Metcalf

You can't really tell from the picture above but that is a big berm that goes into a short downhill.





This turn is pretty loose and you can get the back tire to slide out.


I am really concentrating on getting some big time air!

Well at least the wheels are in the air.


I had Monday off because I worked on Sunday. My brother had today off too so he met me at Metcalf at 11. The place was pretty deserted. I haven't ridden since in August? so I wasn't sure how I was going to ride. I got going to the beginner practice oval thing and it was so easy. I was riding good and confidently. I moved over to the mini beginner mx track really quick and started to ride there. Wow this is much easier than before. The track had been smoothed out a lot and it wasn't as loose. It was still loose in a few turns but it was noticeably less bumpy. It was fun. I felt like I was going fast. My brother took some pictures and jeez he is the worst photographer. I have more pictures of the dirt than anything else. Then he videotaped me and the footage is all shaky. Then he rode a few laps and I took pictures and videotaped. I rode some more and he videoed and it came out better this time. He said I caught some air so that got me excited and I tried to catch some more. It was fun and scary at the same time. Not scary but... I wasn't sure how the bike would react off the jumps. You can't just move it around. I did an endo which he got on tape which is good for a laugh but it didn't help me at the time. Phew.

He said I did a lap in 48:60 and then he went and did the exact same time. What are the odds on that? He is way faster and smoother and everything but he has been riding motorcycles all his life. I have ridden 5-6 times.

He left and I went and rode the trails. I remember going on trail 2 and 2f but other than that it gets a bit confusing. I rode for awhile and my knees were beginning to hurt so I stopped. I wanted to go ride my bike at Calabazas but it got dark too early.

So I had a lot of fun and my brother had fun too and I think he might end up getting a bike. I need a bigger sized bike. The kx 80 sure has some pep to it though. I have only gone in 3rd gear so far. I have only done the easiest trails there too. In due time. I have so far to go. I thought I was riding all fast, it sure feels fast, but then I saw the video and it was pretty damn slow. I wish Metcalf was open on Wednesdays so I could ride on my day off. I have to go on the weekends when it is all busy. Maybe I could use some personal leave to ride?


I brought over my Bontrager so now all the bikes are here. I lifted weights for an hour which felt good other than a cat pooing in the litterbox and another cat constantly trying to get on my lap while I was on the weight bench.

I had a really good day today. I feel happy.

I like this bike...

except that it is a boring road bike.

Hi Mom

My last post was at 3:35 am so the earthquake was on the 30th. Now it is 3:40 am. I fell asleep early and woke up so I got on the internet. I am going to email this blog to my mom now. I think she would enjoy reading it.

Earthquake!!!

We moved the bike room around and came up with this. It works and looks much better. I need to get or make some new racks today for the bikes. We got a new weight bench which I like but the cats claw it so we have to cover it with a towel. I'll have to take a new picture of the room because half the bikes aren't even in this picture.



We had an earthquake today. I was in the return bin area and heard some noise and thought we might be getting an earthquake so I took a couple quick long steps to the doorway and saw the lights were moving and Bev kind of scared. I didn't really feel anything but most everyone else did. It turned out to be a 5.6 with the epicenter at Alum Rock Park. When I got home two of the bikes in the crummy racks fell over. Nothing else happened though.



So I was on the computer minding my own business when Emma came and climbed up my back and took a seat for awhile. Luckily the camera was here so I got some pictures.

Surf City Halloween cross, De Laveaga, Natural Bridges

We went to the Surfcity Halloween Cross. We drove past the exit and had to backtrack but we still got there at a good time. Lots and lots of people so we had to park up the road in front of someones house. It didn't seem to have the same vibe as last years but maybe because I saw it last year it isn't new? I took some pictures. There was a cowboy on a horse bike, a yellow chicken, Tigger, Polo player and a construction worker that I thought had good costumes. There were a lot of people but a lot of the costumes just sucked. No idea what they were supposed to be at all. After that we saw the women do a couple laps and that was fairly boring so we left to go ride.

We went to De Laveaga and once again had problems getting there. Once we got there they had a really nice parking lot with a bathroom which I was happy about. I thought we were going to have to park on the side of the road or a bit down the road at the high school or something. The trails were right there. I have never been and Elizabeth has been once a long time ago. We started and went left. This trail is cool. Then it went uphill. Then it went REALLY uphill. As in start pushing. I am thinking if we have to go down a similar trail E is going to have to walk the whole thing. We get to the top of the steep trail and you can go left or right or straight up a small rooty trail. We go left and right away 3 people come the other way so we turn around and go the way they are going. Figure that must be better? I push up the little rooty trail before we go down and there is a small set of doubles. Cool. I begin to push up more but I hear a woman talking and I don't want to bother her so I just turn around and ride down the rooty section. Get scolded by E. We go down the trail and up the trail. It is really nice trail. Go over lots of roots. E walks in a couple places. We end up at the edge of the golf course and ride a trail that goes by it. Then go down some trail and end back at the car. I think the riding was only like 4 miles but it was still cool. I would like to go back again.

After that E wanted to go to see the water. And to Natural Bridges. So we drove over to the water and parked past Steamer Lane and rode our bikes up the bike path to Natural Bridges. E walked down some path to see some butterflys and I stayed with the bikes. We rode back and then drove home.

It was a good day and I felt like we did a lot of stuff.

Lotto

I thought I won $11 but the numbers were from last times drawing and I ended up winning nothing. Good thing I didn't get more of the numbers right on Wednesdays drawing! What a bummer. I thought I finally won something. Oh well I had $1.00 worth of fun just thinking that I could technically possibly win $23 million.

hee hee

E is snoring really loudly for some reason. Nice that she is getting some sleep, but I can't watch tv and the internet is actually quite boring now. Now that I start typing she quits snoring. Uh oh she is awake. I think I am in trouble. Hmm maybe not. Emma is making her Emma sounds and is now sitting on my lap purring away. happy cat. oh my gawd. she is asleep already. all she said is "what are you doing?" and "did your clothes come out" and then right back to sleep. Oh man this is too funny. She saw me typing and the only reason why I would be typing would be on this blog. Hand is on the top of her head. She must be really tired. she is so boring when she is asleep. Wake up and keep me company! she is just breathing a little loud now. Emma is quiet and sitting on my lap. Ooh I should see if I won the Lotto today. Then I could quit my job and ride my bike more. man she is just sleeping now. no snoring or anything at all. The fire is about to go out. Going...going...it's out. Okay I am gettting bored.

5 minutes later- I am a lucky guy.
7 minutes later- she just scratched her stomach. oh bummer emma just left me. hmm guess I will go check on that Lotto number.

My thighs hurt so much...

from doing squats yesterday morning. I did 40 squats all the way down with no weight. Then I did 36 squats in a minute. Then I did that again. Then I did a minute of lunges on one side and then a minute of lunges on the other side. Did as much as I could in each minute. Then I stretched. Now ouch!!! I can barely make it down stairs. I have to hold on to the railing with both hands. I keep stumbling because my thighs hurt and I feel like I am crippled because of the stumbling. It is pretty sad.



Elizabeth and I lifted weights a couple of days ago and I can't concentrate when she is there. So I will have to plan accordingly. We did clean up and change up the bike/ weight room the other night. I want to make a long shelf that goes all the way across the back wall above the bikes to put helmets and bike tubes and lightweight stuff.



Surf city cyclocross in a few days, the next week, two weeks after that http://www.racefortara.com/

Sea Otter training?

I rode the trainer for a short while. Did a few 4 minute runs and was all sweaty. I need to get the tall fan out. I was all wobbly when I got off. Then I lifted weights with the new bench which I like a lot better than the old one we got from the street. Now it is in the street in front of my moms house for spring cleaning pickup. Hopefully someone will pick it up before it goes to the dump. So I did a bunch of different exercises, some with little Emma on my lap. She just sits there while I do bench presses. It felt good to work out again. I have been sick for awhile now it seems. I still cough pretty bad at night. I got some cough strip things which I will try tonight. I am fine during the day but as soon as night comes cough cough.

I didn't do much else today besides go to smart and final and buy 10 gallons of water for emergency use which I am sure E will be thrilled about. I got 4 bags of frozen chicken strip things and one bag of refrigerated chicken.

