arabesque for the lonely

Re: Bike Messengers and Bike Racers

2012-02-10T16:42:00.005-06:00

Begin original correspondence:

Hello John,

Thank you for the interview last year. I am still working on my bicycle study.

I have a question about the link between bike messengers and bike racers.

I learned that Nelson Vails, the silver medal at the 1994 Los Angeles Olympics, was a bike messenger from Harlem in New York.

I also learned that some of the historical Colombian bike racers participated in the Tour de France used to ride bikes for work.

So I wonder if there are still many bike racers in the US who has either a bike messenger or another job use biking. Are there any other successful US bikers have similar bike work background?

A lot of people told me that bicycling is becoming an expensive sport and hard to be a successful racer unless you come from a rich family.

What do you think? Do you agree? Can you share me your perspective and experience?

best regards,

Toshi

Begin Response Here:

So good to hear from you, Toshi.

There are several accomplished messengers turned pro. Probably one of the most accomplished and current is Jason McCartney. He left the pro peloton and worked as a messenger before retuning to the pro ranks and riding for Team Radio Shack. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/15/sports/olympics/15bikes.html

Another messenger turned pro (and personal friend) is Jen Purcell. She was a messenger back in the early 2000s in Dallas and made a name for herself in the Texas scene. She went back to school and after graduating got back into racing. Two years ago she won three national medals and rode last year looking for a contract. She finally got one with Team Tibco and will be doing some time in Europe.

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/lifestyle/95323979.html

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/tibco-with-split-olympic-and-nrc-focus-in-2012

Finally, there is Craig Ethridge. Another friend of mine, he has made quite a career of messengering and racing single speed in the cyclocross world.

http://www.thebicyclestory.com/2010/11/craig-etheridge-a-world-champ-talks-messengers-and-ss-cyclocross/

That's not it at all. Craig is a good example of a messenger who competes as a messenger and also as a bike racer. Another exapmle would be Austin Horse. Austin is a New York messenger, very similar to Craig in that he competes as a bicycle courier at events around the country and at national and World messenger events, except Austin is a "sponsored" messenger and has done commercials and was a stunt double in the recent messenger film "Premium Rush." This is the way of the modern messenger, of sorts...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/02/nyregion/the-bike-messenger-goes-hollywood-as-a-culture-dwindles.html

The sport of cycling is expensive, no doubt. And with any sport, the sacrifices make as much the champion as overcoming the challenges. I brought a lot of enthusiasm to the sport. And by that, I mean, that I had not a clue how much I was lacking in regards to all the right gear. But I showed up over and over again to the hardest, most elite group rides in Austin until I couldn't be ignored anymore. I would hang on or finally get dropped (not keeping pace with the group) on the outskirts of town and keep the group in sight until everyone made it back to town and I could catch up at stop lights. Finally someone asked me to accept some recycled gear and training advice. I was so eager and grateful.

I don't think this is very typical of most bike messengers. And all of the above individuals reflect a pursuit on the bicycle that included being a bicycle messenger. There are very valuable traits every individual learned as a messenger that allowed them to compete at a high level or attain notoriety as an accomplished athlete and a stepping stone for what these individuals needed to get where they are today.

What, you ask, are those traits? Ha! Go work as a messenger for a few months, I wouldn't want to spoil it for you!

jt

Hello from Costa Rica

2012-02-09T20:38:00.001-06:00

HEy heY hEY!

So can you believe I made it all the way to Costa Rica without any clear directions on where I was going? I knew that I would have to take a taxi from the airport to Playa Pelada, so when I landed I hired a taxi and set off on the two and a half hour journey. It was about 11:30 by the time we rolled in and the roads had long ago gone from smooth pavement to bumpy dirt roads. My driver, Fernando, was playing some of his jams at my request cause we were both getting tired. He still had to turn around and get home to his wife and two kids. I had him drop me off at a Hotel as if I was going to get a room, but I didn't really think that was my plan so when the owner of the hotel came out because his German Shepherd was threatening to tear me to bits, I politely asked him if he knew where my friends lived. He didn't, so I set off down the road. Yea, so I'm in a third world country at midnight, walking with my luggage down the dirt road to I-don't-know-where, but I felt safe and maybe I knew the whole time that this was the part of the trip I could never plan but needed the most. Or to get this part out of the way first....

I found the internet cafe and tried their wireless network. Password required, of course. The cafe opened at ten so i knew that at the very least I could find my friends in the morning once I could get online. Someone I spoke to told me, "if worse comes to worse, man, and you don't find your friends tonight, then you sleep on the beach and we'll see you in the morning."

"which way is the beach?" i asked.

"300 meters that way."

About 100 meters away I could hear the rumble of the waves and I was pretty sure at that moment that I came to Costa Rica to try and make friends with this wild beast.

I got lucky that night with the almost full moon casting its pale light over the entire shore. Earlier in the night, there was a big ring around the moon just right above my head.

Slowly it traveled west over the ocean and was just about to fall into the water as the sun rose.

The volume and the fluctuating intensity of the waves woke me up several times and once I realized I was a little too close to the water as the tide moved in and threatened to wash me and my belongings out with it.

The next morning it was real easy to find an internet connection and see that my friends has supplied me with a telephone number, which they answered immediately. Evan had stayed up all night, worried, and Lauran had to tell him all night that she could feel I was safe. I keep comparing this trip to the other trip I took out of the country ten years ago that was purely for exploring another part of the world and how I ended up homeless in London the night before I left. That night I stayed on the River Thames all night walking up and down the river and reading my book.

The past couple of days have been what I imagine the rest of my stay here will be like: wake at 6, surf, yoga, sleep through the heat of the day, and then surf till the sun sets, eat and sleep by 10.

Pura Vida!

Revolutions

2012-01-06T01:40:00.000-06:00

Two moons, huh?

End of 2011

2011-12-14T17:06:00.003-06:00

Rains came
Rose bloom
It's mid December
It's not June
Don't care
Bye bye gloom
We'll sun salute
Till next moon.

Letting go

2011-10-25T11:39:00.001-05:00

Summer, you're like an addicted lover, don't know when to quit. Your heat gets you so angry. I tell you every time I don't believe it will be better next time.

Autumn, don't one night stand me. Come lay next to me and I'll wrap myself up in new lovers (layers) for warmth.

Summer to Fall

2011-10-25T09:09:00.002-05:00

I can't wait to show you where i got scorched.

85 degrees is the new hoodie weather.

All the swimming i did this summer i could have reached an island by now.

Next rain storm i'm shedding all my clothes.

This morning my light faded. Somehow the dark had its way of leading me on. The sliver of moon in the sky peeked from behind its shroud.

In a Day

2011-09-15T00:48:00.002-05:00

In a day

It's 6pm. I haven't practiced yoga all day.

I slept in after I fought the sheet I sometimes covered up with, tossing and turning and blaming it for its hot grip. After ignoring my three alarms I periodically rolled out of sleep to check the time on my phone. At 8am there was a text that finally got my ass in gear. It was a friend telling me that the venue for an event I and a handful of couriers want to host our national courier race at is booked on one of the dates, but the owner wants to meet me tomorrow, he can ask and possibly get them to open up the date for us. Time to man up.

Why did I put off the practice?

I jumped on my bike cause I had to leave the hard scene I associated last night's sleep with. It's interesting when you work for yourself because in my line of work I gauge it on how much riding I do. Lately, whatever I can encourage forward with our event during the day is accomplished with emailing in between deliveries or collecting wait time or randomly running into the other couriers at a building's bike rack or the cafe. Midday I took a delivery into the comptroller guaranteeing wait time. I handed the documents to the clerk and excused myself to the bathroom. Leaving the stall, I awkwardly ran into one of the state workers who had been on the team I was in touch with in securing street closures for our courier race. I say awkward because it was obvious my stomach was angry for the Lone Stars I drank the night before, cans that accompanied the cafe work for the courier race I pounded out till I was tipsy and out of dollar bills. He received an email that morning which simply stated our resignation from the downtown course due to lack of funds. Bathroom run with the expanded reality of more than I thought getting flushed down the drain…

Finally at 3:30 I rode through the city like I rarely get to. Out to Chicon in and straight thru to Barton Hills after a drop and pickup from a handoff downtown. More waited downtown afterwards and I raced the clock like I imagine I was an orchestra conductor- Perfect timing at a rate that brings so much together but just as quickly gone.

Done with the bike and home.

Leaving my computer open with chat windows open is never a good idea when you should be doing something else especially before your class you have no plan for and you HAVENT EVEN PRACTICED YOGA. Ok. I jump on my mat and immediately get hit up. It's my friend asking about yoga. She's coming. Cool. close the chat box and get this class started. I move for 5 minutes and then instinctively get up and watch 30 minutes of the Thai yoga class Camilla taught us in Yoga Life I have saved on my laptop. I bring that to class. My friend comes to class 8 minutes early and is the only one.

"Private lesson?"
"We'll see. some people usually show up right when class starts.

By the time we start moving there are 9 people there. Definitely one of the bigger classes I've had in a while. Six of them are there in a pair. I work with my friend that chatted me earlier and she got the benefit of being the demoee as I guided everyone through both being the giver and the receiver. Lucky star. She was on her back for almost an hour as we worked on the legs and hips doing some helicopter, splits and swooshing.

We hung out afterwards and she told me the week before she had an ovarian cycst burst and there is a tumor on her ovary that she has to have removed. The last week kept her off her bike too, an outlet of movement. She said her intention that night was to relax. We might have gotten her a little closer to it :) The swooshing made her feel like all the negative energy she had was being pulled out of her.

I came home and practiced. It felt great. Night practice after a day like today has all the same elements- I collapse all over my mat but I'm sticking to this fantastic life of mine.

Cooling Off

2011-08-18T18:20:00.001-05:00

Time to fly.

That's enough heat for now.

I know when the sweat box has sucked all the life lessons out of my body and I barely catch a glance as the water mark rapidly dissipates to vapor.

My mind, like melted wax, attempts to reform in the hours after the sun moves on to terrorize other places. Heat has penetrated everything, though, down to the core. My memory struggles to put it all back together into anything coherent. I keep a sticky note on my mirror in my bathroom reminding myself I'm not a burn victim.

Consecutive days of pedaling over the blistering asphalt moving documents, food, chihuahuas or my body across a finish line has a tendency to burn simple yet effective life lessons into my day to day experience:

1. Don't die.
2. Hurry up and wait.
3. Be the cooling element.

The one cooling element in my life has been suffering lately from overuse and lack of flow- Barton Springs. The water has even gotten murky. It's usual crystal clear water has been cloudy and in some places the bottom is not visible.

