Passion to Ride!

My colnago with baby blue hup colored tires.

As Lance once stated, it's not just about the bike? or is it? No it is definitely a state of mind. to be able to ride away from the etheral world but existing yet in the physical world is a priviledge. It something not found in every sport or workout. You surely cant find it in the gym, nor the noise of ball games(all types), but it is found in those types of exercise, where one strives to be the very best at that moment in time. You can find it in running, surfing, rock climbing, cycling(of course), and many others.

There is nothing "extreme" about it but more out of body, something....... dare I say, spiritualistic about it. It is existing, because you are there in that period of time, on the road, on the trail, in the water..... either way you are there physically. Yet there is a spirirtual essence about it, because your mind is free and coexisting on another level with your fears, your pains, your suffering that you are implementing on yourself and your body. Er find ourselves driving ourselves to the brink of utter exhaustion, and for what..... that extra one second off our time, for that extra mile, for that extra rock you climbed over up another sheer cliff: nay! It is for the love, the passion, the desire to excel past your limits: to push oneself further than you have ever done so before, to the near breaking point and sometimes beyond.

my girl Abby.

Of the thrill, the acomplishment of not the destination, but the limits that we pushed ourselves to. That little breaking down of our mental barriers that said it coulnd't be done, it cant be done, it will never be done!!!! Yet here you are before the executioners blade, wondering will i push myself or will i do limit myself and do what is comfortable. I reveal in the thought that each day we expend ourselves in an inner battle, but also an inner peace about us. for we are out with cars speeding by, animals looking on, passerbyers wondering what drives on when we could be much more comfortable relaxing in Air Condition cars or sitting in front of the sofa. I feel an almost pity for those that dont know the desire, the drive, the passion that puts us out there on a limb. I do hope everyone can experience this fuel that lights our fire, but some may never know, what their body can do beyond the control of the mind.

Only those that are willing to risk it all, take that chance at life and even love. They are willing to go that extra mile not for the sake of accomplishing, but for the sake of punishment so that we can brake down- Demolish the mental and physical barriers that we think bind us and hold us back form our true potential. I have loved and lost, tried and failed, started and blundered, rose and also fell, and also crashed and burned in many aspects. But I wake up every morning, take another breath, enjoy the time I have, push myself another moment, share my love with the ones that surround me, and then again do what must be done to still function. I do these tasks with vigor and yet no matter what happens, what comes around the corner, i can walk over to my bike and transform again, become one with the universe, become a spirit and rush through the wind, feel the water, taste the sweat, and revel in the pain that i know but one truth: Existence is what you make of it, so dont waste another day! Get out there and push it!

Cyclocross, Campagnolo, Lion of flanders and of course HUP united! What else do I need to say?!

Hum de hum ho. Went for a mountain cross ride @ week ago and reirritated my strained back during the ride. Was riding with a mountain biker along the well, and going thruough some nice sloppy mess. Felt great till mid way thru to grab some hydration, and then felt the after effects from hopping over logs, pulling up over boulders, clearing water/mud gaps, and haggling over tree roots. Great ride except for silly back discomfort. Oh well no crossing for a while and back to road riding. doing some parts swapping on the road bike, had an off brand carbon crankset that worked well for a few years, but is fexing too much now and cuasing occasional rub to inside of bottom bracket housing on bike. so found an older super shape Aluminum classy Campy record crank that looks to have hardly beemn used, even though a few years old on Ebay. Great find and gives my classic colnago a little old school pizzazz. Usualy run michelin Krylion Carbons, but were hard to find for awhile so settled for a Deda clincher. Well dont recommend this tire. Way to soft and no durability. Had more cuts in it then a carved turkey. so tidbit for anyone out there. I found a good deal on a pair of lithions(Baby blue of course), mid range tires, hopefully they last a little longer the Deda. Ill keep my eye out for a pair of Krylions on Biketiresdirect.com, they usually have good deals. Got some more team kit items,. love the new woolie jersey- sharp, classy , and a really cool retor look. New woolie socks with of course HUP united on them, and some water bottles coming up. Well see you all out on the road. Thanks for stopping by.

Cross ride it Is

Another day in the mow 40's here is pa. At least got out for another romp on the trails with the cross bike. Functioned well/normal and had a decent overall splendid ride. glad to be out and drag my tired legs out and about. not much else to say. tongue tied today. here is a pic of the Garneau color scheme with the duds. looks fantastic to me. Ready to don the appearal appropriately and display the strength and fortitude that is HUP. go Belgians, Lion of Flanders rules, and see you out and about.

The Way, The Ride

Gray overcast skies. damp chilled air. Succumb to the coolness, but layers make cozy inside. Briskness touches my face with the turn of my bar presents me toward another direction, hence invigorating me with renewed longing: where am i going? From whence did this journey begin? Am I alive, for yes the chilled air brings me back to my reality but my mind still lingers into a web of drizzled perceptions from the constant downpour of thoughts that flood through my meager mind. Is this the day? No my dilemma, my journey has not yet come to the point that i had thought i would be. I spin my legs in sweet rhythm, keeping up the for tense of exercise, but yet wallow in the desire to be out and lose myself in my thoughts and feed my passion that i have come to love all so well. Is it an addiction? Some may beg to differ, some may think so. I think this journey that I take myself on is just an extension of my self and this world, the longing /desire that feeds the frenzy takes me from one point to another, but yet the scenery, the thoughts, the reclusiveness of this journey brings me to another realm. This realm is one of my escapes from the reality of the world, that drives us and directs us in a way we know not and sometimes understand not all so well. this is one time were i can reprieve and delay the inevitability of life, of the world, and the circumstances that dictate us. this is my time, if there is such a thing , to escape, to dream, to punish, to live, to breath, to pedal, to ride--is all i desire!!