I want to be healthy again and ride my bike. I haven't ridden since Sandhill. It has been raining off and on but today it was fairly decent out. I have this weekend off so I am hoping I will be feeling good enough to ride then. It isn't looking too good though. Maybe just a cruise around the neighborhood or Arastradero or something.

San Jose Rock N Roll 1/2 marathon

I got yelled at for wanting to go to the race at mile 6 at 9 am instead of the start at 6 am. I ended up going to mile 6 at 9 and was greeted with a very smiley and very sweaty girlfriend. I had ridden her road bike there and then rode with her for a bit and we saw Pat from the library walking. Then I rode ahead to wait for E. Then I see Pat walking. Uh oh. I go and ride up the course looking for her. Finally find her way up there and then I ride with her pretty much the last two miles. 13.1 miles. I think I would get about 4 miles in and I would get my blisters.

After that we went home and I got her Pringles and gummy bears and then I had to take her to Pizza my Heart in Saratoga.

Tired

These guys seem happy. I still feel sick. Feeling better but still not well. I did go out and got a little weight bench. Way too tired to use it though.

Sea Otter 2008

http://www.seaotterclassic.com/

A week ago it said the website would be up on Nov.1st. Now it is at Nov. 10th. I predict December. Every year they do that. I guess I find it funny. I used to always sign up as soon as possible because why not? I know that will be the one race that I will do.

I am still sick but not too bad. Nighttime sucks with the coughing and stuff. I did ride the trainer for 30 minutes and lifted weights for awhile. Emma kept coming in and would be all pesty.

Simon puked yesterday morning. Fozzie puked this morning. Ugg cats. I had all three of them sleeping on the couch with me this morning put then I petted Simon and then Fozzie and Simon got all jealous and swatted at Fozzie so I swatted Fat Simon in the butt and he left. Emma just slept.

Sandhill and I am sick. Again.

I felt sick last Saturday and didn't go into work.

Saturday Elizabeth and I went to Sandhill. http://prsports.com There was a mtx race so I figured I could watch that and ride the slalom course and then get on the mtx course when the racing is all done. Not to big of a turnout. I only knew a few people. E left and rode on the road and I went and rode the dual slalom course. The course was super beat up and the corners were all loose and the jumps are all small. It was okay riding it. the racing was boring to watch but i rode the course and had fun doing the jumps there. I really liked doing the jump to manual on the triple. A couple people asked why i wasn't racing because I was fast. That was cool to hear. I rode a lot. 10 miles total which is a decent amount i think for this type of riding. It started getting windy which sucked. Right when I was coming to the car so we could go leave E is putting on her pads. I wasn't feeling that good but not that bad either so we rode the course. She kept wanting to pay the 10 bucks to practice and i kept saying to just ride the course first and if you like it then we can go pay the money. She rode a little on the mtx course and then we left. Uhh if Elizabeth is reading this you went fast! If someone else is reading this she rode pretty slow and safe.

I began to feel not as good and eventually became sick with a sore throat on Saturday night. Felt pretty crappy on Sunday and didn't do anything. Felt pretty crappy on Monday which was a holiday and i didn't do anything that day either. Felt better Monday nite but not good. Today i called in sick and am going to watch triathlon on tv. Well at least it will be on but i will stay on the computer a bit more.

Fun Spot

I wanted to go ride somewhere cool on my day off so I headed over to Santa Cruz. It seems like I haven't been doing anything on my days off. I got there at noon and drove by the Fun Spot and there was NO ONE there! So I altered my plans a bit and went there first. I went to lift my bike out of my truck and ugg there goes my back. damn. same thing as last week at work. By the time I got there there was some other kid there. I put on my full face even though it was really hot there. I did the two box jumps and they are so fun. Incredibly fun. After awhile I called my brother and left a message and then put on all my pads. It was so hot but I was safer now. I pretty much just did the two box jumps hit the berm and sometimes do a little jump and sometimes do another little jump and go back to the top of the roll in. Did I say it was hot? Totally sweating. I drank a bunch of water. My brother showed up and we hung out for a bit and then he had to go back to work. I jumped some more and then i was so parched I headed over to the taco place to get a soda. I was sweating so much waiting in line to get my 7up. It was so delicious. It made me feel instantly better. That and I took off all my pads and shirt and sat in the shade of one of the ramps. I was tired but I put on my pads and rode a bunch more. I rode about 9 miles in the park. I did some whips and stuff and one handers. I even tried a couple times to get my left off. I will have to try that some more next time I go. There was a kid on a scooter and he was really good. doing the jumps and wall ride and doing 360s. it was pretty cool. After that I putt putted down the boardwalk area and then back to my truck over at Steamer Lane.

Really nice time today other than my back. Really nice. i am happy.

Carlmont and it rained yesterday

On tv there was the Jeep king of the mountain from San Luis Obispo from noon to one and on a different channel there was the dew action sports tour from noon to three. The kom was boring. Two guys racing down a dirt course on jumps that I could do. Or guys doing crazy tricks on some sweet ramps. I think i'll watch bmx. Tricks are crazy now. 1080's, double backflips, tailwhip frontflip.

After watching that I couldn't decide on going to Metcalf with my dirt bike or to Carlmont on my dh bike. I figured dh would be a safer bet with the weather. Oh it rained most of yesterday.
Carlmont was a lot of fun. A few people were there. Some guy with his two little kids. Some x country guy who could totally ride. Some other kids showed up and it was so funny because this one little kid was on a brand new super shiny Santa Cruz and it was so big on him. He couldn't touch the ground at all.

One time when I was coming down and hitting the jumps the stupidest kid ever was standing in the middle the jump, on his cell phone, with his back to me. I yelled "hey". Then I had to turn off and I yelled at him some more pretty good. dumbass. How stupid can you get.

I kept thinking I would leave but I would keep having fun so I would keep going back up and doing the jumps some more. My helmet and pads are super stinky. It's pretty gross. Even to my standards.

I have today, Thursday, off and was planning on going to Metcalf but now I figure it will just be too dusty and slick. Plus more importantly I have a headache and don't feel that well. I feel so tired. I don't feel like doing anything. blah.

pictures

We got a new cat, Emma.


Simon is still king.


Crappiest cyclocross course ever.


The one uphill.


Simon is the coolest.

Vacation

I went to Northstar again on the 29th and 30th. I stayed in Kings Beach which was okay. Nothing like staying in Northstar though. First day at Northstar I messed up my rear cassette on my first run down so I had to take off the chain and ride chainless. Did that for the rest of the day which wasn't too bad since Livewire to Gypsy is 99 percent downhill. I also managed to lose my bottom roller on my chainguide. And a flat tire too. It was fun though.

Next day I had my bike fixed with a bottom roller made out of a Pepsi plastic bottle cap. It worked for the whole day. I did get another flat that day. I pretty much rode Livewire the whole time. The whole trail was ridable this time. Trail is really fun.

Friday I got to Northstar at 9 to ride but it started to pour. I mean thunderstorm action. So i sat in my truck and after it stopped I walked around the village and then left and went to the Truckee bmx track. Hung out at the park and read a book and rode the track for a couple laps and left for Reno.

I got to Reno which is the crappiest city and got into my motel room. Quality inn and ir was actually really nice. especially compared to that tiny room I was in the past two nights. I had room to actually move. I got my Cheeta and went to the Reno Nationals. It was totally cool. Indoor track with air conditioning. I got my bike checked for safety, guy touches the end of the handlebars and puts a sticker on my bike. uhh that's it? okay. get in line with all the other 26 and older cruisers. Soon as 3:25 comes we go to the gate and it is the coolest thing to go from the dark corridor and into the lighted arena. I felt so pro. I get up to the gate and just cruise the track. It is super smooth and really nice. Get back up to the gate and ride some more. There are some big doubles on the 2nd straight that I want to jump but as soon as I get the nerve up and decide to do them it is 3:45 and our practice is over. Damn. I still had so much fun riding that track though. I was super hot with my crappy TLD jersey so I went to my truck and changed and went back to watch the rest of practice. And then the races. It was pretty cool but it gets boring watching all the little kids.

saturday- i was really tired and got up late and missed practice but I still got there at 9 and stayed until 6 pm watching the races. It was all right. The best races weren't the finals but the last qualifer where people would do anything to try and qualify for the finals.

Sunday i left at 6:30 in the morning and got home around 12:30 or something and basically slept the rest of the day at home.