Time to go.

Fly to find coolness.

Location:Metropolis Dr,Austin,United States

Tulsa Tough Race Reporto

2011-06-26T02:13:00.002-05:00

The 2011 Cat 1/2 edition of Tulsa Tough was everything a Wooly Mammoth looks for in a race weekend:

Tradition:
I knew of all three races offered over the weekend, my best chances at a result were on Friday night. I love me a technical course and a loud, cheering crowd on city streets is more intoxicating than the suds consumed by the tifosi all weekend. I focused all my energies into bringing home a result on the atmosphere that best suited my abilities, as is the Wooly tradition. As if the course and the pace were not enough to surmount, the best way to cross the line is to not know if you really survived or are merely projecting an image to your consciousness while your soul is wandering in the space between life and death that can only be described as….

Ultra:
It was all gonna stay together. Twenty minutes in I rolled off the front for a few. I had plans to make a last minute ditch but the opportunity to blaze around the crowd-lined course and get some live stream time for Wooly's sponsors was too tempting early on. The ultraness of the race became apparent as the sun set. Protective Indian Spirits cloaked as storm clouds began to blanket the perimeter of the course and plan a timely attack. Race promoters cut the race short in the hopes of out foxing the looming storm by slicing off five laps. Two laps to go the lightning strike and quickly answered thunder crack was intro to fat rain drops. Half a lap later, going into the last lap, the skies opened and the noise level externally was on full blast from every source. The crowd seemed amplified. The race announcer (who was amplified) began the chant, "One to GO! One to GO! One to GO!" No longer were we the flying, confident, semipro athletes our logo laced lycra advertised us to be. We were a pack of panicky kids being forced to take an unwanted ice skating lesson. The levels internally were tranquil, tho. Every pedal stroke seemed like the last option at ground touching earth. At every turn more of the peloton washed away in the quiet of the storm as it swallowed most of its victims whole, bike and rider, to appease its appetite. I crossed the line 6th. It was death, no? The rain gods had more in store for this Wooly to complete the cycle of….

Romance:
Sound Pony is the cyclist's bar in Tulsa. Saturday's race course goes right past it and it is a great place to catch all the action flying through and then watch the rest of the moves on the big screen strategically placed out front. The dance floor that night may have seen the likes of cyclists, some still in lycra and helmet, laying down moves only pro romancers are capable of. The romance became too much with one lucky Tulsa resident and the storm that, again, moved in by the Wooly supporting Indian Spirits till 5am could be a cliche comparison…

HELP!

2011-06-14T18:30:00.002-05:00

this is the only way to keep up with things these days: an SOS email I sent a friend. Some of it may make sense and if you're close to me you know what it's all about, but I think that might only be three people and they are tired of hearing it, I'm sure.

Gonna go build up a bike now. Hopefully I have all the parts...

Tulsa was last weekend. Friday nite storming to 6th, Saturday Soundpony dance party extending the night till almost sunrise and Sunday Crybaby Hill. What a great time. Now, I'm gonna hang up the race wheels (not as long this time) and throw some parties.

Begin transmission:

Patrizio,

I am in need of your assistance if you are up for it.

We are throwing a Tour de France launch party with Mellow Johnny's on July 2nd. The party will include an "uphill" team time trial in the spirit of le Tour. I got the State of Texas to donate one of the parking garages across the street from the Comptrollers Office at 17th and San Jacinto. At the top there is a perfect view of the Capitol on one side and the UT stadium on the other. It should be a lot of fun and each team will have one or two riders handicapped with a non-race bike that we will provide them with. This is to keep things fun and not too serious and hopefully attendees will include a wide demographic of cyclists and everyone will have a shot at winning.

Back at Mellow Johnny's, we will have a podium ceremony, food and beverages and the first stage of the Tour will be screening.

This is where I need your help. We have a "maybe" from ____ for food but it didn't sound promising. I am nervous that if I am not proactive then I will be scrambling at the last minute to cater food for 250 people that are expected to show up and support our fundraiser. Because this is a fundraiser, we are trying to get food donated but if we have to pay for it then we will. At this point we have only the little bit of money we raised at the first NACCC fundraiser minus filing fees we've paid the city for street closures. The hunt for title sponsors is on full throttle but nothing yet. I'm only mildly discouraged at this point but looking ahead and planning for the best.

Would you be willing to ask Roberto from _____ to help provide food for our party? if not, could you do an email (re)introduction so I can ask. We've met before and I am pretty sure he remembers me but I am hoping that riding in on your coattails will strike a more personal chord with him and at this point I need to start hearing some "yes's" before I auction off one of my chihuahuas to get this party supplied.

Thanks my man and I hope all is well. Also, if you have any ideas for a podium ceremony al a Tour, please drop it on a note you shout back at me with, I'll probably love it and make it happen.

I'll leave you with this story of something that happened to me yesterday:

I had just left Bird's on 6th, tightening up the Euro mullet and walked past a bum passed out on the sidewalk near the corner at Waller. I didn't see the rise and fall of his chest to signify breathing so I turned back and was like,

"Hey! Are you OK?"

"Huh? yea." He crackled almost inaudibly.

"Well will you get off the ground and sit at the bench so I believe you?"

That's when I noticed dried blood on the side of his face. He started to get up and I continued, "Do you want me to call an ambulance for you?"

"Will you?" What a waste, I think I may have thought. But still I pulled my phone out and dialed. EMS asked me some questions and I relayed the questions and was informed that he had had a seizure. I felt mildly ashamed at my first thoughts but glad I stopped to help out.

Within minutes EMS, AFD and APD were on the scene. I didn't know if I was needed anymore so I started to walk on the perimeter of this now "save a life" scene. An officer looked over and asked if I was the one who called and I said yea. I explained what happened and she just nodded. AFD were talking to him about his seizures and just as I was about to leave someone called my name. I looked over and it was Mason O'Neal. He had rubber gloves on and he gave a quick fist punch and then moved in to help this guy out.

For some reason I felt real good then. I thought of you, man. I'm real happy for you and I hope to get a chance to visit when things settle down.

Take care,

JT

Applause

2011-04-14T15:53:00.002-05:00

before my restorative yoga class at Mellow Johnny's, I clear the space and get a little practice in for myself. Yesterday was no different. Batman busied himself with checking out all the latest lint on the floor while I opened up the body after a day of deliveries that simulated hill repeats and stop/starts.

step into lunge
back foot moves in, drop the heel, straighten the front leg

and fold......

Parsvottanasana. five breaths and I know where to go next:

back foot lifts:
standing splits.

I got my hands on the ground and my lifted heel kicks up:

handstand
and I start counting breaths. I almost always hold my breath in a handstand cause its too hard to do anything else. this time, i just float, listen as the labored inhale seeps out as the exhale is an afterthought. and this is playing in my head space:

Finally I come down and over the blare of my headphones I hear the distant sound of applause.

My longest handstand to date had an audience and they saw the whole thing. Not only that, they applauded my effort. I look over to see

Batman, my 5lb Chihuahau, walking in my direction. He sat quietly the entire time i floated and soon as I came down shook the effort to sit still, causing his collar and tags to clank together and sound like applause. He walked over bashfully wanting to congratulate me with a wag of his tail, which for his size means his whole bottom half sways back and forth, and a lick.

Gratitude.

Take this with you

2011-03-29T14:55:00.001-05:00

I feel like sometimes I know exactly what's missing and I focus all my energy on it as a lacking...

O man, to be vulnerable in the presence of that unattainable is worth losing over and over again. If patterns represent the grooves we've carved in our brains, I'm walking down an old path. Or possibly I've seen scenery like this somewhere and I've made a connection to sometime long ago that takes me back or threw me again off track.

But beyond knowing is a concentration of every experience I've tried to horde, garnish or strengthen myself with. Tho it always seems with so much effort, at the center, it's just me. I smell my skin and see myself at age 9 and I see myself going head first, heart abandoned into my purpose everytime. For the record, i still have not a clue what that purpose is exactly. Sometimes, I'm...
Most of the time....
Always I think it's love and then I think, "what a lovely idea." and I'm only willing to work at something long enough before it's apparent I need to move on.

But as every path revisited (hopefully whatever dead end you hit last time is a simple obstacle this time around)- the tracks we make become part of the scenery. And if I stand here for just a bit-

I become the scene.

I am the center of it.

In a day

2011-02-07T16:28:00.001-06:00

Forward reflecting

Lunch breaking

Elevator elevating

Knowing what you're thinking

Location:Congress Ave,Austin,United States

Dear Mama

2010-12-17T17:19:00.001-06:00

It's my mom's 49th birthday and she loves 2Pac and I got these rhymes so I wrote this for the occasion:

Dear Mama,

Growing up with this chip on my shoulder
But now I'm growing older
I dont wanna wake up one day and say I shoulda told her
Try and live without regrets
And I'll never forget
Mornings I wept
Crying for my mom cause she left
Ain't no 9-5
When it's do or die
Single mom
waitress' salary
And there's four pair of eyes
I'm sure you asked yourself why?
I know there were so many bad days and pain
I ain't trying to bring up old shit I'm just sayin
I'm amazed at how u did it again and again
Buying me a clarinet
Barely making rent
Pushing me to be better than where we came from
When it comes to people I'd die for, your the only one.
But that's a long ways away and I know you'd never ask
Cause raising us, you always put yourself last.
Well it's your time to shine
And the hard times, they're in the past
Your little boys are men
And I'm going after that cash
So I can get us those things we never had growin up
When we get to heaven we all showing up
Life worked hard, lived well and loved enough
Believe me, I'll take u in when life's too tough
Cause you gave up your life for me
And the least I can do is be the man you raised me to be
Want you to be there when I have my own family
But right now its my turn to struggle
And make flowers bloom from the rubble
So on your birthday, let me take you by the hand
And my plan is to show you that i understand
You are appreciated

Happy Birthday, Mama!

A Brief....

2010-12-04T16:41:00.002-06:00

if you ever had to file one of these things at the courthouse, you know they are anything but....

here it goes; I'll try and give you the condensed version of the haps...

A summer of treacherous 2hr astanga practice before the sun rose resulted in one of the best Falls ive had. plus, the weather in austin has been magnificent. i've only mysore'd once since september and it was last week after a private lesson i taught at my house. first time i experienced softening in astanga!

well, i put the yoga practice on vacation so i could let my teaching skills catch up. I been teaching three public classes a week and lately a couple private lessons a week too. Dane's Body Shop and Mellow Johnny's are all classes I got started and are donation based classes. I sometimes teach to an empty room but that little kid inside that screams "save the world!!" has a new toy. Some of the things that come up while I'm teaching are just like the shit that can come up while on the mat as a practitioner . Except, as the teacher I find myself asking, "do i really believe that?" to something i just said. its cool to let myself believe some universal things are floating around up there.

