This "off season" thing is starting to wear on me.
As much fun as it is riding my dad's old rigid Diamondback MTB, it's getting a little old. And, while it's interesting to see how high my HR skyrockets during a 15min interval on the rollers, I'd rather not do that, either.
Quite frankly, I miss the feeling of the wind on my face. Not even a warm, summer wind. Just a non-bitter cold wind. Something that doesn't make snot freeze to your sleeves and gloves when you wipe your face. Doesn't turn your eyelashes into miniature icicles. I'd welcome a spring rain in 55 degree temperatures right now. I'd gladly slog into a storm like that, just for some variety.
This has been the most boring winter of my life. At least last winter I was able to check out hot chicks running around the track, watch high school track practice, or observe ultimate frisbee/cheerleading/dance/martial arts/juggling clubs in action. Now? I rent DVDs and watch them to entertain myself while I spin away mindlessly for 2hrs, each and every night. Or if I'm lucky, it's "warm" enough (15 degrees or more) to head out to the prairie path for easy and tempo rides. I have one (1) friend in town, really, and I only see his ass once or twice a week. And while I'm not the most outgoing person out there, I generally don't have a hard time making new friends. I simply haven't had the opportunity to make any. Both the weather and work have conspired to ruin me.
So, that said, I'm heading to Caribou to hit on the barista there. I'm going to look at bike shit under the guise of working on...work. Ironic, isn't it?
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
I doubt anyone will read this, but an FYI...
Just so no one gets the wrong idea, I'd like to clear up the title of my blog. "A Big Hard Sun" or "Hard Sun" is a song by Eddie Vedder (lead singer of Pearl Jam), originally composed and recorded by Indio in 1990. It's one of the many songs EV wrote and recorded for the movie "Into the Wild", which is in turn a movie adopted by Sean Penn from John Krakauer's book.
Quite frankly, the lyrics of the song, in addition to the tribal-yet-Rusted-Root-esque rhythm of the song itself, are captivating. They flow so well with the movie and the story being told; I can't really imagine the movie without the song, and vice versa.
Now, I'm not going to say that the movie was awesome. It was good. Could have been better. Too much desert imagery for me. Depressing. Penn could have done a better job encompassing the beauty of the American West as well; there are some shots out there, well within range of their production sites, that just can't be passed over, yet were.
Lyrics have a bit of meaning behind them too, so take a look:
When I walk beside her
I am the better man
when i look to leave her
I always stagger back again
Once I built an ivory tower
so I could worship from above
when I climb down to be set free
she took me in again
There’s a big
a big hard sun
beating on the big people
in the big hard world
When she comes to greet me
she is mercy at my feet
I see her inner charm
she just throws it back at me
Once I dug an early graveto find a better land
she just smiled and laughed at me
and took her rules back again
Once I stood to lose her
and I saw what i had done
bowed down and threw away the hours
of her garden and her sun
So I tried to want her
I turned to see her weep
40 days and 40 nights
and its still coming down on me.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=UDorNilxPUY
Quite frankly, the lyrics of the song, in addition to the tribal-yet-Rusted-Root-esque rhythm of the song itself, are captivating. They flow so well with the movie and the story being told; I can't really imagine the movie without the song, and vice versa.
Now, I'm not going to say that the movie was awesome. It was good. Could have been better. Too much desert imagery for me. Depressing. Penn could have done a better job encompassing the beauty of the American West as well; there are some shots out there, well within range of their production sites, that just can't be passed over, yet were.
Lyrics have a bit of meaning behind them too, so take a look:
When I walk beside her
I am the better man
when i look to leave her
I always stagger back again
Once I built an ivory tower
so I could worship from above
when I climb down to be set free
she took me in again
There’s a big
a big hard sun
beating on the big people
in the big hard world
When she comes to greet me
she is mercy at my feet
I see her inner charm
she just throws it back at me
Once I dug an early graveto find a better land
she just smiled and laughed at me
and took her rules back again
Once I stood to lose her
and I saw what i had done
bowed down and threw away the hours
of her garden and her sun
So I tried to want her
I turned to see her weep
40 days and 40 nights
and its still coming down on me.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=UDorNilxPUY
Saturday, January 12, 2008
So I've recently been debating the purchase of a mountain bike. And also a track bike. One of those non-road contraptions. And, I can only afford to buy one bike. After some thought, I've come to this conclusion: I'll be joining the ranks of the pot-smoking MTB hippy crowd soon enough. Minus the mary jane habit. Do people still call it that?
