Slumping towards Cheeseburgers
I always seem to have this brief blogging slump in April or May. It must be that after the intensity of winter, I need to relax, rebuild, rethink, & recharge with things other than skating…
I’ve got so many posts & zen-10 interviews half-done, and a major series of posts on “training habits” I’ve been wanting to launch for about a year.
But I lack that extra bit of mustard necessary to finish & publish… Forgive me..
Also I’ve been riding a lot. The bicycle has sucked me in like that lovely corner diner in your hometown where you can get that perfect Cheeseburger & Milkshake.
Of course the great thing is that when you ride a lot, you can get away making more visits to that corner diner.
This image is shot while riding to work during yesterday’s “bike to work” day with a bunch of friends.
Tomorrow I ride the Salt Lake Century again, 100 miles, and it’s finally going to be HOT. One of my favorite posts I have ever written was about this ride last year.
I like it not just because of what I wrote, but that every member of my family, including my grandad, had something to say about it
This image is from that post, about 24 hours from when I click this “publish button” this is the school of fish I will be swimming in.
In the park across from my house, there are live bands playing all the time. On a lovely spring evening, these words were floating in the breeze
Una piedra en el camino
Me enseno que mi destino.
Era rodar y rodar.
(Rodar y rodar, rodar y rodar)Tambien me dijo un arriero
Que no hay que llegar primero
Pero hay que saber llegar.
My friend Eric Krann was listening intently, misty eyed and with a glass of wine in his hand. I asked him to translate-
A stone on the road showed me that my destiny.
was to roll and to roll.
To roll and to roll, to roll and to roll.A hard-traveling man said to me
That you don’t have to finish first
But you must know how to finish.Vicente Fernandez - El Rey
Eric says that spanish speaking athletes will sometimes quote the end of this song to not only explain how a race went, but also to explain life.
A century ride attracts a wonderful blend of folks, from very serious riders to easygoing tourists.
No placings, no result list, just a bunch of rolling stones who know how to finish.
Filed under: from home
8 Responses to “Slumping towards Cheeseburgers”
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Hey Andrew-
I’ll be thinking about that perfect blend as I spend time with friends going up and over the ridge in the GUNKS and trying to decide if my legs and lungs are capable of double dipping (Mohonk to Minnewaska).
Have fun!
Hi Andrew
Ride, Ride, Ride.
Finish
Anbody has seen skaters such as Chad or Jen training for the next ice season? ‘looking foward to see how they’ll do both!
Hi Andrew,
I met you on the Century Salt Lake on Saturday. I was the guy who helped by providing the long stem tube. If you’d like to post my site, detailing my coast-to-coast ride last year, I’d sure appreciate it. I enjoyed meeting you and visiting for that brief time. Sorry I couldn’t keep up with you. I’m your senior by perhaps 30 years, and you’re quite a bit stronger that I.
Good luck with all of your activities…
Dean
Dean: To start you could post your link in your comment.
But what I came to say was regarding the photo: Roadies with Camelbaks, you too can learn how to drink from a bottle in a cage while riding, just like the pros on TV!
When your bike carries the water, it doesn’t get a sweaty back. 
I remember my first century ride. 1,000-plus in St. George and I, like a few in that picture, wore a camelbak not realizing there would be plenty of places along the way to fill my bottles.
Now, I think the only time I’d wear one is if I were doing something insane like the Hoodoo 500.
Okay, here’s my link for my coast-to-coast ride last year: www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/dean
To the Camelbak; I only wear one to use as a backpack to keep extra tubes (like 5 or 6 of them), tools, first aid supplies, and food while I support a ride. It’s a good thing because I supplied 4 tubes for other riders, and employed my first aid supplies out on Antelope Island for a fallen rider who had some pretty bad road rash. I had no liquid in it, but carried two bottles on my bike.
It sure was a beautiful day, wasn’t it? In two weeks my wife and I are off to ride across Nebraska. Can’t wait!!!
Okay, here’s my link for my coast-to-coast ride last year: www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/dean
To the Camelbak; I only wear one to use as a backpack to keep extra tubes (like 5 or 6 of them), tools, first aid supplies, my ham radio,and food while I support a ride. It’s a good thing because I supplied 4 tubes for other riders, and employed my first aid supplies out on Antelope Island for a fallen rider who had some pretty bad road rash. I can’t tell you how many times I used my radio for sag support for tired riders. Actually, I had no liquid in it, but carried two bottles on my bike.
It sure was a beautiful day, wasn’t it? In two weeks my wife and I are off to ride across Nebraska. Can’t wait!!!