I should also mention that writing yoga sequences is how I try and be a crafty poet these days. call it a new found focus on love for All equalling love for the One or just reliving my high school days when i wrote sappy poetry for the school newspaper: this, i know is the alchemy in yoga asana, infused into my body by Lauran Janes, and how it can reach an entire room of yogis and yogins of differing abilities. everyone has the tools to come closer to alignment...

trying to be brief...

its December and Batman and I have been at the cafe for the last couple of hours enjoying the sunny 70's but the sun is beginning to set finally. wish you could feel it...

Guess i should also mention that I'm back on the bike, riding for a new team, Wooly Mammoth, started by my friend, Patrick Newell. Patrick has been a bike messenger about a year longer than I, and we recently laid down firearms aimed at each other's faces to race and work together. Oh, yea, my company, Beat the Clock, hired our first riders last week! Welcome Patrick and Danny, two guys that compliment the handsome hustling skills of Ian and I. Last week was huge, kinda like starting all over again. But on Friday, when all four of us were banging out orders, I had the feeling that now we are the only ones who will get in the way of our success.

Its a long road and its far from over but im finally not trying to be anywhere, just really caught up enjoying the ride.

whuts knew?

2010-09-27T21:13:00.002-05:00

.....is all thats known......

when you practice at putting your life together viscerally daily, you gotta start wondering when it happens in every other paradigm. or if your like me, you start to live the dynamics of both ends. find ground at 6am with 2hr asana and then 2:30am float out the club; sweat-soaked, heart spoke she said she seen it all i said no you didnt.

MoonDay

2010-05-27T19:37:00.001-05:00

rooftop sunset
always facing west
movement suggests
a beautiful death
summer storm
somewhere over there
full moon
foolish man
lone star can
guide a heart to bloom

Summer Crew

2010-05-20T10:44:00.000-05:00

Welcome back, Legolas. Law school will help you argue with the clerks when they won't file yo shit. Get to work, Egi.

PNew. My one time arch nemesis. I now live vicariously through his racing season.

(L-R) Ben, PNew, Egi, Legolas, Tyrone, Parind (groupie). At Little City

All eyes on DMak and his clean whip

I'm missing a few folk, like the Corporate duo and I wanna get one of Kate (even tho she's leaving and won't officially be part of the summer crew).

Things are shaping up for NACCCs in Atlanta. ATX reprazent!

Dream When We Wake

2010-05-07T09:50:00.001-05:00

Slept downstairs lastnight. I usually do that this time of year; prolongs not having to turn on the A/C. Windows wide, door open, ceiling fan spinning- it's almost like camping.

About 3am I awoke and immediately got up and turned on the oven. No lights- I just turned knobs. I opened the fridge and grabbed my pack of tortillas, took one out, and placed it on a cookie sheet- top shelf of the oven.

Then I went back to sleep and fell into a dream....

I was riding my bike and about to blow a stop sign when I noticed a cyclist, waiting at the same stop sign, sticking their knee out as if to prevent me from rolling right thru. I snaked around, looked back to give a "nice try" look and was struck by the beauty of my would-be road blocker.

I stopped.

"actually I do want to stop with you," I began. We rode and our conversation went something like actions and their effect on reaching a more purposeful you....

Awake.

Downstairs on my futon. Instinctually I got up wondering if the tortilla was part of the dream as there was no smell and I didn't notice the stove light on. In the darkness, I switched the stove knobs off (it was on!), opened the oven door and reache inside. I pulled out a roasted to perfection, golden brown, crispy tortilla. I took it back to bed with me and, fueled with the nourishment of my dream, crunched on my tortilla till I drifted back to sleep....

Confession

2010-04-11T20:22:00.002-05:00

I'm a yogi.
Not the kind that smell like patchouli but I am probably every other stereotype you may have about yogis.

I talk about being grounded in a practice as a metaphor for life. I set an intention for my practice, honor it with OM and use the breath as a vessel to send that seed of intent to every cell of my body.

And love for the self...
I never said I was a yoga master!

I started teaching a flow class last week and start another this week. I put together a Yoga for Cyclists at LA's bike shop that goes through May. I haven't raced at all this year and have not even renewed my license. I've had some letting go issues over it but nothing like 12-15hrs in a yoga studio a week to clean the slate.

Fret not, there is more cycling in these legs. Beat the Clock is growing and we just signed up Chipotle for some downtown lunch delivery. SXSW was a thriller; lots o work and hordes of people and traffic.

Ive gotta remind myself that I'm not redefining here, just evolving.

info@portlandpedalpower.com

2010-02-11T23:34:00.001-06:00

Hey!

My name is John Trujillo and in June, after 5 years of being a bike messenger, I decided enough was enough and went indie. Its been a roller coaster of an experience but I think this shit might actually work. I saw a market that wasn’t being offered to the community and it was mostly the bike as a practical application to our modern city. Austin has come a long way in the ways of bicycle infrastructure since I moved here in 2000 and began cycling as a commuter. Its not surprising to see most of the ideas our city employs already being a norm in another city when it comes to the bike. A good friend of mine who works for the city passed your info along to me and I'm excited to see what is possible when bike, business and city all exist in a complimentary plane. Right now, most of our clients exist in the downtown metro area, and we were the first independent service to offer lunch/grocery delivery by bike. I just scored a new account tonight that will put us in another zip code delivering groceries and I'm looking at your website realizing the potential of this gig is just getting tapped into here. I'm only a bike messenger/commuter/racer with supportive friends who believe in this, so it's been awesome to come across your website and if you have any "fatherly/motherly advice," I would listen to with openness.

Thanks,

John Trujillo

Beat the Clock Bike Messengers

www.beattheclockmessengers.com

working fir the coffee breaks and the rap lyrics they inspire

2010-02-03T10:04:00.001-06:00

I pedal thru the muck
I pedal thru the rain
I pedal past problems
Convinced that I'll gain
Ratios over those
With pain overloads

Intro to Life: Assisting the Struggle

2010-01-20T09:01:00.001-06:00

last night i divorced myself
slept on the couch
another day
empty change
wonder if anyone notices
im wearing the same clothes as yesterday

re: howdy

2010-01-06T15:02:00.001-06:00

I been doing
Some
Running so I can support my aunt in the Austin marathon.

I did a whole month of bikram yoga in November which was weird cause I felt like I hated it and now I want to go back

Started seeing a girl in Houston and been visiting her but rapidly realizing
I'm still far away from healthy lovin.

I run a business now, did I mention that last time I saw u? Well, it's kinda slow and I'm racking my head with ideas fir more business and better contacts but all I really want to do is ride my bike.

I'm gonna start Laurens Yoga Life which is teacher training but I don't think I want to be a teacher cause I'm afraid it would kill yoga for me.

Maybe there's more but that's it for now...

RE: hey you

2009-10-23T08:09:00.000-05:00

I like to write sometimes because it's a way for me to see how I feel. Once on paper, my words speak back to me as I read and reread what it is that I felt needed to be expressed.

There are some things that will always be the fabric of what we are, but like a seamstress working tirelessely, it's what we are in the process and not the product where truth and beauty lies. Sew urself together.

It can be a real bitch to not think who we are today is what our past made us to be. You are _____ NOW.

I speak not of love because love is not lost and love is everywhere, you just need to stop and really realize what this waking life is not about to realize that. If you need some help: it's not about jealousy, inflicting physical and psychological pain on urself or others, living in the past, investing your future on maybes and ifs. It is about living right now, learning to channel deep emotion into a selfless practice, loving with no expectations or ambition.

Everyone lives with a personal story of pain and suffering. And it is selfish to think or believe your pain and suffering is any greater or more significant than any one elses.

Love is so great to lose grip of because when we learn to love again it feels just like the first time.

All Access in Excess; Silver City

2009-10-06T21:59:00.000-05:00

Last race of the season was a wet one. The rain let up about twenty minutes before the start and it was actually dry by the finish. Floyd Landis was behind me as we were linin up. I did a double take n then said whattup Floyd? I got my ass pulled at about 45 min.

Bike riding is now for doggie runs,

n grown man bness.

Last weekend was ACL here in Austin. I have never gone to ACL to see music and I didn't have plans this year either. Friday night I went with a friend to go see a free concert at the Power Plant. This iconic building can mostly be seen at night when travelling north on Lamar as you're crossing the river. The neon red lights on the side of the building read, "City of Austin Power Plant." It's an image I can remember from my earliest visits here back in 98 when my brother lived here and I would come for the summer.

I went to the show, but I wanted to see the inside, which happened to be the VIP only section.

Fuck that.

Little ninja action and me n the crew were inside looking for the best spot to dance. Turned out it was wherever we were.

Next night we played the same game. Except this time we brought more movers n a pocket full of VIP passes (did I mention I'm a ninja?). The night turned into early morning and I realized just how much power the building held as I thanked it for two incredible nights of action.

Sunday was recovery day right?

Wrong.

Free pass to ACL and I'm ankle deep in the fukn mud muk. Shitty smelling too.

Backstage for GirlTalk and a few drank while I sing along to Pearl Jam and I'm rollin out to meet my homes at Stubb's for the Ghostland Observatory show. I used to deliver for a law firm when the lead singer was a file clerk there.

Dance trance dance.

This went on till about 5 in the morning. 80's night at Elysium was in there too and I guess that's what I mean by excess.

Coffee and Chomsky

2009-09-29T09:34:00.001-05:00

Woman: Then what's the trick to holding on and not giving up- because it seems like a lot o people need it.

Chomsky: The trick is not to be isolated- if your isolated, like Winston Smith in 1984, then sooner or later you're going to break, as he finally broke. That was the point of Orwell's story. In fact, the whole tradition of popular control has been exactly that: to keep people isolated, because if you can keep them isolated enough, you can get them to believe anything. But when people get together, all sorts of things are possible.

Labor Day, Handstands, Rain and Road.