Monday- i went to Shells with E but it was pretty crappy. We also rode Waterdog which was nice.

Today- Saturday i went and watched the Livermore cyclocross race and that is the crappiest track ever. BORING. Left there and eventually found my way to the bmx track. I had a lot of fun there. Anthony? some dude I have seen before at the track and at Reno showed up and we rode for awhile and talked for a long time. Seems like a good guy.
I then went to Pleasanton bmx park and that was all right but there were a bunch of annoying groms there hanging out at the top of the roll in and then on top of the berm right where I would go. I didn't like them at all. I rode there for a bit on my Cheeta and then left at 3 or so.

Blogs, blogs, blogs

I have missed Top Chef, but they play it again in 15 minutes. Why? because I kept on clicking next blog and next blog. There must be millions and millions of blogs. I kept thinking I would find one on biking but I didn't. I did keep getting the same porn type site but with different blog names. I finally just went back to that hernando guys roadie site and looked at all his links to blogs. I did read a good post. Roadie guy gets hit by some loser in a car in Davenport and breaks some bones. Dirt bag takes off, people get his license plate, he gets busted, gets out of jail the next day, he's got priors, no license, no insurance and goes surfing. Here comes karma. Dude is surfing, crashes and is now a parapalegic. Think what you want.

Another time consuming internet thing i found was youtube, google videos and myspace videos. There is some pretty funny stuff and some crazy car crash stuff on there. What a waste of my life. Ugg.

I did realize about blogs is if there are pictures it is way more interesting. Some bored person is reading this and i feel sorry for you because i am just rambling on trying to waste time until 11. crap i could have been cleaning. i can clean for 7 minutes.

Bikes, Top Chef

Finally got my bikes put together. Mostly. So tired. I got the front brakes working okay. They rub slightly but it is good enough for now. Oh I still don't have a bolt for the shock. I went to OSH and got two bolts whichdon't fit. Still don't have the chainguide mounted as I would like. Damn I guess I have more to do than I thought. Bummer.

Put the brakes on the Cheeta and they seem to work okay. Put on the shifter and that works but needs some fine tuning with the rear cassette. The bike looks correct now with the disc brakes. I haven't test ridden them because I am too tired and it is totally dark out now. Days are getting shorter and shorter.

The Juliana- bought two pairs of the wrong brakeshoes. Damn. That was like 35 bucks too. And worse the bike is still unridable. Her brakeshoes were toast though. Down to the metal.

Top Chef will be on in an hour. It has been on all day but a new episode will be on at 10. I am drinking 4 servings of juice. Yum. Pineapple, apple, orange, banana. Mmm...pineapple. Practically soda with all the sugar.

The apartment is a mess. Just stuff everywhere. Nothing gross. E will be back tomorrow which is good except that the place is messy and I have to clean it and I am so tired right now. I could probably sleep right now but I want to watch my show. I did no exercise today or yesterday.

4:18 a.m.

ugghh... i am still awake. bored bored bored.

New Bike Parts

I worked on my Turner. Put on some new brakes and handlebars. I put on and took off the front brakes a million times. Trying to get it centered just right with washers. Very time consuming and surprisingly not really frustrating. I was expecting problems and I got them. Hopefully I will be able to find some thinner washers to fine tune it and get the discs so they don't rub. After doing that for over an hour I put on the rear brakes and holy crap they fit the first time. I wasn't expecting that. I figured I would stop there. I did put the rotor and tire on my other wheel for the Cheeta but that was all. I have so much to work on. Turner-front brakes and chainguide. Cheeta- front and rear brakes, cassette and shifter. Bontrager-handlebars and stem and brake pads. Planet X-nothing.

I rode the PAL track on Sunday which was fun. Really hard. I did a full lap and thought I might puke or pass out. I took off all my stuff except shorts and just sat on my truck bed for awhile.

Rode Calabazas on Sunday and today. Had fun both days. Jumped the step up which is the lamest decent size jump I have ever done.

Whoah it is almost 2 am.

None-some pictures though

This is the photo that bummed me out. I am so losing my hair! Oh well what am I going to do? I didn't know I had lost so much though. I was messing around with the camera the other day taking lots of pictures of nothing and this is one that I got. Bummers.






This is Simon.He's my buddy. He likes to try and eat my food though. And he likes to puke on the floor where I can step on it in the middle of the night which totally grossed me out for about a day and a half. I was very paranoid for the rest of the night.







This is Elizabeth. She told me yesterday that she wants to maybe try Sea Otter Downhill in 08. I really like this photo because you know exactly what she is thinking when looking at this dh section on the now closed Jump Trail.





This is me. I have grown a lot.






Ugh. This is the bike room. And there is not enough room at all. We have 8 bikes, I think. i am not sure how to organize it so it will work the most efficiently. I get frustrated at the lack of room in there. That weight bench takes up a bunch of space but it gets used. I guess we could just put a couple bikes in the hallway or the living room and we would be fine but I was trying to get all the bike stuff in one area. I will have to look at it later on. It is already noon.

Metcalf and the Turner

Went to Metcalf and rode for a short while. I got there late, 5 pm and I only had the gas that was in the tank. I rode the beginner track and the tt track and the atv track. Found out that there is a circle track in the middle of the tt track. That was pretty fun. Nice little berm going around the majority of it so you can get some speed going. I wasn't really going that fast but it seemed fast to me. After that I went back and rode the beginner track. 2nd gear. I might have caught some air on a jump but I am not sure. How sad is that. I need to set up a camera next time or have someone else there to tell me. I had my new fox 360 pants and they felt good.

I put the new shock on except I lost one of the bolts so I need to go to OSH and get a new one. It sure is a pain in the butt to put it that shock in. I also need to work on the chainguide. Need to JB weld a little bracket or something. i just want it to be on there really good instead of pretty good.

Tomorrow-- BMX track in the afternoon to watch the races and maybe nothing in the morning.

E said I could be her trainer. With some restrictions. If E is reading this DO NOT EAT THE OREOS you took. And while Judith is doing the triathlon you could be doing some exercise too.

Santa Clara PAL BMX

I was thnking of racing but ended up just practicing. I brought the Cheeta and the cruiser. I only rode the Cheeta though but it sure rode nice. I had fun riding that bike. The track isn't that great. You never get off two wheels. There were a bunch of people because of the bigger races today and tomorrow. I felt fast but I don't think I was faster than normal. I would just ride the first and second straight mostly and pull off or putt through the third and ride the fourth.

Not sure what I am going to do today. I kind of want to go rde the dirt bike but it is always a hassle. I do need to go to my moms anyways though to work on the Turner. I got my shock yesterday. Hope it works all right. It feels like it weighs a ton though.

Weights and Calabazas and Maywood

We rode over to Maywood this morning. What a junk pile that place has become. Beer bottles, beer cans, beer containers, cigarette boxes, remains of a small bonfire between a jump, paint on the trees, paintball everywhere, etc.

I lifted weights for the first time in a long while. Felt good. Even did my abs which sucked.

Went over to Calabazas with my Cheeta. Wampler was there which sucked. Somebody crashed pretty good he said. Whatever, go away. I just rode everywhere but the main pack. I had fun. Cheeta seems really fast but maybe it is just rougher? It is nice to ride a light bike but I have to get some new brakes for it. Too sketchy with what I have. A lot of people were there. I rode the front a lot and improved some which was cool.

Top Chef will be on fairly soon so I have something to watch. Well I do have a bunch of dvds and also tapes of X Games to watch...

This was my first attempt at making a video and it took way too long for what I made. But I had fun doing it. It was gusty or windy that day so I just rode the smaller jumps that day.

