earlier, I think about them daily and will carry them with me to Colorado.

Since receiving that comment I have been following her blog and I knew that this past weekend was her marathon so I was anxious to know the results. I'm proud to say that she finished her marathon and goal in just over four hours. After reading her post I sent her a message letting her know that now she was the inspiring one. If you want to read her story, check out bethbwilson.blogspot.com



I hope Beth's story will inspire others to get out there and accomplish that goal they have always wanted to achieve. Go out there and Get Buckled Up.

Congratulations Beth, what an amazing accomplishment.

Tiger Lane Crit Series

Tomorrow night is the second round of Tiger Lane Crit Racing. The event takes place at Tiger Lane at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. The first race kicks off @ 5:45 pm. As you can see, the weather will be amazing. Put your umbrellas away and bring the family out to support this great event. Hope to see you there.

Go Grizzlies!!