2009-09-14T23:11:00.000-05:00

Labor Day weekend was already stacked with a 60 mi road race and two 75 min crits.
Why'd I have to go dancing and then show up at the 27th annual Full Moon Ride at 2am Sunday morning? Maybe cause I knew Legolas would be there to make
sure we rode it faster than anyone else or maybe its cause I would have not been able to pick up a stolen, split watermelon slice off the H-E-B parking lot turned 4am bicycle encampment and share it for some popcorn and fat tire. Who really knows?
No doubt I took advantage of a free yoga class on Labor Day's Free Day of Yoga.
Two pack finishes, a $100 prime and a 9th place in the race with the best purse.
,
I'm getting there.
Just need to get used to being turned inside-out-around-upside-down. It's really a heart opener and learning-to-trust-that-which-you-cannot-see-but-supports-you tranquility that frequently reminds me what fear is to me and shallows my breath.
,
When you've been denied something so vital and elemental to existence for an extended period, the offering just received leaves me wondering if this is a sign of the manys influencing the one.
and
Give it one more go in Dallas on Thursday night. 75 minutes of blazing fun and then the race wheels go bye bye for a bit. Still on the bike every day tho. Cars and time become the pack and finish line.

Camus in the Comptroller

2009-08-10T16:11:00.001-05:00

"This world reduces me to nothing. It carries me to the very end. Without anger, it denies that I exist. And, agreeing to my defeat, I move toward a wisdom where everything has already been conquered - except that tears come into my eyes, and this great sob of poetry makes me forget the truth of the world."

"And I want to be this perfect actor. I don't care about my personality and I'm not interested in cultivating it. I don't want to treat my life as an experiment, but to be what my life makes me. It is I who am the experimnet, and it is life that forms and controls me. If I had enough strength and patience, I know how completely impersonal I would become, how far my strength would carry me on the path to active nothingness. What has always held me back is my personal vanity. Today, I can understand that to love, act and suffer is indeed to be alive, but only in so far as we become transparent and accept our fate as a single reflection of a rainbow of different joys and passions. "

"The perfect actor in life is the man who is "acted upon" - and who knows it - passive passion."

Coffee Talk

2009-08-10T09:31:00.001-05:00

Nicole, "I feel like crap. I should have worn shorts."

"But you look good."

"That doesn't matter. You only look as good as you feel."

"Where did you learn such truths?"

"...........from staring at myself in the mirror."

-- Post From My iPhone

In Belief

2009-08-05T22:11:00.000-05:00

Eastside telecasting
The sun gave birth to a full moon laughing
No more shaded sorrow
On this night
It's one light
& upon tomorrow
We'll rise again
Unfurl within
Cause the nights not out
It's who I am

-- Post From My iPhone

Arabesque for the Lonely

2009-08-05T14:06:00.001-05:00

Stenciled 'n designed
Outlined in my mind
The past is forever
Okay in a crime

Showered psychosis
Alone with my focus
Drenched with what's real
And what I know is.....

Static pattern fabric
Or psychosamatic
Hit me with your light
'N please smoke me like an addict

A resolute sublime
A last lunge for the line
An offering within
One breath at a time

Keep it like that
Keep it like that
Keep it like that
Keep it like that

-- Post From My iPhone

Dog days of summer

2009-08-04T13:27:00.000-05:00

Oh comptroller.
I wait n I wait.
I don't expect you, bob, to ever stop mumbling to yourself.
My certificate of good standing doesn't have any bearing on my posture.

-- Post From My iPhone

Beat the Clock & Ally and the Rock

2009-08-01T02:34:00.002-05:00

Beat the Clock is an all bike messenger service I started with my friend Ian. That means I own a small business and work for myself now.

CEO Bitch!

I totally pimp myself out now to make sure I continue to get paid to ride my bike for a living. Today I rode Grendel, a steel touring bike belonging to my good friend Mo, with 48, 1lb bags of coffee beans from downtown Austin to Whole Foods San Antonio in the Quarry. I had a few good friends (many thanks go to Sherri, Stefan, Dave and Jonathan) pace me as far as Gruene, TX and then I was solo the rest of the way. It was pretty grueling as the morning overcast skies flamed up with afternoon sun and the Mexican border's silent whispers became heavy headwinded messages.

My friend, Ally, just got back to Austin from a long bike tour. Her world fell apart when she lost her husband to suicide so she decided to do a lil soul searching while pedaling around the country. In April, she rode from Austin to New York, took a train to Seattle, rode down the west coast, took another train to Iowa and rode across Iowa. She had so many moments that were truly unique and all her own. One day while riding down the coast in California, she spotted a rock all by itself out in the water. The beach was full of rocks just like it, yet this one rock was all alone out there.

"What are you doing out there?" Ally asked the rock aloud. "Everyone is over here and your all by yourself over there. I mean, you look great with the waves hitting you from several directions, and your all glistey, and the birds seem to like you better cause your covered in their poop. Now that I think of it, you seem really happy with yourself right now and it shows cause you look so beautiful!"

Ally then realized she was talking to herself.

In Novella

2009-07-22T00:18:00.005-05:00

At 1145pm i opened the pages of a Marquez novel I was to begin reading. Having devoured Life of Pi with a tiger's appetite,a still empty pit looked for more feast. Living to Tell the Tale had a "book mark" near the back pages I discovered. It was an original certificate of vital records for a woman turning 21 at midnight. Happy Birthday!! Hope u are rowdy as shit tonight.

Ian is in Cozumel for the week. I put the longest, gnarliest scratch on the side if his van when I used it to help T2 move.

Conversation

me: "I feel like my life long struggle will be time management."
T2: " that's all us messengers, fool. We get stacked up with work and backed up into a corner. We become part magic, part tragic and all original!"

In Version

2009-07-14T22:25:00.003-05:00

The light gets brighter
so we burn longer.
The notes strike deeper
and we play a thousand songs.

A different relationship to gravity
means your heart is in another place.

After dark
all the stars in the sky
are notes of a music box.
Wind up bird songs.
Star-plucked progressions
suggesting this could be never ending.

So when we say good-bye
I'll reply with a sigh.

The Bhagavad-Gita

2009-07-09T13:32:00.002-05:00

Shutting off sense
From what is outward,
Fixing the gaze
At the root of the eyebrows,
Checking the breath-stream
In and outgoing
Within the nostrils,
Holding the senses,
Holding the intellect,
Holding the mind fast,
He who seeks freedom,
Thrusts fear aside,
Thrusts aside anger
And puts off desire:
Truly that man
Is made free for ever

I raced today

2009-06-28T17:59:00.004-05:00

78 mile road race in Fredericksburg started at 1030 during one of the hottest spells the Lone Star State has been through in a while. I can't remember the last time I rode that many miles let alone raced them in the TX Hill Country. A short pedal to a 24 mile loop with 1200 ft of climbing per lap. We were rewarded with a full rolling enclosure (that means we had the whole f'n road to ourselves). I missed my feed on the last lap and rode the last 24 miles with one bottle of hot water.
Cramps, oi cramps!
5 guys finished in front of the field. I played my cards right and won the field sprint for 6th. I was hoping to make a lil scratch, but after entries and a $10 burger, I just broke even.
No doubt today was a long brutal day and there was many displays of brute strength. Fir me, there was a lot of surfing wheels just so I could be sure to finish. So while rcing today, I had time to write a lil diddy. Goes like this:
Sittin on the back
Pickin up the scraps
I'm gonna be
Mr. R. I. P
And when I'm dead and gone
Sing ur kids this song
The story of a life
Written on a bike
(repeat 25x)

2009-06-02T21:48:00.002-05:00

Too Far To Tell

Im starting to think you never existed at all

so I stuffed a callin card in the mail.

I set the timer,

waited,

but couldn't tell.

I kept the lines open

but its way past my bedtime

so come callin in between

sheets or dreams.

A dial tone

when no one's home

& Im still waiting by the phone

TipToe

Its not enough to love someone.

Stories spread away the stars

and where we are is along some long bedtime story.

Should have been a perfedt ending

but the rush roundtrip kicked us right back where we began.

As long as were starting over

we can end this one on a good note,

good nite,

good bye,

good boy.

Strange it seems these lines were copied out of a book I wrote to myself.

Lines rewrote themselves cause I wanted to hear what Im listening to now.

what it is, what it do

2009-04-06T21:13:00.003-05:00

working, racing, yoga, losing sleep, heart openers just to watch it close back up.
batman i wish was my alter ego.

new team, kits finally in. we look so pro.
team blog:
Toyota Cycling Team pb GCCA

sunny side up

2009-03-26T22:58:00.005-05:00

I fly by night.
and have a half moon attitude.
When we go by each other,
I'll flash a sunny smile.

Tomorrow is yesterday's future,
and I'm sure I woke up in a dream.
When did I get ahead of myself?
We got some catching up to do.

I fell from the sky
straight into a body of water.
I held on to a fireball.
Why do i gotta wake up?

Salute the Sun.
Set an intention.
Honor the search for that crescent lover.
We all wane what we can't have.

when the musix over

2009-03-22T16:47:00.002-05:00

We'll be there in a few years
I mean minutes
I mean, what's that melody your humming?
If we stop now we may miss the show.
I remembered to write down the lyrics
cause I know you really like to sing along.
We're stepping on stage
and its your turn to let go.
All of it now.
Quietly, I'll carry this overture
over every broken
line,
beat,
heart.
Those aren't memorized words your spraying.
Long ago you gave up the past.
Now you're here.
A no age of now.
And now this song is almost over.
And I'm afraid all you are is this song.
And you'll burn up in that fiery last note.
I've already forgotten your face but I bet I can still hum your melody.

No Repeating This

2008-12-10T21:06:00.006-06:00

Tomorrow marks the one year anniversary of me waking up suddenly in the emergency room of Brackenridge.

At exactly 3:01 pm on Dec. 11th, 2007, I cleared out at 111 Congress and headed north for my scheduled espresso break at Little City. This is a ritual I still practice today and only allow interruptions for express deliveries or the occasional hook up from Lauran at Jo's. The timing of the 3 o'clock double is almost always accompanied by an ironic awakening of office zombies. For the next two hours the feasting of brains is put on hold so the limits of one caffeine-spiked messenger can be tested. Or sometimes I just sit around with no work and daydream about office zombie babes.

On this day, however, I react in a typical fashion to a car attempting to sideswipe me by catching them at the light and removing their side view mirror with my u-lock. The only unusual thing was I misread the light and in an attempt to flee the scene, turned in front of a moving vehicle. As soon as I turned, I knew I was going to get hit.

I knew I was getting hit.

And then I woke up in the E.R not knowing what the fuck was going on.

My boss was there and doctors and nurses were cutting off my clothes and holding me down.