Metcalf and Bowling (yes bowling)

I went to Metcalf by myself and rode the beginner track for a bit and was feeling pretty good so I went and did the easy trail. The steep section after the left turn is even more loose and beat up. I can't believe they call that a beginner trail. I did that trail 3 times and then did Trail 3? a couple times. Then I did it again and turned off on a different trail that is rated beginner with a blue sign or something. Holy Shit! There is a long, long downhill and I suck and do not like going downhill on a motorcycle. Go figure. So I begin going down it and I gain more and more speed and now I am uncomfortably going way to fast and I am thinking it is really going to hurt if/when I crash. It sucked. I got off line and ended up on the left side of the trail and then there was a rut coming up and I ended more left and now I am in the dry grass which is even worse. Keep waiting to crash but I finally and I mean finally get to the end of the downhill and come to a stop and sit for a couple minutes to collect myself. I head off worrying about what uphill I will come to. Some bad stuff (for me) but I make it up okay. Stop back at the truck and rest for about 3 minutes and head out again and ride the beginner track and then do the trail again. I stop at the atv track and i ride that for a few laps. It isn't that great but I see another track so I go over to that ahh the tv just turned off and the last laps of the tour de france are on phew it is back on so i go to the other track which is the tt track i think? and i ride that one and it is pretty fun. i ride that for awhile and go back to the truck for a minute. and then go back to the tt track and ride it some more. I like that track. Then i head back and load up my truck. I leave at about 7 or earlier. I got there at 3 or so. My knees were hurting. Drop off the bike and stuff and start driving home and Melanie calls me and says they are leaving for bowling so I go home and shower and E and I go bowl.

Bowling- Gabe, Melanie, Steve, I-hsin, Jimmy, Jenene and Michelle were there. We took some pictures and bowled two games. It was nice and fun to hang out with those guys. I sucked bad the first game but did much better the next time. I think my first score was 70 or something. Maybe even in the 60's and the second game I was somewhere jst above 100. I had fun. Oh my ball had a chip in the hole where the thumb goes and it kept rubbing on my thumb and it kind of hurt.

Today-probably go over to the motorcycle store and ride over to the San Jose Grand Prix.

Tour de California prologue is in Palo Alto? Stanford maybe? and a stage finishes in San Jose on Wednesday so I will be able to see that.

100th post

That's all. E is reading Harry Potter. I am going to go bug her now. Hee hee.

Tour de France and Calabazas

The tour is such a joke now. Vinokourav gets busted for blood transfusion and now they have an awesome mt stage and the tour leader and winner of the stage gets busted for something. Hard to watch when you keep thinking what is this guying doing to be this incredible.

Calabazas- fun day today. Lots of people. Mike F, Mike B, wampler, Isaac, Roger, Theo, Shelby, Gideon and a bunch of other mt bikers and a bunch of good bmxers. Cool time.

My knees smell bad. I mean bad from my knee pads. I need to order some more and rotate these babies.

E is supposed to be lifting weights. She is reading...magazines. harumph. Go lift goober! hee hee goober is a funny word and i am retarded.

A MOUNTAIN BIKERS HOUSE

Today was my first day back from work after being on vacation for a week. I had lots of problem returns to do. It took pretty much all day at my desk to finish.


I am not sure who would be calling me but I think that is pretty funny.


This is the stairs to the apartment. Notice how it is rounded over and new wood is showing, that is from bouncing down the stairs.



Notice the tire marks on the side, that is where I put my front tire when I wheel my bike up the stairs.

Camelback and Vans. Riding Vans and work Vans. Ready to go.



Biking calendar. That's Cedric Gracia. He rules.


This is my pantry. I don't know what a pantry is but I am going to call it that. Protein powder which I have with my milk every morning with cereal. GU2O which I never use, pasta which I don't have too often either. Coke, I drink lots of this. I am having one right now.



This is the refrigerator. The only stuff in there that is mine is the Coke, greenish Gatorade, salsa...and i guess that is it. Oh that glass of water is mine too.


Foam roller which I used for a short while and forgot about it but now that I see it maybe I will use it. It is kind of cool. Plus a bike magazine in there too.




Patio where I put my stinky pads. Spray them with Febreeze but it doesn't help much.



My closet. Nothing but t-shirts, jerseys and shorts. One pair of jeans. My only pair of pants. Plus lots of bike magazines.



This is below that last picture. Vans, Fox knee/shin pads I don't use, bike shorts,pair of gloves, more magazines and a bag of unclean clothes.

My sink. I just set down that shock pump. Goop, sunblock, Gu, Elizabeths heart rate monitor that I have never used yet.

The shower. Tecnu. I have 3 bottles of this stuff.

The bike room. E's bikes.

Tools in the bike room. All my tools are still at my moms house.

My Planet X and Cheeta and full face helmet. My Turner DHR is at my moms. Elizabeths Juliana is in front of my bikes and the midgetmobile isover there in the left hand corner. Not sure why it is there. Also the FMF cruiser and Rockhopper is at my moms. I left them there for some reason.

Hallway with Camelbak Transalp, tube, allen wrenches, more gloves and a 15 dollar voucher for food at Northstar.

That's Simon. He's my buddy.

That's Fozzy. She is pretty timid but still a cool cat.

Floor by tv. Bike books, bike dvd, biking log.

Closer to tv. Free bike magazines, bike dvd and CHiPS dvd.

Our dvds.Lots of biking. A lot more at my moms house.

This is my girl. I had a really funny picture but she didn't like it so much so she put this one up. I didn't have the patience to upload all these pictures. She did it. She is reading a book on the patio totally ignoring me while I totally ignore her while I watch the Tour de France on Versus.

Skeggs and Tour de France

Rode Skeggs with Elizabeth. Too much climbing for me. I did like the last part of trail we rode that parallells skyline. Felt tired. I was carrying a lot of water. enough for a long time. we only rode a short while but it was enough for me at the time.

I am planning on going to Pleasanton in an hour. I am hoping I will have some fun there. I don't feel like driving at all but I need some jumping or speed. Maybe go to Metcalf later today or tomorrow?


Tour de France is going. the time trial is on but it isn't as intersting as i had hoped. I brought over some lycra shorts and a jersey. I don't think I will fit in them anymore. Just in case I ride the road bike around the block.

Big Basin and Elkhorn Slough

I have another week off and on Monday we went to Big Basin. Took a look at all the campsites at Wastahi and found some decent ones. We were a bit worried about the campsite with all the little chairs. So we took a campsite not so close. Turned out to be still to close. Fucking kids. These were the most annoying kids. Actually they were just being kids, being loud and playing. But they were loud all day long and constantly being loud. It was very irritating. We had to leave and go for a walk to get away from these damn kids. It was amazing when we got away from them how nice and peaceful it was. Our tent was on a slope which I didn't feel when I tested it out but we sure felt it when we were tired and ready for some sleep. Felt like the ground was all jacked up. Slept okay. We rode our bikes, bontrager and rockhopper, over to the hq to register for another night. Then we had to ride back to put the sticker on the 4 runner and for e to get her gps. Rode back to hq and then to gazos creek fireroad. The road pretty much sucked. There were plenty of other cool trails to the left and right but of course they were off limits to bikes. I so wanted to go ride them. sucks being me. i wish i could just go ride them and not feel guilty. i don't see the harm if i am going slow and not going to startle any hikers. i understand though because most people would just haul ass downhill. anyway we rode up this crappy fireroad and i am not having that much fun. we turn left on some other road to look for the bench. it went uphill. this sucks. thankfully when i about had it there was the bench. we stayed there for awhile and took some pictures and laid down on the bench. I put a penny and a nickel under both of the legs. then we left and rode down the fireroad which on the bontrager was okay. seat all high and everything. got back to the campsite and those f'in kids are still there. we had hoped they had left. oh the kids were staying at half of the campsites. we probably ate and then got so irritated at the kids that we left to go walk again. I think this is when we crossed the road and went on some trail that followed the road on the east side. pretty cool trail. my wimpy shins were a little bit sore so we turned back and went back to the campsite. stupid kids still yelling so we kept walking and sat down on a tree. mosquitoes came so we crossed the road and i sat on the road and then we went to the sempervirens falls and hung out there for the second time and then went back to the campsite. there was more commotion but of a different kind. one of the girls got stung by a bee. i was happy. went back to the campsite and played backgammon which I won again. I rule! Started a nice fire. E tried to make a hotdog wrapped in a bread from a can which, surprise, didn't work. i cooked a hot dog and it looked like it came out good. she ate it but she also ate her burnt hot dog too. So the crappy kids are quiet but know the adults are talking and talking. They talk until 10. Then until 11. Then until ?. I really do not like these people or there kids. Seems so inconsiderate. There were a bunch of wine bottles by the recycle bin in the morning. We got up early and left early. I was anxious to get out of there before the little punks got up and annoyed me. Oh there was a big big log that had fallen down and the kids would all play on it which was near our site. In the night i had to pee so i climbed on the log and peed where the kids played. Hee hee. I did that twice. In the morning it was all misty. When i walked to the car it was all misty there too. Weird because it was all sunny and hot the day before and this is july. Gets more misty. and more misty. very light rain but it is dry in the forest just wet in the parking lot. glad we were leaving then. we leave in the wetness and it is kind of nice. we stop at my favorite bathrooms so i can go and i also take my camera. Of course there is a ranger there cleaning. damn. she says to use the ones in the back. i go in and track in all this mud. oops, i feel pretty bad. think about asking for the broom but figured that would just be too weird. She comes around the corner and I leave and take a picture of the shower on the other side and another shot of the bathroom and she comes around the corner and asks if she can help me. oh no you just have the nicest bathrooms and i wanted to take a picture to show my girlfriend. i get out of there quick feeling like a jackass in a way and not caring all at the same time. i was having fun. we drive home and get home faster than getting there it seems and it is still all misty down in Sunnyvale. Go back to the apartment and fall asleep for awhile. Wake up and go to the thrift store and then to home depot and then to goodwill. waste of time. come home and sleep.