Anyways, I made my decision based on several things. First, I hate riding my (road) bike indoors during the winter. It is a mind numbing exercise in self flagellation. Aside for the odd interval session during which a power meter is useful, I have no need to ride indoors. So, why not ride the Prairie Path on an MTB and get out of the house for a couple of hours. Also, I can ride an MTB safely (it DOES have brakes, after all) damn near anywhere I want to, any time I want to. I can't really do that with a track bike. The MTB also offers the ability to help me enhance my bike handling skills in a relatively safer environment; crashing into a tree at 10mph will almost certainly cause less damage than hitting the banking on the 'drome at 30, or sliding into a curb on the road at similar speeds. And finally, I can borrow a bike at the track, each and every time I want to go there. Bring my own wheels, and maybe a couple of rear cogs, and go from there. Not to mention, I find it ridiculous that I can buy a full-race MTB for the same price as an entry level track bike. That right there might have been the deciding factor.
And, for a "real life" update; don't expect people you've talked to 4 times since high school to feel any obligation to call you back or want to hang out with you. That might have been a bit unrealistic on my part. Lesson learned. Hopefully I'll go out for the night and get that out of my mind for a while.
Anyways, I made my decision based on several things. First, I hate riding my (road) bike indoors during the winter. It is a mind numbing exercise in self flagellation. Aside for the odd interval session during which a power meter is useful, I have no need to ride indoors. So, why not ride the Prairie Path on an MTB and get out of the house for a couple of hours. Also, I can ride an MTB safely (it DOES have brakes, after all) damn near anywhere I want to, any time I want to. I can't really do that with a track bike. The MTB also offers the ability to help me enhance my bike handling skills in a relatively safer environment; crashing into a tree at 10mph will almost certainly cause less damage than hitting the banking on the 'drome at 30, or sliding into a curb on the road at similar speeds. And finally, I can borrow a bike at the track, each and every time I want to go there. Bring my own wheels, and maybe a couple of rear cogs, and go from there. Not to mention, I find it ridiculous that I can buy a full-race MTB for the same price as an entry level track bike. That right there might have been the deciding factor.
And, for a "real life" update; don't expect people you've talked to 4 times since high school to feel any obligation to call you back or want to hang out with you. That might have been a bit unrealistic on my part. Lesson learned. Hopefully I'll go out for the night and get that out of my mind for a while.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
A New Year
Even though I already posted in the new year, I feel it is necessary to express my hopes and concerns for 2008.
My job. I make enough money, I like what I do, and I'm fairly competent. However, I don't feel like I'm pushing myself to learn new things, like CAD, as soon as I could or as fast as I'm able. In order to make more money in the future, I need to develop these skills in order to make myself more valuable to both my company and our clients.
Cycling. I want to kick ass. I mean, really, really kick ass. I want to drive the train at 34, surf people up to the front at 36, TT at 27, climb at 5.5w/kg for extended time periods. Start racing on the track, win a race or two there. Move up to the 1s on the road, 3s on the track. Generally blow shit apart, and by shit, I mean races.
"Love Life". Quotes because I'm not expecting to find the love of my life in the next year, nor am I pressuring myself to do that. But, I'd like to get out more, meet new people, and go on dates with people. Sad, but I had more balls in high school than I do now. I went on dates with girls moderately frequently. Now? Haven't been on a date since August, or maybe even July.
Life in general. As it is right now, I'm pretty content. Not particularly joyful or enthusiastic, but not sad all the time either. Just sort of...neutral. Maybe this is because nothing mentioned above is going particularly well, and nothing is going poorly at the moment. Well, aside from the last point. I get along with my friends, ride my bike 2hrs a day, go out on weekends, and don't hate my life.
My job. I make enough money, I like what I do, and I'm fairly competent. However, I don't feel like I'm pushing myself to learn new things, like CAD, as soon as I could or as fast as I'm able. In order to make more money in the future, I need to develop these skills in order to make myself more valuable to both my company and our clients.
Cycling. I want to kick ass. I mean, really, really kick ass. I want to drive the train at 34, surf people up to the front at 36, TT at 27, climb at 5.5w/kg for extended time periods. Start racing on the track, win a race or two there. Move up to the 1s on the road, 3s on the track. Generally blow shit apart, and by shit, I mean races.
"Love Life". Quotes because I'm not expecting to find the love of my life in the next year, nor am I pressuring myself to do that. But, I'd like to get out more, meet new people, and go on dates with people. Sad, but I had more balls in high school than I do now. I went on dates with girls moderately frequently. Now? Haven't been on a date since August, or maybe even July.
Life in general. As it is right now, I'm pretty content. Not particularly joyful or enthusiastic, but not sad all the time either. Just sort of...neutral. Maybe this is because nothing mentioned above is going particularly well, and nothing is going poorly at the moment. Well, aside from the last point. I get along with my friends, ride my bike 2hrs a day, go out on weekends, and don't hate my life.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
The Suburban Wasteland
Greetings, one and all.