Enough of that. I survived and most of you know I went back to working as a messenger and raced the hell out of my bike. I no longer retaliate against aggressive drivers. Er, almost never. Just so you know what I'm talking about, here's an example:

I'm heading south on Congress and slip in between a Ferrari and a CapMetro bus. As I'm navigating my way through, the bus (on my right) is forced to push to the outside of its lane on account of some a-hole's car improperly parked and their ass is sticking out into the street. This maneuver, while never comfortable, is still just like being up front, right before the finish of a P12 road race. The Ferrari driver was like the rider that just upgraded and is not cool with you being so close and thinks its gotta be some faggot shit that makes you get all up in his bubble. He gave the usual horn blare and as soon as I squeezed through the crack I swung in front of the bus so as not to give any foul, man-play vibes to Mr. Ferrari. To make sure I knew he was honking at me, Mr. Ferrari pulled up next to me and starts shouting, "Hey! I coulda killed you!" This was an obvious attempt at luring me in to a "Na ah!" Where he would almost certainly played the, "You bike riding sissy! I'll teach you!!" But I wasn't going to be lured or netted, so I kept riding, not reacting. Well, Mr Ferrari must have just finished reading this, cause next thing I know there is spit hitting my cheek. If that's not testing my new found anti-retaliation practice, then what is? He followed me a few more blocks and even got behind me and acted like he was going to run me over. Before Cesar Chavez, he sped up to the light in front of me and jumped out of his car. That's when I realized I pissed off a drug dealer. The dude that jumped out of the car looked like this:

Not to stereotype, but I wasn't about to stick around and see if this guy wanted me to join him at his seed spitting contest. As any new practice will open doors, my calmness in the entire matter presented me with a unique opportunity. The stoplight has just turned green for eastbound traffic (where I happened to be going) and I had enough time and bike speed to pull out my water bottle and spray the drug czar down before I slipped into the eastbound flow of traffic. See? No broken taillights, mirrors or bones. Just a $2,000 hit out on me...

Well in preparation for my one year "I almost died" anniversary, I unknowingly lived today to the fullest:

It sleeted and snowed last night and at 7am I was on my bike heading to the gym. I worked out for two hours and squatted more weight than I have all off-season. I got a free shot of espresso at the new Beef and Pie espresso bar and surprised myself at being able to recognize Medicci's beans in the shot. Breakfast with Marsha. She is an amazing friend, cook, writer and bike geek. Home to pick up Batman and head downtown to deliver framed photos of the Governor's Mansion from the 20's as Armbrust & Brown's Christmas present to it's clients. Before I start delivering, I head over to Lofty Dog and dress Batman up like this to help with spreading holiday cheer:

Ya, he looks pathetic in this photo but that's just cause the last time he modeled for a camera he got conned into taking off all his clothes and ended up on some kitty-porn site.

All afternoon I smuggled him past security guards and then let him follow me up and down in elevators and in and out of offices. Zombie office workers were indeed impressed at the talent a brain his head must hold, but were too baffled by the santa suit to try and eat it. I sometimes would have to sit in lobbies while receptionist would parade around the whole floor with santa's little helper. At first he would not follow me into an elevator, but after about the first ten, he would just need a few seconds to decide another ride would open doors to more zombie office babes. So, the elevator door would open, I would get on, and after about 10 seconds, santa's little helper would come leaping over the crack. Sometimes there would be people already on the elevator or we would pick somebody up on the way down and I would just act like I didn't know what the deal was with him. "He just told me he had to get to the lobby, could I please hit the ground floor for him?" Weird that some people thought I was serious.

Back at home I enjoyed some lunchtime leftovers courtesy of Ms Marsha and then back to Progress (I did their bank deposit, like I do every day) for that 3 o'clock espresso. Went up to their yet to open roasting plant and helped Jordan package beans that they are gonna sell in house and at Whole Foods. The roasting plant was bad ass. I love espresso and seeing how delicate roasting beans can be will make me appreciate a good shot even more. Jordan was on a time frame with all the packaging and labeling bags of beans, and with my help we made the deadline, as is the courier style.

Back at home I changed and headed to PureAustin and did Lauren's 75 min Hatha Yoga class. Lauren is like my guru. She tends to share a little bit of herself while teaching and over the last year and some months I have connected with her enough to understand there is no teacher without the student. My body had done a lot physically today but my mind is still going and going and going. I breathe and try to slow it down, but it's the end of the year, I haven't raced in over two months, I have so many doubts and tomorrow, a year ago, I almost died and a year later I'm basically the same shmuck in the same stink. That last statement is not entirely true, but when I bag on myself, I lay it on pretty thick.

And then about 55min in the class, the series of events of today and the anniversary of tomorrow hit me like the truck that started this cycle. I can't believe that if my life is a choice, which it is, I decide to live it the way I did today.

I start to cry.

Class is not over. I recover. Do some hip openers and then during shavasna get an image of my silly dog in his costume today and start to cry a little more.

So if like in Donnie Darko I am really already dead and this last year has been just an amazing trick the mind plays right before I actually die, I have chosen ambition, love, humor and humility as my final act.

Cook it up!

2008-12-08T14:32:00.005-06:00

Tamales I made for Thanksgiving. Three types: 1.black bean and provolone, 2.carrot, broccoli and gouda, and 3.brisket. I rolled about 8 dozen

Was feeling a little spent after a hard week of work and a weekend of riding. Stayed in today instead of going to the gym and made some ckn/rice/veg soup and buttermilk biscuits.

My First Day on the Velodrome

2008-12-07T18:11:00.003-06:00

This was at the Superdrome in Frisco, TX on 11/22/08. I had completed certification that morning. Im racing my new teammate, Jed Rogers, who happens to be a stud on the track. No excuses tho. Sprint lap was clocked at 33mph

Dream

2008-12-07T16:39:00.002-06:00

Had a dream the other night I was sitting down at a coffee shop with none other than the 7 time Tour De France champion. A little history before I continue with this story:

Three times in real life I've had the opportunity to be around this guy. The first time was on the Tues Niter. Guys were riding silly cause he was there. As we were rounding a bend, I passed a guy, already on his limit, on the inside and he rubbed my back wheel and took himself out. He also took out a few of the people around him which could have been The Man. Oh man, that's just what I needed, to be part of crashing out a world champion. Lo and behold, he comes flying past me attempting to bridge up to a break. I end up in a chase group with him and put in my time on the front. Later, we were riding right next to each other and a gap opens in front of us. Before anything is done, I say, "I got it," and close it down. Ha

The next time Mr. TdF and I cross paths is when he is opening his bike shop in downtown Austin. I was locking up at a pole outside and I look over and he is staring at my ride. "Nice shop, Lance," I say. "Thanks!"

Number three was the best. Another Tues Niter. I bridge up to the break and then flat. I change the flat and then start heading backwards on the course. The break is still off the front and I jump back in. He's joined the break and the tempo is brutal. My friend and narcissist Trickey is there too. Mr Trickey enjoys people telling him that he resembles one of the best cyclist in history. Well, as we are rotating through, I too can see the resemblence and audibly point this out to Mr. Trickey, within earshot of all in our intimate group.

So as you can I have managed to rise above the expected standards when dealing with a character of his stature. Nothing against him, but I bet he gets tired of people all over his nut.
Well in my dream I caved. We are sitting down in a coffe shop and I tell him that I anticipate he is going to have a very successful comeback season. "Really?" he probes. I tell him that it may not mean much but I have been following his progress and could predict more great things from him. He seems pleased.

My dream then morphs into a more realistic scene where I am asking Dave Wenger if he is ever going to consider inviting me on one of his rides. It seems hopeless and I walk away as Dille ensures me that it'll happen some day.

Royal Blue 2

2008-11-24T18:02:00.003-06:00

A couple tonight bought blue cheese crumbles, an apple and garlic for some stuffed pork chops. A while later another customer bought some sauerkraut and a Pinkus hefe to accompany his pork chops. Mmmmmmm.......

Lech Jankowski sometimes supplying music, but mostly distorting the concepts and opening all the boxes stored above the shelves to find a lost product...

buried in each other's arms

2008-11-18T00:55:00.003-06:00

"their unity in death suggests unity in life."

Rap is the new Country

2008-11-11T01:07:00.002-06:00

Royal Blue

2008-11-10T17:43:00.002-06:00

Three nights a week I have been working at a small grocery store in downtown Austin. Two of those nights i am here, all alone. It's been pretty interesting considering I have a somewhat active existence down here and now I sit and feed the hungry.

Tonight, I raided a box of samples and ate "Pompuz," bite-sized organic multi-grain crisps, "Nana's," omega-fiber cookie bar, "M13," Assistance health energy functional juice. On the stereo i got an eclectic mix featuring Chuck Mangione, three different artist's rendition of Autumn Leaves, This Will Destroy You, Eliott Smith, Cat Power, Hooverphonic, Hot Chip, the Notwist, Lil Wayne, Al Green, a Janet Jackson and Glsdys Knight tune and more.

Last night was stoner night here. If they weren't coming in sick for cold medicine they were floating in on a personal cloud for ice cream or some other food combo only a THC artist could come up with. My personal favourite was the guy upon realizing we were sold out of eggs was forced to have cereal and milk, microwave popcorn and two boxes of pudding for dinner.

Airing the Revolution

2008-11-06T02:10:00.001-06:00

Beauty of Chambered Chaos

2008-11-05T21:58:00.003-06:00

xi zero (or shavasana)

scripted a story bout you and i
too bad its somewhere
in between these lines
of dream and reality

charged kaon

stabilizing society has its evenness
uninterrupted lines create a necessary flow
we've seen it while standing in line for the show
even your enemies know
don't bite the bullet that feeds

xi minus (or explosions, no why)

strapped to the teeth
he armed the harmless
burst the bubble
dreamt his was penetrable
into the world of make believe
sold the soulless
acres of hope
or what was left
across the divide we marched
beat but not broken
battled but reborn
burned beyond recognition

antielectron photon

between you and i
where was the tragedy?
doubled over and bent
hued in color
no blazes no glory

electron (or chasing dreams)

what's your message?
i got mine
a delivery for the destitute
don't forget it this time

sigma plus (or another sunrise)

topped off
tapped out
pushed in
pulled out.
speakin of softness...
im warmed up
brushed off
talked tough
speakin of spittin...
im out

Halloween Horror Stories

2008-11-03T11:38:00.003-06:00

It's Monday and I'm still hearing about what me and my lone star were up to Halloween, Friday night. The day started so promising. I drove out to Dripping Springs in the morning with a few friends and did a 3.5 hr ride through the autumn leaves of the hill country. My band, Quik Release, an all messenger band, had our first show that night. We rehearsed 5 hrs the night before and I was pretty close to losing my voice by the end of rehearsal. On the ride I isolated myself and used the opportunity to get my vocal chords warmed up. I'm sure some farmer thought I was a cyclist on a walkabout.