Thursday, that would be today, we went to Elkhorn Slough. It is E's birthday and she wanted to kayak. Got there and we had planned on getting a kayak and taking it to kirby park and launching there but the two guys there made it sound better launching here. We got a double kayak and put on our life jacket and a spray skirt. The spray skirt made me a little nervous. Never used one before. Got into our kayak okay. felt okay with the spray skirt. I was in the back and i was able to see this time because i was farther back. We putted around and went by the docked boats and we stayed next to the shore. i wanted to stay next to the shore. paddled for a bit. oh i forgot i wasn't feeling that great but what are you going to do? So we paddle and we turn left and go under the bridge which was kind of cool. the rudder works really well. very helpful. We go a short way and holy crap there are sea otters all over the place. I wasn't expecting that. they were doing there cleaning and eating while on their backs and stuff they do. pretty cool. saw some sea lions with there heads poking out. saw a lot of pelicans. one came toward us and pooped. must have been a warning shot. saw some long billed walking on the seashore type birds which I like. easy going east with the current and wind. we cross the slough and go up stream on the southside which is supposed to be easier. it is but there is nothing alive over there. we go across the slough again. it seems harder and we see animals again and we slowly make our way back. it took awhile and wasn't that much fun. took awhile and as soon as we get back to the harbor it is nice again. calm water. so much better. we putter around and have more fun. check out the boats and stuff. gettting out of the boat was easier than i thought. but e wasn't too happy about getting out but she got out without going in the water.

we then go to Crows Nest to eat. still not feeling that great but the place is pretty cool. we then go home and i get on the internet and write this and e goes to sleep on the couch. then i start watching the simpsons and she moves to the bedroom and i guess is sleeping.

Northstar

July 4th 2007
At Northstar. Record high in Truckee at 97 degrees. That is just great, tomorrow I will be downhilling with all my gear on in this heat. I am actually not bored but just waiting for tomorrow I guess. I have stuff to do like bleed my brakes or maybe change the brakeshoes but I do not feel like doing that at this moment. It is 7 pm right now. The drive here was really long. I left at 1 and got here at after 5 pm. I stopped by Truckee bmx track to take a look and it looked pretty cool. Kind of like South Lake Tahoe bmx. I am doing the stay and bike free thing. the lady gave me 4 passes but they all have tomorrows date on it. sounds like a possible hassle coming up. I will tell you about the room. it is a studio and it is bad ass. It has everything. full refigerator, stove, oven, coffe, tea pot, all utensils, microwave, pizza cutter, fan, iron, tv, vcr, dvd player, tivo, fireplace thingy, couch, rocking chair, chair, kitchen table, murphy bed, neutragena soaps, a patio with more chairs, dart board (haven't seen the darts yet), board games, random videos, cds, stereo... this place is so awesome. but i am somewhat sad because i can't share it with Elizabeth. so wish she was here. sigh... kinda boring without her sometimes. and no simon or fozzy cats either! r
chance of thunderstorms!!! wtf. how crappy would that be. there is some x country race tomorrow evening but i might go to the bmx track. i will have to see how tired i am tomorrow. i am hungry but i only have crappy food. donuts, cereal, coke, coke, gatorade, water, oreos. i forgot i needed to get milk.
oh awesome, the village is right around the corner, i think, so i won't have to drive. i got 60 bucks in vouchers at the turn. some restraunt or something. i hope. I am getting more bored. ugg. i should be totally happy but i am just missing e right now. i guess i will go on my Turner. Get something done.

8:30 p.m. what a pain in the butt that was. Turns out my rear brake shoes on the turner are pretty much gone so I took those out and then took out the front pads from the planet x and switched them. This turned out to be another frustrating time for me. I got it fixed so the turner works good, i hope. But the px front brakes suck bad but i don't really plan on riding that bike too much. i have a brand new set of brake shoes but i think they are at home? i have been drinking water. i need some food. hmm. guess i will have to have another coke later and some ritz wheat crackers for dinner. what a crummy dinner for being in such a nice place. i looked for the darts but i could not find them. bummer because i would like to throw them. probably would have no desire to do it at any other time but it would be nice now. it is still warm out and beginning to slowly get dark. i am really looking forward to riding tomorrow. 10 until 4 pm. sucks they close so early.they could be open till 8 or at least 7. i guess i will be able to come back to the studio and wash up and then go get dinner at The Turn. I found something that said they sell hamburgers, gourmet hot dogs and stuff so that's cool. 20 more minutes and i can call elizabeth.yeah. maybe if i won the lotto i could get a place here. it is nice. feel happy here. i like the pine wood everywhere. i see another drawer. just candles. i guess someone owns this place. there is guest book going back several years. e would like it here. she could go read out on the porch with the trees.






JULY 5TH, 2007
Vacation rules. Must be great to be rich and not have to work but have enough money to do whatever you want. I went to the bike park at 10 and took the gondola up and then the chairlift on the right. Some other dude got on the lift with me and we ended up riding together for awhile. Too long actually but whatever. He was a good guide since he was a little worse than me. I went done some crazy trails. the trails are super super dusty and so rocky. rockier and dustier than i was expecting. it is fun but not super stoked fun. the chairlifts are awesome. i rode 23 miles. and i am not even tired at all. i drank so much water. camelback is great for this place. the jumps here are all pieces of crap. all blown up and sketchy as hell. I ended up blowing up my rear shock somehow. oil dripping all over the place. it sucks. it feels like i have a flat tire and it is all loud but it still sort of works. so i had to ride with a blown shock. i tried to stick to the easier trails but... Then I am cruising down some easy fireroad and bang bang bang the chain is all fucked up. crappy gamut chainguide. chain is stuck. i try to get it out but i can't. so i start ging down the trail and there's more problems. my frewheel is now messed up and spins the whole time. no freewheel. so i coasted and pushed my way back to the condo. the condo is right down the street from the park. easier just to ride instead of drive. so i get home and clean the oil and then i take a shower. i am hungry and want to get a big hamburger or something at The Turn. I drive to the golf course area where I think it is. there are no signs for it or anything. i get to the martis valley grille at 3 :30 and there is some worker outside so i ask him where The Turn is and he says it is right there but it is closed. closed, what the hell it isn't even 4 pm. what a pain in the ass this place is at times. frustrating. i have 60 bucks for the turn but the only time they are open is when the bike park is open. who is going to stop riding and go way over there to eat??? I guess I am going to go to the BMX track. i don't really feel like it but I need to go get food anyways. i wish this coupon was good for anywhere here to get food.


