School, School, Sun...and Sun

Here's today's weather...besides a little bit of fog it's been like this all week. School has kept me super busy, but I am into it. Things at work are good, and both my grad school classes are actually really good. I had a long talk with my ESL professor about traveling, Spanish, and teaching abroad. Trying to figure out how to get back down to Guatemala this spring, take some classes and learn some more Spanish.

Spent Sat up on the mountain...it was beautiful out, but shitty conditions...regardless a good time out on the mountain enjoying the snow, sun, and a beer or two.

Took Phife Diggy out to Tillamook and rode around Browns Camp with the boys. Too nice not to get out of the house even though I had loads of homework, and chores to do. Ah well.

Here's my night. Got a fire going, maybe do some homework, make a meatless meatball sub, watch a little TV. When does Lost start...come on.

Listening to M. Ward. It's a bit on the mellow side, but I am really into it right now.

Essays, too much reading, and Coffee

Yep, this is what's up...coffee and homework. Tried to make it to yoga, but no go.

Didn't have to wear winter gloves or cover my face on the commute this morning for the first time in two weeks...it was a balmy 39 degrees at 5:50am.
Here was last week...

Bright Eyes on iTunes...

Powder and Mud

Powder and Mud...yep, that's my weekend. Had one of the best days of the season up at Meadows on Sat...it snowed 5 inches overnight and it was light, dry, cold, and SUNNY. Spent most of the day in the woods near private reserve and gods wall. Pissed I left the camera at home. Things were gorgeous...Managed to find a line into the main cliff band at God's Wall. There was lots of snow in an area that is usually fairly bombed out. I have been wanting to drop into this area for a while. God's Wall is a steep cliff band that gets somewhat covered and has a few various lines down it. It's steep, exposed, and beautiful...stood up top for a while and found a line that looked do-able. It was about a 5 foot sloping launch into about a 10 ft drop that landed skiers right of the main spine...rocks to the right and rocks to the left, but it opened up quickly and had a good run-out. I dropped in first, Hector followed. I was surprised with how much speed I had when I landed, it was soft and smooth, got thrown a little when I checked but came to a stop. Great run the rest of the way down the face. A fun run and a beautiful day. Ended up skiing all day, got one of the last chairs up and skied the woods south of God's Wall out to the car.

Got up early to meet some teammates for a MTB ride near town. Was pretty tired last night and wasn't sure if I was gonna ride today, but I am glad I got up and motivated. Went out to Scappoose and rode around pretty hard for a couple hours. Took Phife and did my best to tire him out. It was muddy, foggy, and still quite a but snowy too. Finished with giant burrito in Scappoose and back to do some cleanup around the house.

Gonna do some homework and make it an early night.

Listening to:
Wolf Parade
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Cold War Kids
Beck

Snow Daze

Wow... 2 Days off work (a 5 day weekend!) and a 2hour delay to get back into the swing of things today. Lots of playing in the snow with Phife Diggy and being lazy kinda sums it up.

Rode into work today, took the mtb instead of the fixie. My cross bike is out of commission for the time being. It fealt a lot like cross with all the slush grabbing at my front tire, lack of rolling, and slipping and sliding.

Tubing, good beer, fires, HW, grading papers, reading, movies, food, lots of coffee, reading the paper, the park, skiing, sleeping in...that's whats been going on.

Made a big dinner... Burrito with tempeh, onions, peppers, and broccoli, Cheap red wine, green tea, Tofutti Cutie. Gonna do some reading.

Work, Cold, Sun, Snow...More Snow

Had a busy end of the week at work, did a good amount of riding and bit o' yoga to boot. It's been cold all week, but really nice out.

Worked late at school on Fri and headed to the mountain early Sat morning for a little sunshine and snow. There wasn't any new snow, but there was lots of sunshine and beer at the mid mountain hut. No clouds, no wind...good stuff. A day full of bit of hanging out, a lazy Sunday and another day up on the mountain for more of the same on Mon. Lots of new photos on Flickr.

I woke up early this morning and it was dumping snow. I kept stalling getting ready for work thinking it would be called. There was a lot of snow, but no call so managed to get to work with no time to spare. The roads where shitty, and people have no friggin' clue how to drive in the snow. Half the staff wasn't there when school started and there were only 3 kids in my first period. Every school in the Portland area was closed by 8am. They finally decided to call it sometime around 8:45 and brought the few buses that had made it back.