Hope you are out there as well as I . Stop complaining and start living. go out and ride. I could take a camera and take some pictures, but the memories in my mind are much more vivid and produce much more involvement into the very being in which i am, in which I strive to be, and in full course who others perceive me as. We are, I am , you are all the same- friends, coworkers, parents, loved ones, acquaintances, bike riders. Stop your waiting and get out there and enjoy the day! Have a good one Everyone. HUp it up.

New Lid!!

Greetings to all if anyone is reading these. Not time to ride today. Cant complain had two good rides in two days, but today had to prep house for showing. Hopefully someone will buy sometime soon, but in the meantime must continue to prep and disperse for potential buyers. A few weeks ago looking to upgrade some of my attire, and thought well hey most of my helmets are 2+ years old. So decided to go helmet hunting! Now I have a small number of the L. Garneau Oz-Zy helmets, which i have found fit my noggin the best after many tries with Bell, Giro, other garneaus, and even Specialized. So was ecstatic and found one that fits my cross team colors- really cool and got it dirt cheap considering newer price from Nashbar(blah). Anyway had that one on the way, but wanted to add some pizazz to my road ride. My poor colnago was in need of something Italian to match. I saw and absolutely was drooling over the LAS line of helmets. Liked all of them , but ended up deciding to go with the Squalo. Looks awesome with all the lines and vents. Also comes with large entire helmet liner(2 actually come : 1winter-less vented and thicker, and 1 summer-lighter with more vents) and bag. looking on Ebay and online for some time. Then found Backcountry had them for a really good price. So got one to match my Dream Lux colnago in white and black. The pic is coming along. That helmet is well worth the money. If you are scrambling for a helmet that is a sweet looking, and also demands attention for its uniqueness and also with great Versatility, then go with the Las. They are well worth their money!!!! Well think I am going to clean off the cross bike and go for a cross ride in the 30deg weather here in pa on the 1st of march!. See you out on the trails/road!!!

meohmy

Hup Hup it is. Virgin blogger here. Well still chilly here in pa so been doing the occasional outside road ride and unfortunately too many times have been relocated to the indoor trainer(BLAH!). Still been out riding on the road in the cold 20's and winds just to log some miles in for upcoming season. Thought I try some type of core coaching program, so invested in the Cyclo-core program(just the wimpy version) by Graeme Street. Cant go wrong with the name , most cyclists know the die hard Graeme obree. Gotta be something in that name meaning crazy dedication. Anyho....... had my cx ride all cleaned up and waiting for a decent return day outside. Had to try out my newer Aphla-Q fork(very glad I got that) which was another ebay find- go figure. Well got out on Saturday 2/21/09 when it actually got into the 40's again!!!! went out day before on a colder day and started my ride , @ 200 meters into it and bam, chain broke. Not bad, mind raced and %^*&$# - i mentally pictured where chain tool was, yep you got back in garage on floor waiting to be put back into my gear bag. %^(+&$*!^$*^!!!!! well a nice walk back and defeatist look on my face. Ended up riding my trainer again that night.

Well back to my Saturday ride: started out good, trail a little slick and muddy due to defrost. Got into a soupy section where ground used to be frozen (hence the use of phrase "used to be"). I traversed through only to be brought to a dead stop in some kind of chunky soup combo. Ok no problem continue on, around a corner well back wheel slid out- ah not bad caught and continued on. A lot of trees down, hobbled over a few, but had to dismount for a few as well. went one way but ran into a large amount of downed trees, better try another route so backtrack a little. highly rooted area just went thru, well have to traverse back thru it again. Picked a great line around roots, down trees and boulders, aha!!! a little divot with water. I get to it , and pull on my front wheel to glide over it, but was a little premature on the lifting or lazy and didnt have the momentum(you see where this is going?). well anyway, my front wheel went right into the divot which was a mud bog due to thawing out and well I think i had one of the slowest endos in biking history, managed to unclip but didn't help any. went tumbling into the roots and mud. Well nothing hurt but pride, and probably looked cool, but no one around to vouch for it.

Well i continue on and hit a few more sections of sketchy groundwork and slide out 3 more times with one making me sprawled in the mud. Either my technical skills have suffered or the ground was a thick bowl of soup. Probably a little of both as it is. Finished ride with leg burning ethics and felt good even with the occasional discrepancy. Oops now the bike is dirty again. Time to clean , i guess, up the old girl. Still working on getting my second ride together. finding the occasional part here and there. Still trying to log some road miles in as much as possible as well. Working night shift doesn't help that too much, have free time in the day, but have to sleep a few hours too. Sometimes too tired to get a decent ride in , but woo is me, such is life. Gotta keep going.

Well this is my first post of a blog. hope i didn't bore too many of you. thanks for reading if you did and remember to keep the rubber down.