JULY 6TH, 20007
I went to the bmx track last night. There were only 10 riders there or so. I wasn't sure what the rules were for clothing and pads and if cost money to practice. I was confused on where to go because they put up some white fencing so I just hopped on the track and rode it and back up to the startin gate. Everyone was watching me because I was a new face. The track is super fun. Really fast with jumps that are actually jumpable. the track is really smooth and the berms have glue on them so you stick well like glue. i was always out of breath though. ride the track for 200 feet and i am out of breath. So far the highlight of this trip is the bmx track. I talked with the track operator and he was a cool guy. They are racing tonight, tomorrow and sunday mornings. I kind of want to go tonight to see if they have a t shirt for sale. Anyways the track was the best and afterwards i went around Truckee looking for some grocery store. I ended up in historic downtown Truckee which has absolutely nothing. I am getting bummed because now i have to eat donuts and coke for dinner and breakfast again. But as i was driving home I see a 7-11. I got a pizza, some frozen taco thing, milk, licorice and a beer. Not sure why i got the beer but it seemed like a good idea. I got home and the chicken things was good but the beer wasn't that great. it was nice to have a hot meal.
This morning i had milk with protein powder and my nature valley bars. yum yum. drank some water and went over to the chair lifts. shock was still completely blown so it rode like a pogo stick. not exactly the safest thing but i figured i would just take it easy on the trails. took the lifts up to live wire and the top of the trail was open. i went down slowly and it kind of sucked because there are a bunch of table tops but i had to roll them out of fear of getting bucked. The trail seemed all right. Rode down whatever trail and was waiting for the chair lift and i hear someone yell my name. ? it's Tommy so i go over and talk to him for a bit. he or his parents have a place in truckee right by the skateboard park. hmm i should go ride that. so we wait for his buddy who comes down after awhile and he is all dirty. he was funny. he crashed a bunch of times i guess and was a bit cut up and dirty. we went up the chairlift and did livewire and some other stuff. rode them for a little while and then rode by myself. it was all right. the trails are so rough and dusty it is hard to have fun. i did find a nice little slow trail through the bushes. it was a nice change. good luck finding it again. i rode until 1:50 and i wasn't having that much fun so i figured i would go home and shower and go to The Turn. which i did. i got a double cheeseburger, bag of doritos and a root beer ( they were out of Pepsi) and that came to 13. 50. It actually tasted good and i saved the chips for later. it probably wouldn't have tasted as good if i had to pay that much. the prices were crazy high. a soda from the machine was 2 75 and the burger was 900 and chips were 200. it was at the golf course which had a bunch of golf type people. what a boring sport that appears to be. so damn slow.
i came home and started to watch a little bit of tv and then took off my shock to go get a new one. took it off and started messing around with it and messed around some more and of course ended up taking it all apart in the sink trying to figure it out. interesting. hmm maybe i can fix it...i don't have shock oil but i have chain lube...put some of that in to see if i can find where it leaks.hmm, doesn't seem to be leaking but then again it has no pressure from hitting a jump. take out the lube and think about trying to make oil with grease and chain lube. but i figure that will just make a mess so i put in some h2o. not sure how much liquid should be in so i put in a lot.doesn't seem to leak so i put the shock back on. takes awhile but i get it on and sit on the bike. hey it works! so it seems so i take it outside and bounce around and it makes a squishing sound but it didn't pogo and wateer didn't leak out so it is looking good. well not good i mean i have water in there but it is a lot better than before.
started watching some more tv. it is 5:20 right now and i don't really feel like doing anything but maybe watch a movie. South Lake Tahoe seems like there is more to do. I guess i could go ride, they have some trails i think right here but why bother when i can get on the chairlift tomorrow and cruise. chairlifts are great. i need to look around more and enjoy the area while i am riding. guess i will go for now. get to call e in a short while.

10:25 p.m. I am trying to make coffee for the first time and also using a coffee machine. i have never seen it done so i kinda just guessed. put in a paper thing in the tip and poured water in through that for a bit. then pressed on. hopefully hot coffee will come out. except i don't really want coffee but it was here so i will give it a try. i ended up going out on the balcony and reading from a book called everyday greatness. it was nice and relaxing. i am now watching double jeopardy with ashley judd.



JULY 8TH, 2007
I went over to ride the trails after 9 am. I found a shorter way to get to the road to the village. I went up and took a lots of pictures. Then i went up the chair lift on the right to Livewire and took more pictures. Of course Livewire was closed when I went up, but someone said they opened it up a little bit later. later on There was a line to get onto that chairlift whereas on the other lift you just rolled right up and put your bike on the rack and sat down. So i went down Boondocks which was allright. then i went up the left chairlift and went down Haugs which has two jumps at the beginning and then some berms and a few more jumps then i would cross over to Over Undertrail that has a bunch of berms and end up on a fireroad and pedal uphill for a little bit and then do flameout to dogbone then to Speed Control which rules then to Dog Bone and finish at the lift and do it some more. I did several runs on that. I was going pretty good and then my bike was seeming like it wasn't working as good as it was before which wasn't that great. I get on a fireroad and my front tire is going flat. Damn. I keep going and it goes all the way flat so I just rode really slow. It wasn't that bad at all. It took awhile and I ended up at the gondola and had to ride that back down to the village. i got back to the condo after one and fixed the flat and decided I will ride some more since I am really enjoying it today. Much better than the previous days. I get back to the gondola and the worker commented on how fast that I was back. So I go up and do some more riding. I put my bike on the rack with another guys bike and then another guy trys to put on his bike at the last second and doesn't quite get it in and it is all hanging on the rack. I get on the seat and someone tells the operator who then stops the lift but the bikes are 12 feet off the ground. I took some pictures. We were stopped for awhile while a bunch of workers came and holy crap those guys rule. One guy stood up on a metal thing and then another guy liked pushed him up and the guy was standing on the dudes hands and holding onto the rack sometimes with no one touching his feet and he grabs the bike and manuevers it into the spot and comes down. It was pretty cool. People cheered. So we went up and i rode the same trails and was getting pretty fast on them. i had too much air pressure in my rear tire and it would hope around a bit. didn't help having a rear shock full of water. oh and the chainguide came loose of course and was rattling around. on my last run of the day my chin got sucked inbetween the tire and rear chainstay. that was fun. went back to the condo and took a nice shower and shaved. i thought i would walk over to the village and see what was going on there. i decide to take that trail i saw other people walking on the other day. Holy crap, the parking lot is like right there. I mean right there right there. Jeez i was going all the way up that stupid road and through the village when i could have gone up this trail to a parking lot and at the end of the parking lot is the gondola. wow. So i walk into the village which is pretty deserted and only a very few stores are open. Pretty boring. I did get to see some little kids jumping up and down on some trampoline while attached to rubber bands. it was pretty cute. They were tiny kids. walked around some more and thought maybe i would take a look at the recreation area but it sounded like a million people were over there. so i came back to the condo and got onto the computer. i am typing out on the deck. it is really nice. i like these trees. i am going to read now and then watch some tv or maybe a movie. i brought some movies but for some reason i only want to watch the ones that are on tv which i have already seen before. I liked the movie last night.


JULY 9TH, 2007
i left the sliding glass door open last night and woke up at 3 am with a start. sounded like something was at the screen door. freaked me out. i just stared at the screen door to see if i could see any movement but i never saw anything. was wide awake for awhile and eventually fell asleep. woke up and got my stuff and walked over to the chairlift. 5 minutes. sweet. went up in the gondola with some kid with a Planet X jersey. I didn't ask him about it because he kept talking and talking. i went up the chairlift to do Livewire. The trail was wet with puddles. It was okay to go down. I decided to try it again so i could catch some air on the first couple of jumps. i couldn't really ride too hard because my shock was so soft. so i am going down the trail after the jumps where it is all rocky and i get another front flat. damn it. have to walk down to the gondola and the guy there says you can get a tube in the tent over there so i went and got a 2.35/2.75 thick tube for 7 bucks. fixed it pretty quick and went up the lift on the left and did the same trails as yesterday. shock was clanking pretty good. I did manage to tweak my left ankle but not bad at all. My biceps would get kind of pumped up and feel not sore but like I was working them out.My ankles are the most sore of everything but even that is not too bad. my calluses are pretty good too. I went down several more times and then my knees were getting sore and my hands and fingers too so i went and did Little Trees and some other trails in that area. Nothing that great but i did go down some cool easier trails. i think it was Woods and Upper and Lower Mineshaft which would be good for Eliazbeth. After that I cruised back to the condo and took a shower and then went to The Turn and got some food. Before I got my burger some assholes lit up cigarettes at their table. They left a couple minutes later but why couldn't they just light up when they left? Other people were annoyed too. Ate came back to the condo and fell asleep. Woke up and walked over to the village and around there for awhile. What a ghost town. Walked back and then walked around in the trees and stuff. i was wearing my flip flops so i had to be really careful. I was looking for a cool branch for the patio for the birds but I never found anything that I liked. I ended up taking my walking stick and a big piece of bark. I just watched Under Siege and now Bourne Supremacy is on so I guess I will watch that. It wil be nice to be home. Not looking forward to the 4 hour drive home tomorrow. Maybe I can stop by Pleasanton or San Ramon or something. It will be nice to see Elizabeth again. I started packing some stuff up but there is still a lot of things.