Our set was only about 18 minutes. 7 original punk tunes, one reggae jam and two covers. The band got together about an hour and half before to get "warmed up." We rocked the place and then it was time to get our Halloween on. Here's what I hear happened...

-I asked a friend of mine to marry me and have babies
-I found a guy on the street dressed as a puppet and broke his costume trying to control him
-I stuck my camera in my bibs and dropped it in the toilet when I forgot it was in there and pulled my bibs down to pee
-I started giving everyone hi-fives and apparently followed people if they refused
-I kissed another friend
-I have too many pictures in my dead camera that shows me hanging on someone
-there is a random picture of a girl dressed as a peacock in my camera, someone said i groped her
-i crashed my bike on the way home, twice
-i dropped my lock in the street and told my friend that i didn't need it anymore, just leave it!
-I had a friend bring me home and she was smart enough to realize I was about to puke and got me a trash can....

Off Season

2008-10-10T12:28:00.003-05:00

Work two jobs, run three times a week. yoga with sarah, go see some shows (manu chau, the presets, yelle), dance like crazy, drink a little too much.......lemme see, what else? Oh ya! Start a messenger band

Tour of KC day 1and2

2008-08-09T23:03:00.007-05:00

Preface

Aside from the fun times I am having here in Kansas City, I have been completing (somewhat) the end of a very long racing campaign. This year was my first year in the P12 category. Other than Rouge Roubaix '06 in Baton Rouge, LA, I have only used my racing license to compete in the great state of Texas. This year, however, arter upgrading to a 1, and feeling like I had achieved my goal for the year, I decided to take a little journey into the bigger arena of competitive cycling. I have been racing since the end of January 08 and have only missed one Texas race while working a 45hr a week bike messenger job. It's important that I consider these things when I look at the results of the last five weekends. They are pretty horrible on paper. Each one for me is a personal experience with a thousand fighting echoes that still reside in my mind and tremor like aftershocks through my body.
It's Saturday night and tomorrow is the last day of racing before I go home to Austin and go back to work as a courier and spend the rest of my time fixing my body with yoga and Barton Springs. But before that, let's race report...

Day1
Friday night crit was on a roller coaster course in a pretty seedy area of KC. Steep downhill, hard right, up again, another right, flat straightaway to another right, very open descent, curving right, punchy uphill to start/finish. Carlos attacked from the beginning and got a gap immediately. A few others joined and the break was established.
That morning, Carlos had finally gotten the bolt on his chainring replaced, but his small ring was so bent that he still dropped his chain when he was riding in it. During warmup he could not get his small ring to not drop his chain so he decided he would have to do the entire race in his big ring with only an 11-21 cassette. ouch.
Stefan Rothe attacked the field on the left and I had a slow reaction on the right. Stefan had a much better jump but I still had a good gap on the field while Brian Jensen sat on the front. No one was gonna let him go, so I decided I would try and bridge up to Stefan. It didn't work out for me and when the field caught me I jumped in to recover. I could never recover and got dropped about two laps later, making about 25 minutes of the race.
I had been feeling real good during warmup and for the first 15 minutes thought I could make a big impact on the outcome of the race. Then one move and I'm unable to recover and getting dropped. Weird. I rolled over to the start/finish where Mel is and I'm gettin dizzy. Even weirder. Later that night, I'm super achy and then I sleep tons. For 25 min of racing?
Carlos' break gets reshuffled a few times and he misses the winning move of three that includes Jensen, Rothe and some 42yr old. Jensen attacks with two to go finishes solo. Rothe and his partner work together until the last lap when the 42yr old drops Rothe. Carlos gets 4th in the field sprint for 7th.

Day2
Woke up to rain.
Mel and I go have coffee and buy me a cycling cap at Volker. There is a guy in there with his girlfriend and she is wearing what is no doubt a typical prom dress. He askes me if I have a minute. I reply yes but I don't work here.
Carlos' new problem is his cleat is almost completely stripped and if his foot cocks to either direction just a millimeter, he comes out of his pedal. Today's course was tough with a nice little climb, switchback descent, some mud on a very fast curved section and a steep climb about 1k from the finish. I had nothing today, so I was nothing. For the first few laps I stayed near the front, out of trouble. I was feeling so tired but tried to tell myself that other's were probably tired too. With 11 of 18 laps to go Jensen got away with a few others. Up the climb, through the start finish, Carlos looked around to see if anyone could help. I went to the front and punched it up the small climb to keep the pace high. Afterwards, I just focused on recovering, so not to get dropped. After the switchback, there was an odd angled right turn that always fed to a strung out, hang onto the wheel in front of you, section. I did not want to lose connection as I was already in fear of getting dropped after my effort. The rider in front of me braked too hard (i thought) on this odd angled turn and I jumped on the inside to avoid too big a gap opening. He got offended, overcorrected and then we both got gapped. He sat on my wheel as I struggled to get back on to the field and then attacked me when I was used up. That was the race for me. Jensen won again out of a three man break that included Brad Huff and a very young kid. Carlos came in next, first out of the chase group.

Who said this had to be all about racing bikes?

some fishing...

maintaining friendships...

and meeting new and exciting people.

before the end

2008-08-08T14:06:00.003-05:00

Kansas is becoming the best part of this trip. I almost decided to go home after Elk Grove but decided to slug it out just one more weekend. Besides, Mel was coming to Kansas to hang out after she finished summer school.

I call this place home right now. Carlos and I have the place to ourselves, aside from the construction workers during the day. There is no tv and no internet, so we sleep ALOT. There is one sauce pan, a tortilla warmer and some cups. The other day I made chicken with brown rice and a salad. I felt like newlyweds.

Mel comes into town and takes me underwear shopping. Im still blushing

Mel in the clouds

couldn't help myself. seriously this window was asking for this

On Tuesday Carlos and I go to LatteLand for my never ending quest for that perfect espresso. This place was in the plaza, very close to where we were and the espresso was the best I've had since leaving Austin. Carlos' bike was missing a very important bolt in his crank so I asked the barrista where we could find a bike shop. She sent us to a shop her boyfriend was working, Volker Bicycles. Here we met the owners, Britton, his wife, Melissa, and their 8mo old Boston Terrier, Cooper. Britton ordered the part and then took Carlos and I riding through the hilly terrain of Kansas City. We scoped out the courses for Friday and Saturday's race. They both look pretty tough. That's all for now. I've already been to two other coffee houses today, Broadway, no wi-fi (boo) and now at Mildred's. Going out with a bang this weekend!!

tour of elk grove

2008-08-05T18:41:00.004-05:00

After Superweek Carlos and I stayed one more night with our host, Steve. He sent us off the next day with another cookout and a guitar, two blow up mattresses, a towel holder and eddie bauer duffel bag. Steve is selling his house and really wants to move to South Carolina (Good luck Steve).
Carlos and I arrive in Elmhurst, IL Tues evening and are greeted by our new host, Bob. We stay in the basement again and Bob takes us riding the first two days. The third day Carlos and I ride the same route we went on the day before and we get soaked in a rain storm. I felt pretty lucky we didn't get carried away by a tornado but there were flooded streets and downed tree limbs. It was pretty crazy.

On Wednesday, I take the train to downtown Chicago and do some sightseeing along with catching The Dark Knight. I finish my excursion with a sunset and wine.

check out the cig in this guys hand

Tour of Elk Grove was another bomb shell for me. For the weekend, we stayed at an extended stay and were joined by Jorge Alvarado of Khala/LaGrange and Christian Helmig of Metro/VW. Both these guys were riding great all weekend and fun guys to share a tiny hotel room with. I felt great but could never manage to get my grip at the front. Once, on Saturday, when Carlos was in a break up the road I tried to jump across and instead brought the field with me. Carlos saw this and got pretty pissed at me. There were a lot of crashes. One crash, at the front of the field, occurred when two guys started taking swings at each other and one guy crashed and took out those around him. I avoided all the pavement kisses but felt this is what I did the entire race, avoid crashes. I finished in the field at a solid 39th. Carlos won the field sprint for 5th.
On Sunday the field was down from 100+ guys to 85. I felt better but really never could assert myself at the front. I pretty much just sat in the middle and finished there too. Carlos won the field sprint again but one guy had managed to sneak away.
Feeling a little discouraged, Carlos and I headed to Kansas City on Monday. We arrived around 9pm in a real nice neighborhood. We are staying in a house that is being renovated and owned by my friend's parents. It's empty and under construction but we have everything we need. This weekend is the Tour of Kansas City and then I head home. I stretched last night and realized my knee was still a little jacked from crashing on the last day of Superweek. It's a little weird to demand so much from my body but be blind to some of the subtleties of my workings.

Superweek Fine

2008-07-28T10:53:00.007-05:00

Hung out to dry

This is where Steve, our host works. The butcher shop is very old and similar to what it looked like when it open almost a century ago.

This is Steve. He has been a great host. The last three nights when we come home, after racing, he has made dinner which has included grilled tuna, tenderloin, sausage, braut, pork chops, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes......Im forgetting something.

This is where Steve smokes out

Steve wanted me to see what would happen to Carlos if he didn't make the podium

Friday night was the Chase Food Folks and Spokes in Kenosha, WI. This was to be the first of the last three races for the series and things were getting pretty tight in the hunt for the overall. There were also some challenges still being made for the sprint jersey. Riders like Jonathan Page and Ryan Roth had made their debut in the final week of the series and really made the racing a little bit faster if not harder. I needed to help Carlos make sure that riders trying to close the gap in the sprint competition were not able to. The field was stacked and I started near the back. About thirty of 100 laps I was just at the back end of the front group when my front wheel slipped while turning on the white crosswalk paint. I thought I flatted and sat up. I soon realized that I was not flat and would not get a free lap. I managed to grab on to the back of the 150+ field and nearly got dropped. The rest of the race was a slow progression of trying to get back up to the front. At 8 to go I made it to the front and was in the first ten riders. The pressure went up and I kept giving up my wheel and two laps later was about 25 from the front. With 3 to go a crash caused a split and I was right behind it. I chased but the field was motoring towards the finish and so I crossed the line half a lap down.