This blog belongs to and is written by me, Andy Skeen. I live in Winfield, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago. A fairly affluent town smaller than but similar in composition to Wheaton, Naperville and the like. Great place to raise kids, great place to grow up, terrible place to live between the ages of 18 and 25.
I'm a recent graduate of the University of Illinois, majoring in Ecology, to spare you the longer version of the actual major. I wasn't your typical college student in some ways, and still find myself floating on the edge of post-graduation normality. I've purchased my own car, I still live in the same town where I've lived for 20 years, and get along moderately well with my parents. The difference is that I haven't "let myself go" so to speak, like many college kids do their first year in college. I'm not going to use this blog to pump myself up into something I'm not, because, well, I know exactly how good I am not.
I still have some degree of fitness, and while I might not have that murderous strength of upper body or lower body explosiveness that many high school athletes possess, I have something going for me. I can ride a bike sufficiently well to have earned my way to the Pro/1/2 ranks; specifically Category 2 at the moment. Simply put, I'm pack fodder amongst Professional and semi-pro (guys who get free bikes, clothing, race fees, etc., in my mind) and will be treated as such until I'm able to score upgrade points or prove myself to possess some value other than contributing to the prize list.
So, in order to make something of myself while curing the incredible boredom that dominates life in its current state, I'm going to ride my various bikes as hard as I can. Hemmingway said that the best way to see the country is by throwing a leg over a top tube, and seeing it with your ass planted on a bike.
This blog belongs to and is written by me, Andy Skeen. I live in Winfield, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago. A fairly affluent town smaller than but similar in composition to Wheaton, Naperville and the like. Great place to raise kids, great place to grow up, terrible place to live between the ages of 18 and 25.
I'm a recent graduate of the University of Illinois, majoring in Ecology, to spare you the longer version of the actual major. I wasn't your typical college student in some ways, and still find myself floating on the edge of post-graduation normality. I've purchased my own car, I still live in the same town where I've lived for 20 years, and get along moderately well with my parents. The difference is that I haven't "let myself go" so to speak, like many college kids do their first year in college. I'm not going to use this blog to pump myself up into something I'm not, because, well, I know exactly how good I am not.
I still have some degree of fitness, and while I might not have that murderous strength of upper body or lower body explosiveness that many high school athletes possess, I have something going for me. I can ride a bike sufficiently well to have earned my way to the Pro/1/2 ranks; specifically Category 2 at the moment. Simply put, I'm pack fodder amongst Professional and semi-pro (guys who get free bikes, clothing, race fees, etc., in my mind) and will be treated as such until I'm able to score upgrade points or prove myself to possess some value other than contributing to the prize list.
So, in order to make something of myself while curing the incredible boredom that dominates life in its current state, I'm going to ride my various bikes as hard as I can. Hemmingway said that the best way to see the country is by throwing a leg over a top tube, and seeing it with your ass planted on a bike.
"It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle."
- Ernest Hemingway
- Ernest Hemingway
If I haven't hinted at it enough, I'm going to ride my bike all around the local roads, seeing everything I can, two, three or four hours at a time. Take it down to SoIL and IN, ride with friends still in school, and do races in places I haven't been before. When I ran (oh...yeah, I ran track and CC in high school, and track for a year in college) there was a book that was, and still is, particularly popular with high school runners called "Once a Runner". One of the quotes, of several, that has stuck with me through the years reflects my basic philosophy about sports, school, work, and just about anything in life. John L. Parker, through his character Quenton Cassidy states:
"And too there were questions: What did he eat? Did he believe in isometrics? Isotonics? Ice and heat? How about aerobics, est, ESP, STP? What did he have to say about yoga, yogurt, Yogi Berra? What was his pulse rate, his blood pressure, his time for the 100-yard dash? What was the secret, they wanted to know; in a thousand different ways they wanted to know The Secret. And not one of them was prepared, truly prepared to believe that it had not so much to do with chemicals and zippy mental tricks as with that most unprofound and sometimes heart-rending process of removing, molecule by molecule, the very tough rubber that comprised the bottoms of his training shoes. The Trial of Miles, Miles of Trials. How could they be expected to understand that?"
Simply put, what Parker, through his muse Quenton Cassidy, is trying to say is that it simply comes down to time, and effort. It comes down to turning those pedals over, thousands of times a day. Wearing down and replacing chains, cassettes and tires. Simply wearing these things down and replacing them while breaking down and rebuilding yourself in the shape you desire. I'm not a huge techno-weenie like some of my friends; I don't have the latest and greatest components, and I don't analyze every ride's data point by point. I ride my bike hard when I can, and rest when I feel necessary, and repeat that process in order to mold myself into the athlete I want to be in the future.
But, it's late, and we'll get to that stuff at another date.
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