Messy House

I looked around the apartment and it is messy. Not gross messy but stuff just sitting on the floor.Coke cans, books, magazines, clothing, dvds keys, wallet, money, blankets, cats...

Calabazas is boring already. I went there again yesterday. Isaac got there at the same time and still wasn't that fun. It was okay but the place is all rocky and rough except for the horseshoe pack. Did see a guy 3 a bunch of them and also 3ed Cave Step.

I got a $20 tool to take off my bb on the Turner. Put on chainguide fairly easily. Too easy?

Watched Dejavu which pretty much would have sucked except Denzel Washington was in it and made it okay.

I am sleepy right now. And tired.

Calabazas-Jimmy, Mike F, Roger, Isaac

Went there once again after work on Friday. Glad I did because Jimmy is moving down to San Diego tomorrow morning. Bummer that such a great guy and rider is leaving. Had fun riding with him. It was always a session and a good time when he was there.
Calabazas is looking a little better. The horseshoe pack was swept and watered so it is looking prettty good. The step down thing is fun but I still haven't tried the step up. Figure I will do it when there aren't so many people there.

Elizabeth is going to Folsom for a few days.

Calabazas

Old picture of Calabazas I found on calabazasbmxpark.com






Been there three times now. People I have seen: John Hauer, Taylor, bmx Josh, Theo, Josh, Squirell, Butthead, Rian Barth, Wampler, Isaac, Quasi Mike, and some others I can't think of. Lots of people are going there. The jumps still suck but it is good to see old faces again. I am doing better but not good. Slowly learning how to jump Zone 3. Only can do the first three and very rarely the other ones. The step down into Cave Step is fun to do but then there is nothing to do after since I haven't done Cave Step (yet).

Metcalf and Calabazas

I went to Metcalf and there was around 10 people there. I forgot my red card thing and the ranger guy gave me all this attitude about me and others not having their card and hour much time they spend looking it up and so on. Him and two other ranger types were just standing on the steps bullshitting when I pulled up. He annoyed me. The beginning of riding was boring and I thought about just going home and selling the dirt bike. Then I started to get a little faster and was riding the mini mx course and I had fun. I wnet back to the beginner oval thing and the bike stalled when I was going up the big hill. I ran out of gas. Had to push it back to my truck and refuel. Spilling gas all over my glove of course. Went back to ride and it was kind of like starting over again. got going, went back on the mini course and i wanted to ride Trail 1 so I rode the mx course and when I felt like I was doing that good I went straight to trail 1. It started off with a hill which I was nervous about but when I saw it I was relieved how easy it looked and it was easy. Get to the top. oh shit. I don't like going downhill and it was steeper going down. I creeped down the trail, glad that no one would be coming. get to the bottom relieved and happy. Clear sailing now. Turn a corner and oh shiittt. big, long, loose, bumpy uphill. my thought was I am screwed but i had no choice so i gave it some gas and hoped for the best and somehow i made it to the top. thank goodness. then it was easy cruising back to the lot. the trail is really short. i thought about doing it again but i figured that was beginners luck. then i rode the mini course a little more but my knees were beginning to hurt so I stopped. loaded up and went to my moms house.

CALABAZAS- Drove over there and Isaacs truck was there so I was happy to see that. Put on all my gear and rode in. Saw Kyle right off. Haven't seen him in a year. and then i rode the crappy jumps in the middle. not too much to say about the jumps because they pretty much suck right now. But i did get to see Josh, Kyle, Kevin and some other people I don't know. I had fun but I had fun because of the people who were there not the jumps.

Northstar July 4-9, 2007

$743.70 Hope it is fun. I just realized I probably should have gotten my downhill bike all fixed up before I booked the room.

Day off since I work on Sunday. I plan on going to Metcalf and to Calabazas later on.

LAKE TAHOE !!! pictures are too much of a pain in the ass

Monday June 11th- We kind of wanted to leave at 10 and ended up leaving at noon. I got some stuff at 7/11 to watch it get bigger with the elevation.

Nothing too exciting about the drive there that I can remember other than we stopped at some random gas station on the way there to use the bathroom and it turned out to be the same one we went to last year. That was kind of weird. I was getting a headache the higher we got and by the time we got to Tahoe it was going pretty good. Then it got worse and then it really hurt. Then I began to feel kind of sick to my stomach. I just layed in bed being miserable and hoping that I would feel better and the trip wouldn’t get ruined by me being sick. Kept thinking how Elizabeth felt sick when we went to Wildflower and now me. So that is what I did the first day in Tahoe. Big time headache.

Tuesday June 12th- I woke up feeling fine. Cool. We went over to Raleys to get some groceries. We got a lot.

Then we loaded up the bikes and went to BIG MEADOW to ride the trail there to Round Lake. Never been on that trail before and the guidebook made it sound pretty cool. We cross the highway and onto the trail. Holy crap. It is super rocky. As in carry your bike over some sections. I tried to ride as much as I could but I was also on Elizabeth’s Nomad and didn’t want to ruin the rims or anything. I already changed the handlebars, seat, and pedals to fit me. Hee hee. After a short while the rocks were gone and we were able to actually do some riding.We get to why it is called Big Meadow. Cool.


Ouch. Ouch. Mosquitoes !!! Damn these creatures. I hate them. I kill them with disdain. Terrible thing to have on earth. We keep riding, uphill. Each time I would stop some mosquitoes would show up. Trail was all right but the mosquitoes didn’t help. Kept riding and I think I see a patch of snow up a little bit but I keep quiet. It is snow so I get the camera out and wait for Elizabeth. She is quite happy.




We head on, uphill. Get to go downhill for a bit and end up at Round Lake. Beautiful. So nice. We stayed there for a pretty long time just sitting on a big log. It was great.



We finally head back and hang a left at some trail that leads to Christmas valley trail. There is a creek we would have to cross so we turn around and go back uphill. Again! Get to the top of the uphill and then it is all downhill. Wee. I would ride down a bit and then stop for a second to wait for E. Then go down ,stop, go. I didn’t have to wait too long but I worry when she is going downhill. There were some random rocks and some of the turns were slippery when you are going fast. I guess everything is harder when you go fast. Go down some stairs. Bump bump bump.


Get to the rocky section and it isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I think I rode everything. Sometimes two or three times so we could get some pictures and video. 9.21 miles total.
Get back to the parking lot and take a leak in a pretty gross bathroom. The outside looks really nice but then you go in and it is just a pit toilet and that thing was full.

We weren’t too tired so we went over to FALLENLEAF TRAIL.6.98 miles. The trail was pretty crappy. We crossed some bridge and rode for a bit. It was beginning to get late and I started to worry (too much) about the sun going down and us getting stuck out there in the dark with not enough clothing and me in my sunglasses. We turned around and headed back and made it back to the car no problem. I kept thinking what if we get a flat or some other mechanical.



Wednesday June 13th,2007- GUNMOUNT TRAIL-11.42 miles. We parked next to some pond that must be stocked with trout all the time. We crossed the road and there was a big rock that I messed around on for a minute. The first part of the trail was all right. We found some crappy jumps. The dirt in Tahoe sucks for trying to build jumps and berms. We ride for a awhile and it is okay. Nice bridge and stream where we stop for awhile. That was pretty cool. I was riding the Nomad and was wearing my Fox Huck shorts with underwear. It has never been a problem since I always have to stand to pedal my Planet X. My butt hurt sitting on that seat though. It kind of ruined the ride. Nothing exciting about the trail. End up at Highway 50. We could’ve ridden back the same we came on the trail but I didn’t want to and E didn’t want to either so we hit the road back to the car. The ride on the road was better than expected. Get back to the motel and shower and head back out.
Get to the BMX TRACK and there is about 10-15 people there. Ride the track and it is super fun. I had such a good time there. E took a bunch of pictures and video. I rode for awhile. 6.70 miles at the track. Jumped pretty much everything. Nothing was that big but it was still fun. I kept getting winded and would have to rest. Tahoe BMX rules!!!