The Great Downer Avenue Bike Race in Milwaukee was described to me as the most exciting race of the series. The fans, the money and the field were all supposed to be top notch. It lived up to the hype. A $7000 prime lap with 12 laps to go kept the pace high until it was handed out. The fans lined every available space on the course and the field was close to 200 riders. All I can say about this night is that I survived. I finally made it on the results sheet at 50th place (woohoo!) and had a feeling at the end of the night like I had been free falling the whole evening.
Carlos finally moved up to 3rd overall and 1st best amateur when Adrian Gerrits of Khala LaGrange, the rider in front of him, touched wheels in the final lead out and went down. This was not the ideal way for Carlos to move up, but thats racing.
The Whitefish Bay Classic in Whitefish Bay, WI would be the final showdown. The field size had been reduced to about 75 because of the Chicago Crit which offered a better payout and shorter race. Tyler had decided to take a ride back to Texas after Downer Ave so we were now four strong. With only a few points above 4th overall, we were completely focused on keeping Carlos out of trouble and on the podium at the end of the night. A break of seven riders got away but things were going pretty well. Of the entire series, I felt like I had the best legs on this night. About 35 laps in I stood up to accelerate through a turn. My right had slipped on my hood as I lunged all my weight forward and I went right over my bars. I had no time to react but its weird to know as I was crashing that I was going to crash and that I was in the middle of a bike race. About six guys went down with me but I think I was the worst hit. I was so pissed. I couldn't believe that I had been responsible for such a stupid crash, especially since I had been feeling so good. My bike looked terrible. Bent derraileur, torn cable and housing, bent shifters, wheels rubbing, etc. I thought this would be it for me, there was no way I could ride this bike. But I wasn't going to go out like that. If it had not been the last night, I probably would have taken my bloodied body and broken bike to the nearest pub and had been a numb drunk before the finish. I had made friends with the SRAM mechanic and wanted to see if I could pull it off one more time. I went to the pit and told him that I could not ride my bike after crashing. He sighed, set up a neutral bike and three laps after crashing, I was back in the race on a sweet ass Orca with Zipp 404s. I started near the front and attacked up to a break. We were caught and then I went for a prime. It was not to be but about five laps later I was set up (i thought) perfectly for another prime. I got nipped at the line. The race blew up after this into three, maybe four groups. I was gassed and thought that would be it for me, but I had all the overall contenders in my group, so after three laps of chasing we got reattached. With six to go, Adrian (lost 3rd overall to Carlos the night before) attacked and got clear with a few others. Carlos and Barry started to bridge up and I got to the front to police. There was a lull in the field which helped Carlos' effort and then Bahati decided to chase it down. I sat on his wheel for about three laps as he strung out the field in pursuit. It was like motopacing. He finally sat up with three to go. Carlos made it up to the break and outsprinted Adrian to secure his 3rd overall and 1st amateur. I finished 40th (movin up!!)

My bike is not dead. The SRAM mechanic fixed it while I bled all over the course. I missed the awards ceremony cause it hurt to undress. Me and a bottle of Jameson made out last night. It kept me pain free until about six this morning. I cannot really say for sure what I am going to take away from this experience. I will not try now, except maybe to say that I will sacrifice whatever I can and dig deeper into myself until there is no more me.

Rest Day

2008-07-24T12:18:00.003-05:00

On Tuesday we raced here in Cedarburg. Andrew woke up sick and decided to cut his superweek campaign short and flew back home the next day. You will be missed, Andrew. Steve hasn't been the same. Being able to roll to the end of the block to get to the race was a nice change. The course (on left) was pretty simple on paper but the first turn had a few wrecks before things got settled. I went down in one of them when I came around the corner and someone was going over the curb to the left. I stayed in my drops and just tried to make sense of the chaos. Suddenly, an opening in front of me was really two riders that I hit and fell right on top of. Very soft landing, but a bit awkward with the bodies and bikes tangled up with each other. I took my free lap and jumped back in. The second turn was also a dicey one cause the course would go from a wide boulevard to a narrow neighborhood road. Everyone would bottleneck. The next turn had an indented manhole right on the preferred line. You could go over it but risked broken carbon after several times. By about thirty laps in everyone knew what to expect, but at the start, everyone was still trying to establish order and these nuances to the course were like paying toll booths on the freeway.
I made it to the front several times past fifty laps in. At this point guys were making big efforts to get away. The front would string out during the chase and then like a snowball on impact, fragment in anticipation of another move. I tried my best to ride in the wake and not let any danger moves go. But they all seemed like danger moves to me! With about 15 to go I realized I would finish my first race in a while, a huge accomplishment for me. I hung on and got through the pain by reciting lyrics and telling myself I would do "just one more lap," thanks willis.
After the race I met the kid I fell on, Logan. I apologized for falling on him but told him it was a soft landing. He is 18 and just coming back from being sick all year. He is a little pudgy, but it was not my intention to point this out to him, but he did.

Whitnall Park Road Race
Held in the Boerner Botanical Gardens in Hales Corner, Carlos and I almost didn't make the start when I got us lost (Missing Andrew already for his integrated gps mentality). The excitement of the previous race kept me awake all night. Seriously, I guess I was so tweaked from the exercition, I finally stopped trying to sleep around 3am and just listened to music until the Alpe d Huez stage started. I got two hours of sleep (9-10 and 1130-1230) before the race. The temps were up, there was a power climb every two miles, and we arrived 30 minutes before the start, so I was not expecting to even finish. Before Andrew left, he had been performing like a 1st lieutenant for Carlos. In Cedarburg, Tyler assumed this role. In Hales Corner, after 8 of 27 laps it would be my turn. I chased, got into moves and initiated breaks. The field caught the break with six to go. I attacked with a rider from the colombian national team. We were caught and Carlos countered. Khala LaGrange organized a chase cause their rider is barely beating Carlos in the amateur points. They brought it back and up the hill with two to go I attacked again and got a gap. Rock Racing chased me down and then it was lights out. Carlos got fifth, moved up in the overall to maybe 7th and is looking set to win the best amateur.
I'm taking today off then racing the last three days of superweek.
I had a big cup of wine last night and then slept hard.

Holy Hill

2008-07-22T15:30:00.004-05:00

Holy Hill in Hartford was the first road race of Superweek. Ten laps on an eight mile course was reduced to eight laps when the start was delayed an hour. As I was warming up I realized my bars kept slipping since my crash cause they were cracked. No problem, few days before I made friends with the SRAM mechanic for this very reason. New Orbea Orca with Zipp 404s, oh yeah!! Only thing was I had never ridden, let alone raced, sram shifters.
I found the road race exactly what I needed. Plenty of time to recover and not so much fighting for position. I even bridged up to a very short lived break at the start of the second lap. At about two to go Carlos started floating back through the field and I asked if he was ok. "No! Wait for me."
That's what I'm here for I thought.
He changed bikes with Barry and I drilled it back up to reconnect with the peloton. I was pretty gassed and then noticed my neutral bike's stem had shifted a few degrees so that my handle bars and my front wheel were no longer aligned. The course was sketchy and there was no room for bike mechanicals on the mind so I pulled the plug. Later, Carlos thanked me for the help.

After driving to North Shore to visit Wheels and Sprocket to replace my bars, I returned to our host house where Steve, the butcher, had bbq'd four types of braut (apple braut was the best, no joke!), tenderloin and made pie. Little dinner, wine and pie, I felt like the day was a success.

"keep pedaling hard and staying strong in your mind. Mind is everything."
-ms mercedes orten

"the test of one's principles is his willingness to suffer for them, and the test of this willingness-the only test-is actual suffering."
-John Barth "The Floating Opera"

"...I can see the end is the begining,
so I'm not racing, I'm just sprinting.
Cause I dont want to finish.
They diminsh, I replenish....
That's how u let the beat build, bitch!
and the beat goes boom!
ba boom! ba boom!"
-lil wayne "Let the Beat Build"

the well and the lighthouse

2008-07-20T18:57:00.003-05:00

where does the water end and the sky begin?

Mandatory day off. Barry texted me this morning as CSC unleashed on the yellow jersey. He wanted me to take a day off and spin easy so I could be fresh for the road race. Pedaled to Port Washington via the Ozaukee Interurban bike trail. Today was about rest, but one result I needed reminding of was that my bike still takes me places I have never been.

From the bottom of the well

2008-07-20T07:30:00.005-05:00

So much to say. My rest day of several days before was anything but that. Woken up to Lori telling our room that we were supposed to be out of our rooms in thirty minutes. Rushed out the door and into a cramped car. A two and a half hour drive turned four hours thanks to standstill Chicago traffic. We arrive in Cedarburg Wisconsin where Carlos, Andrew and I are staying with Steve, a gay butcher (how do i end up with the gay hosts?). I got a sweet spot in the basement, no kidding. Amenities include washer, dryer, toilet, tv with the tour and stereo. All I have to do is wear long socks and a hoodie so I dont freeze at night.

Ah, my first espresso since I left Austin.

The bike path literally runs right behind Steve's backyard. Oh yeah, on the other side of the path is a cemetery. The night we got here Carlos was supposed to be sleeping in the room upstairs. I was in the basement, up late, talking on the phone. Carlos thought he heard voices from the graveyard and was ready to get outta there until he checked the basement.

One day we will all grow old and die or in his case roots.

Before we left the Extended Stay, Tristian and I were going to the grocery store. The elevator was bare walled and I could tell he was ready to put a fresh pair of sneaker prints up. At the last minute I held the elevator for someone coming down. This meant Tristian would have to wait.
The guy got in the elevator and an ominous silence ensued with everyone looking down. The stranger broke the silence asking Tristian if he was the one putting the shoe marks on the elevator walls. It was then that I noticed Tristian and this guy were both wearing the same shoes. How this guy knew what the soles of his shoes looked like leads me to believe there are some things in life that escape me.

Now we're at the bottom
My racing of the last couple of nights has been nonexcuscable. Fortunately, getting pulled from Friday's race could have been a blessing since it started to rain and the field saw mass amounts of wrecks that resulted in a concussion and ambulance ride for the yellow jersey. I just wish it hadn't happened to me in the first twenty minutes. Was I frustrated? Yes, I had finally felt my preperation had been optimal but I rode the next hour and a half in the beautiful countryside of Wisconsin.
Last night was a little worse, if that is possible. I will say in my defense that I really had no warm up, but I did get a start right at the front. On the turn to the start/finish I kept getting gapped and after two laps was unable to close it down and required about five guys to close it for me each lap. About the sixth lap I was off the back and two laps later was getting pulled.
From the outside, looking in, this was to be expected. Now I start improving...

Superweek Day 3 and 4

2008-07-16T21:34:00.003-05:00

The last two nights of racing were on the same course, in the same direction. The Ray Basso Bensenville Criterium was a flat course with a couple technical turns and a straightaway that broke me both days. The first night near the back of the field a rider went down in front of me and took me out with him. I landed on my tailbone, stumbled off the road and laid back down in the grass. A few seconds later I realized I would be ok, went to the wheel pit and was back in in two laps. Carlos had gotten in a break and looked unlikely to get brought back. I jumped back in and went up to the front. The crash made me realize I had more to lose in the back than near the front. I covered a few moves and then Andrew informed me that Carlos' break was about to lap us. I decided to drift to the back to help him move up, but when I got to the back, I noticed his group had already lapped us and he was up near the front. A few laps of feeling stupid, bars slipping from my crash, guttering, and then lights out for me. 75 min. Carlos got 5th.