I got home around 10 and enjoyed the weather with Phife for a while before heading into the west hills to do some riding. It was gorgeous out. Rode down and around Washington park and did laps riding the train to the top again. It all reminded me of being in elementary school... hiking around with sleds and staying out because you knew there was no school. People were out everywhere with sleds, skis, boards, bikes...Portland really takes advantage when it snows. Some great photos on Bikeportland of the scene around town.

Good good stuff. I made a big bowl of rice, tempeh and veggies...they already canceled school for tomorrow...more then.



Listening to:
Ryan Adams
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
TV On The Radio
LCD Sound system

1/10/07

This was 5:45 this morning when I hopped on my bike... Beautiful.

Made me think of this poem...

Time for Serenity, Anyone?

I like to live in the sound of water,
in the feel of mountain air. A sharp
reminder hits me: this world still is alive;
it stretches out there shivering toward its own
creation, and I’m part of it. Even my breathing
enters into this elaborate give-and-take,
this bowing to sun and moon, day or night,
winter, summer, storm, still - this tranquil
chaos that seems to be going somewhere.
This wilderness with a great peacefulness in it.
This motionless turmoil, this everything dance.

-William Stafford

Work, Sore, Snow

It's been a little while I guess...not even sure whats new. I was trying to remember what's been going on the last week or so...hmm. I guess being back at work has sort of turned my brain to mush. I have been riding the bike sporadically. Trying to avoid catching a cold which I feel like I am on the verge of doing. I have had lots of work and meetings at school which have either kept me there late or I have had a sub and that always gets me behind.

The weekend came and went. I spent it up on the mountain which was sweet! I would have taken some photos but it was snowing and storming. Went up early both Sat and Sun. Drove out through the gorge and up 35...I give up on going any other way, going through the gorge is so much more enjoyable it may be slightly longer, but it's not a whole lot of sitting at lights and in traffic.Spent most the time in the woods of lower heather canyon and in the private reserve around Gods Wall. I have been really sore the last couple days and its slowed my commuting down. We were skiing down through the park to get to the lower gate into heather and I carried a little too much speed into a table top and cleared the transition...I wasn't even going that fast...it was really poorly (or icompletely) built. Landed out on the flat...ouch. I have had a sore back and neck since.


Back to school at Lewis and Clark tonight. 3 hours of class on Tues nights and 3 hours on Wed nights.

Supposed to snow and get really cold in town tonight and through the rest of the week. I need to motivate on the commuting or at least training. I had been really sore and used that as an excuse. I rode up to Lewis and Clark on the fixie tonight and felt good. Feeling less sore and feeling guilty for my lack of riding.

Gonna go to bed early, read, and listen to some radiohead.

2007

I've been sitting here having a PBR and trying to work on the veloshop DVD, but I needed a break and this is an easy distraction...

So I was in Houston waiting for my connection yesterday and to kill time I was being cheap and reading magazines at one of the newsstands. I was reading some bike magazine and it had an article about new years resolutions and about setting goals and putting them down somewhere...since it's new years day I thought I needed to get this down. Here are a few things I really want to shoot for in '07.

-Get to Cat 3 in track.
-Race the Test of Endurance.
-Do as many MTB races as possible.
-Get upgraded on the road.
-Train hard this winter
-Be in shape to race A's in cross next season. (this is a big one).

I think it's valuable for me to put this stuff in writing, I find that when I can go back and look at it and I have committed to it I have a much better chance of accomplishing it.

Well shit, there they are...Here's to the new year!

Back at it

A long day of flying, but back in PDX and back in the rain and grey...it's been nice to have some sun and dry roads. It's a good day to be grey and cool.

Got reamed trying to say it wasn't a bike on the way home...They didn't weigh the box when I left Portland (it probably was over 50lbs) and just charged it for being over sized, but they weighed it in Boston...it weighed 68lbs..So besides the $80 for being over sized it was another $25 for being over weight....sweet. It would have cost $95 if I just told them it was a bike to begin with...oh well that's what I get.

Gonna go for a spin on the trainer after I clean up and take Phife to the park.

Travel Tunes
- Gym Class Heros
- Old and In the Way
- Manu Chao