I watched some stuff on RSN, the local Tahoe outdoor show. E wants to go look at stars. I am into the show but there are too many commercials and we finally leave later than E wanted. We drive up 89 and it is pitch black. We stop at some turnout and I am not at all comfortable. We leave pretty quickly. I didn’t like it but the stars that I did see for that short amount of time was really magnificent. We drive back and she pulls over again next to a house. I still am not comfortable. We head home and then stop in town and walk along the path for a short while but the stargazing sucks. We go home.











Thursday June ,2007 KAYAKING- we drove over to Zephyr Cove and it cost $8 to park. We walked around a little. There are some kayak rentals but more expensive than the ones we had a flyer for. We decide we might as well rent a double kayak here. She gets in the front and me in the back. Start off a bit shaky but get a hang of it pretty quickly. The water is really clear and you can see the sand and then the rocks. I was hoping to see fish but all we saw were rocks and some cool looking bird.



We paddle to the end of the cove and then head back and then turn around and then paddle here and there. E doesn’t like being in the front so we head to shore and switch positions and paddle around some more. I want to get on some big rock and get a picture but E is really against it so I stay in the kayak. We paddle around some more here and there and see another bird and some baby birds and something else.




Of course when we are heading back to get out of the kayak the big paddle boat of old people is at the dock and a million old people are there. We get out no problem though. I want to go possibly swim so we get a towel and my goggles and walk up the beach aways. Find a nice spot and the water is really cold. Brrr. I pretty much just wade in a bit and end up on some big rock and kind of get stuck there. I was there for awhile just kicking back. I really don’t want to swim to shore which is only like 20 feet away. Finally I jump in and I thought the water was much deeper. I was out in a second and wasn’t even cold. We hang out a little bit more and then finally leave. Go to Safeway to get some food and then back to the motel where I found out the tops of my feet are all sunburned and same with the top of my thighs. My back is a little red but my feet are definitely sunburned.
I watch Ultimate Fighter which was cool and then find out that there is another show after that and watch that one also.





Friday June ,2007 MR. TOADS WILD RIDE- Elizabeth drops me off at the top of Toads and I miss the trailhead and turn around and take some pictures.



I start riding uphill. It is tiring and tough. I keep taking pictures of the trail while I am riding. I am wearing my Transalp with my shin and elbow pads inside and my full face strapped to the outside. It is heavy. There are 3 guys at the junction which is a relief because I was afraid I would be alone going down toads and I would crash and be stuck there. Keep riding uphill. 3 miles of uphill and I get to where I think toads starts but I am not 100 percent sure so I ride a little more and it doesn’t seem right so I turn back and 2 of the guys are at where I think the trail is. I put on my gear and head down. Starts off all mellow and then HOLY SHIT ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! I stop and take some pictures and some girl comes down with a basket on her bike. She must have been a local and she had a good bike. She just puts her pads in the basket for the ride up. She goes down most of the rocks and gets off to walk the worst of it. I go down it and go off the little drop at the end and she said something encouraging. I keep going down the trail and it is really hard. Super rocks. It was challenging but not actually that much fun. Fun but…I ride down some more and my chain gets stuck in my chain guide. SHIT. This could be bad. 2 of the guys pass me and then basket girl. Luckily I brought my big and also heavy allen wrenches. I take off the top guide and get the chain back on and put the guide back on without some of the washers. I am not too confident that the chain is going to stay on. Keep thinking it is going to get jammed in there again. I ride down some more and go down the stair section. Bam bam bam. Ride down for awhile and the trail gets better and better. Really fun. I pass the 2 guys who are waiting for the third guy and then I pass basket girl. There is a rock jump and I go for it and get all squirrelly. Go a short distance and Elizabeth is coming up the trail. I stop and basket girl rides by and then we sit. We wait for the guys to come by. But they don’t. I am pretty tired and I am wearing my knee pads so we don’t go back up the trail and head down. The trail is fun. We ride back to the car and I get a Coke and we get out the chairs and sit in the shade. It was nice.






We then go ride up the road so we can do CORRAL TRAIL. The road is a tough long 3 miles. I ride and walk. Ride what I can and just walk. I rode all of it last year. I probably could have done it this year but why bother. We finally get to the top and Elizabeth is looking to hot.



I am pretty worried. She says she might faint. Might throw up. Stuff is spinning. After awhile of sitting there we go down the trail. The trail rules. I mean rules. I am still worried about E. We ride down. LOTS of berms, a log ride, more berms, more berms. Woo hoo. Ride down and we get to the whoop de doos and they are so fun. Whee. Then we ride back to the car with smiles on our faces.
I called work to see if I can get Monday off also. Eric is there and he doesn’t want to say I can take it off or not so I just tell him I will call Padma tomorrow and hope Katie isn’t there.
I don’t want to go back to work. I want to stay here and play all summer long.





Saturday June 16th, 2007 POWERLINE TRAIL- The opening day for Tahoe was today and they were routing the cars down our street so we decided to ride from out motel instead of driving somewhere to ride. There were some jackass college type bros in a ditch in front of our motel throwing pine cones and drinking beer and being retarded. We rode to the beginning of Powerline Trail and rode that. What a great trail. One of the best. We kept riding and basket girl rode by going in the opposite direction. Small world. Kept riding, got to the bridge at Cold Creek and took the only pictures on that trail. E had the camera. Kept riding and ended up at junction for High Meadow. Kept going and went down some atv trail. Not really sure where we are going but we keep going. E is getting tired and I am not really that sure if it would be better to turn around and go back the way we came or to keep going and pop out onto the road but farther away from the motel. E is low on water so I give here some of mine which I don’t have that much of. We decide to keep going and right away there is a sign. We turn on some trail and go a short way and there is a truck which is a good sign. Then we pop out onto a road. Then I feel more loss because who knows how many roads there are. But we make it to Pioneer Trail quite quickly. Head back to the motel and take some side dirt trail at Al Tahoe and end up on the main road and head back to the motel. 14 miles later.
We eat and shower and immediately walk over to the hotel area because the motocross jump show is going to start soon. Walking sucks. Get there and we see the jump and wait a little and then the announcer guy comes out and juggles and then the band plays and then the motocross guys jump. It was actually pretty cool. Way better than I was expecting.



After that is all over we go into Bills Casino because it is smoke free. E loses $1.00 on some boring slot machine. Then I lose a dollar on boring slot machine. I want a beer. Only because I am in a casino. And also because my mouth was all dry. I get a Smirnoff Ice for a buck. Cool. E spends a buck on wheel of fortune game. Boring. I spend a dollar on video poker and lose and lose and then I win and am up to $2.10. I cash out and get some ticket. I then go to the slot machine to lose my money. I cash out at 10 cents so I would have a souvenir. We then walk around some more. They had a band playing u2 on a roof of some hotel, Hawaiian tropic bikini contest, a couple motorcycle and cars for show, some creepy stilt guys, and some crappy flea market type booths. The mx show was cool and the band that played beneath them were cool. U2 guys were all right. But how much U2 do you want to hear ? Then we walked back home and that is about all.
In room writing this after 10 and the retarded bros are across the way. They are loud door slamming type assholes. They just left and I am really not looking forward to those idiots coming home all drunk.


SUNDAY JUNE ,2007 1 pm I feel sick to my stomach. Uggh, this sucks. I put on a bunch of bug spray and inhaled some so I am hoping it is just that and that I will be okay in a little while. We went to go ride Corral Trail but I was beginning to feel ill so we turned around. Good thing to because I feel awful right now.
There was some asshole yelling last night at 1:40 am. For quite awhile too. And then there were the bros across the way. Figure the best thing to do is stay here during the week and stay somewhere else for Friday and Saturday.
I am going to lie down now. I did manage to scratch my back pretty good on the shower door. I wonder if I throw up I will feel better.?

Stayed in bed until 7 30 when Sammy Hagar started playing. Elizabeth and I walked over and listened for awhile. It was pretty crappy. Then we walked through all the casinos. And back to the motel. I watched lots of American Chopper which I liked.

Monday June 17th 2007 We didn't do anything in the morning except pack up and leave. We stopped by the amusement park. E didn't want me to do the go kart so we left for home. Drove through Davis and Benicia on the way home. Seemed a bit faster. I thought about going to Metcalf to ride my dirt bike but there was traffic already at 4 so I just dumped some stuff at my moms and then came over to Elizabeths place. Simon and Fozzy didn't seem to care to much that I was back. I looked through a bunch of pictures to put on this blog but it is too much of a hassle to do.