Day4
I had been feeling like I had not been eating right, so I went to the grocery store and hooked it up with some liquid calories (thanks Kate) to cover that base. Also replaced the jam Barry took out of our room, haha. Prerace was going pretty good until I went to sign in and discovered the race about to start, 30 min earlier than usual. This was entirely my fault, and it meant I got no warmup. I started near the back and got to the front in no time. I was a little surprised at how good I felt, even the motivation was up. I tried to go with a move but just ended up pulling the field on my wheel. That was enough flexing for me so I began to drift back. I must have drifted too far back cause next thing I know I'm faaarrr back, strung out breaking and accelerating like a car in rush hour traffic. After a few laps of this the peloton must have gone tranquil cause I recovered and found a groove. About the time I decided to start moving up, Rock Racing strung out the field for the sprinter's points competition and I just focused on hanging on. But that was pretty much it for me. I had one more chance to move up but only grabbed onto the last wheel and when I got gapped, could not close it down. I chased for about four laps with two others and then got pulled. 60min.

So now it obvious I need to take a day off. I've got no qualms with not finishing, but I know I race better than this. It's the heroic martyr moves that I know I am capable of that I want to have the opportunity to display before I get dropped.

It's My Life

2008-07-15T13:06:00.005-05:00

Tristian was here

Even the kiddos are feeling the gas price pinch

Lyric of the day: "this time I'll close my eyes and really wish you'd come."
Quote of the day: "sometimes i talk shit and don't even realize im talking shit."
This is my life right now:
Wake, ride, eat, sleep, wake, eat, race, eat, sleep

The Players

2008-07-14T23:09:00.006-05:00

As some of my dear readers may or may not know, back in Texas I race for Velossimo pb Jack and Adam's powered by Chann McCrae. Well, for the big Superweek I thought guest riding for a rival team up here would be a great way to get a first hand account how the enemy operates. Here's what I have discovered:

Tyler Jewell
Age: 21
Hometown: Austin, TX

Upon entering room 304 at the Extended Stay Hotel, Tyler, as is his custom, scanned the room for any oddities and discovered a brand new Chicago White Sox baseball cap perched atop a lamp shade. Without hesitation, Tyler assumed the identity of a native Chicagoian and can now be seen giving directions to the hippest joints and hi-fiving all the local playas.

Andrew Dalheim
Age: 20
Hometown: Dallas, TX

Andrew is a walking GPS device. Maybe he can't remember the girl he supposedly kissed or have enough patience to play along with her text messages cause he's navigating us without fail to every race site.

Carlos Vargas
Age:26
Hometown: Colombia

Carlos is all about business. He is not the type to sit around and wait for the move. Carlos is the move. Carlos is at Superweek to improve on his fitfth overall from last year.

Tristian Uhl
Age: 20
Hometown: Smithville, TX

Not much is known about Tristian other than his hobbies. Placing footprints high atop elevator doors, sticking flowers in obscure locations and playing lazer tag in moving vehicles, to name just a few.

Barry Lee
Age: 43
Hometown: Austin, TX

What else can I say about Barry? He's living a dream. He owns a development cycling team, races all the time and is responsible for the biggest cycling event in Austin. But oh man, can that guy snore!

Then there's me. You know me already. No? see here

Alright, about tonight's race.
Richton Park Criterium
90 laps
Rock Racing in the leader's and points jersey. Kelly Benefits back after a day off. Very fast course with optimal evening temperatures.
At about 45 to go, Carlos broke away with Texas' Ryan Wolhrabe. Some time later they are joined by five others and our team does a pretty stellar job keeping shit together. Personally, my life was simplified by Carlos being in the break. I covered and covered until I finally popped at about 25 to go. Carlos' group eventually got caught and another group of eight got away and lapped the field. Carlos finished about 15th but was still not pleased. I'll keep riding the way I am right now. I feel better and better. I'm focused on grabbing my breaks less.

SuperSketch Day2

2008-07-13T23:56:00.005-05:00

Tonight's race was held in a developing neighborhood in southern Chicago. Olympia Fields, to be exact. The course tonight (see here: tonight's course) was condensed due to the undeveloped nature of some of the road surface. Start was on Hermes and the danger area was shortly after the left onto Eros. So officials redesigned the course so that racers continued straight on Messina. This meant the course was .4 mi and there was a more than 90 degree turn with tailwind about 300 meters from the finish. Before our race started there was a meeting held with the participants of the p12 field. I guess there were enough accidents in the previous races to warrant serious consideration of canceling the premiere event. Some voted for heats, some for a seperate p1 and 2 race but most really didn't seem to care. In the end, the announcer preached about how it was back in his day and gave those not wanting to race a credit or refund. The race was also shortened to 80 laps woo hoo!!
So with about 100 racers I didn' t want to get caught in the back, gapped and pulled. I got a good starting position but then couldn't get clipped in and was immediately near the back. Fuck.
I'd like to pause here and simplify my race report. From the back, I would fight and fight and finally get up near the front. "Whew, I made it." And then I would realize I had taken one too many mental breaks and be back near the back.
At about 50 laps I found Barry's wheel and found a nice groove. About two laps later someone crashed at the fast turn and there was a split that took a few laps to close down. After this I never felt the same groove. Seventeen to go, I'm coming around the fast turn and there is a rider face down, seemingly asleep, near the curb. They stop the race as the ambulance comes in. About fifteen minutes later the race resumes with the four man break half a lap ahead. I started near the front and finally felt like I was surfing some familiar waves. The whole team seemed to be riding much better with several breaks, tempo setting and bridges. At three to go I moved Carlos up to the front and then riders surged around me. I finished in the pack and Carlos improved his placing to 11th.
Special thanks tonight go out to Chelsy for sending a bit of the south through my phone, Billie Holliday for singing me a love song and Marsha... you just gotta check her out: Marsha, Marsha, Marsha. Austin couriers: drink an espresso for me and somebody finally talk to "Ticket City Girl!" I mean she's dating a dude from Tiff's, how intimidating can she really be?!

Superweek Day2 (Day1 for me)

2008-07-13T12:44:00.003-05:00

It had been about three weeks since I last raced, so I was a little nervous about stepping to the plate of Superweek. I was not even expecting to finish my first race, I just wanted to put in a couple of supportive moves for Carlos, our teams protected rider. I got a pretty sweet spot near the front at the start and for about ten laps managed to hold it there.
The lap counter really screwed with me though. I'd much prefer to walk blindly into a world of pain than to slowly tick away at it.
Ten laps in and I realized I was sorta mid pack. Another 8 laps and I go to the front just as a move goes. Carlos was near the front too, so I chased for about a quarter lap, peeled off and managed to grab on to the back of the field. Another twelve laps and I am back at the front. Carlos tells me to go and I go with a move that lasts about two turns and then back to the back of the field for me. With three to go, I am back up front and try to bridge to a move up the road, not happening. I finish at the back of the field.
I'm definitely pleased that I finished and was able to play a little, but I want to make smarter moves now that I know I can make moves without getting shelled.
I miss Batman.

Time to leave Austin

2008-07-11T23:54:00.003-05:00

Wednesday was to be my last day in Austin for over a month. The day before, my last day as a courier, I fired my friend I was training because he was late. So I had about 24hrs to finish getting my shit together and maybe find someone to take my place downtown. My neighbor, Christopher Bejger, suggested his friend, Chavo. I had met Chavo a couple of times and he seemed like a good fit, so why not? Fifteen minutes after our conversation, Bejger calls me from Chavo's house, where he cannot get him out of bed. I bike over, peer into a crack in his window, and realize Chavo is probably lying dead in his bed. I rip a panel of his shanty, break in and walk into Chavo's room where his dog had shit everywhere. Apparently, Chavo had been dead for a couple of days. He lay in bed, on his back, with only his blue american apparel underwear on. He must have died in his sleep. Two hours later, detectives tell me they will probably not need to talk to me again, but I can't help feeling a little sketchy telling them that I'm leaving town the next day for a month.
It's so early driving to San Antonio in my mom's truck the next morning, I almost fall asleep at the wheel. She's crammed in the back with my bike and dog, Batman, while her friend, Mike, sits up front. We get to the train station and the ticket man tells me I am too late to check my bike. I almost cry as I explain the only reason I am catching the train in San Antonio and not Austin is because I need my bike. He gets me a tag and they load it without a box. I'm sure my bike will arrive in Chicago in pieces.
The train ride is by far the most cormfortable way to travel. Lots of leg room, a lounge, dressing rooms and a tiny store. My preferred way to travel now. I sleep the first 20hrs and then spend the next 14 reading, writing and texting.
I arrive in Chicago around 5pm. The first race of Superweek starts at 530, so I am focused on just getting to the race site where I can find the team I am to race with. Originally, I planned on catching a cab, but as we're exiting the train, the guy who sat in front of me interrupts his diatribe on the world to suggest I wait for rush hour to subside before I take a cab that far. This is Chicago.I decide me, my bike and luggage should be able to get anywhere with a little help and mass transit. I'm pointed to the Red Line, a subway line ending at 95th. I am going to 107th and Longwood, so worse comes to worse, it's a short cab ride. I walk about ten blocks and catch the subway. Once at 95th, an attendant in a booth eating pumpkin seeds tells me what bus will take me to 107th. The bus driver points me in the direction of Longwood, and 12 blocks later, I'm here.
My legs still ache from running with Kate on Wednesday. My neck is sore from walking so far with all my luggage. I get to share a sofa sleeper with Barry Lee, he's snoring right now. I haven't felt this excited in a while.
Special thanks goes out to Loren Dodsen for being such a good frined.

Test Ride

2008-07-07T01:25:00.002-05:00

Its pretty late, Mon morning. I gotta get up soon and train two guys to help take over my job while I go race my bike. I am a bicycle courier in Austin, TX. My co-worker, Ian, will also be going away for a while, hence the training of two subs. I got a guest spot on a pro/am team from here and will be racing at superweek , Tour of Elk Grove and the Tour of Kansas City. Ian is doing a European tour with his former band, The Unseen. Our bosses hate us right now but we work so hard for the company, they are willing to give us a little string right now.

I plan on making this blog a spot where many can keep up with me. I'll try to do my best to post my progress as I take a plunge into a higher level of racing bicyles.