Old friends, there's nothing better.

When I was growing up, I had this one guy that was kind of like my partner in crime. Very seldom did you see one of us, and not see the other. We grew up in a small town, and we terrorized it on our 20" freestyle bikes, thinking that we were the local Ron Wilkerson's and R.L. Osborne's of this little place. There was a total of about five of us that rode freestyle, and we were very close. Mischievous? Well, that goes without saying.

Over the years we ended up going our separate ways. There are a few that I haven't seen in quite some time, but my ole' buddy Fuzz, my partner in crime and I stay in touch on a regular basis. He had got out of biking, like most of us had and just recently found the urge to dive back in.... Here's a picture of my life long friend, my brother in life... Tommy on his new ride the first day back at the trails... Here's to you Bro!

Week One in my quest to 195

Was my goal of 10lbs in the first week to much? Or did I just not try hard enough? Needless to say I went from 249.6 lbs down to 244 lbs for my first weigh in. I'm happy with the almost five pounds that I lost, but I think I could have done better. After doing much reading on the "Clydedales" forum on MTBR, and also talking to a few people that have lost weight, I think maybe I should shoot for 3-4 lbs a week instead. So, my goal for next Monday is 240 lbs.

I also picked up a road bike, so I can start putting in miles to help with my endurance on my mountain bike, plus aid with my weight loss.






Well, lets see how it goes...

My first ride after my injury...

I've been out of riding for about six weeks or so now because I had a steel rod go through my hand at work. I think other than the initial incident, the worst part of the entire ordeal has been not being able to ride my bike. Technically the doctor has not released me yet, but I figured "what the hell", I'm bored out of my damn mind.

Since I am still in the "take it easy" mode, we hit the UNCW trails today to do an easy lap. It was Josh, Randy, Tony and myself. We started at 8am, and it was already muggy, although I am not sure what the exact temperature was. We rode for about an hour at which time Tony was not feeling well, and Randy got a flat on his single speed. So we headed back to the parking lot to repair the tire. I think I only ended up with 4.17 miles for the day. Not much, but it felt great. I am going to try to start working on my endurance, which has always been my week-point. Now that my single speed is ridable, I think I am going to start riding 5 or so miles every day on it, and then build on more and more miles as I can.

The countdown begins!

Ok, today is the first day of my diet, I weighed this morning, and I weighed in at 249.6lbs. I realize that's not huge for someone that is 6'5" tall, however when you are trying to push this weight up the side of a mountain, it feels like twice that much.

I'm still off my bike due to my hand injury, but I have three more weeks until I can ride. My goal is 3-5lbs a week, so hopefully by time the fall gets here I can be at my target weight of 195lbs. However I want to do this sensibly, and that's why I am setting smaller goals from week to week. That way if I have a bad week, I just have to work harder the next week.

Well, wish me luck.... hopefully the next post for a weigh in will be in the low 230's but as long as I meet my 3-5lbs, I'll be satisfied....

see ya in the trails!

Farwell Max!

Being a long time Cannondale owner and rider, it is very sad news to hear that the power's to be have laid the Lefty Max 140 to rest. Fortunately I have one and will not be one of those people that have to go through life wandering what it would have been like, to ride this amazing fork. For more insight, and a great write up, visit Dan Gerous's write up on "Goodbye Lefty Max" at his blogsite.

Farewell old friend!

They won't see this on an XBOX

I saw these two pictures this morning on MTBR.com, and borrowed them for others to see. Just remember if your kid is sitting on their butts playing video games and watching TV, well this is the sort of things they are missing...

it's all about the kids

I have way to much time to surf the web right now, and one of my favorite places is the forums section of MTBR, because I love looking at the places that others have the chance to ride. However what really makes me happy is to see people spending quality time with their kids outdoors on their bikes.

This little fellow rocks!

I wish that every parent would spend more time doing stuff like this with their children instead of buying them another damn xbox or playstation game.

see you in the trails....

trying to figure out pictures..

here's a quick picture of my Prophet at the Tsali Trail sign.... This was an incredible weekend of riding. Wish I were in much better shape. I rode the Mouse, The Thompson and part of the right loop. Next time, It's all or nothing.

out of commission...

What a way to start a blog for mountain biking huh? I guess creating this is because I am out of commission for a while. I had a steel grounding rod go through my hand, so I'm off the bike for at least three to four more weeks... which SUCKS! Oh well, I'm just very thankful that I have full use of my hand and have all the feeling back in it.

How did it happen? Well, that's a long story. It happened while I was working in Tulsa Oklahoma. I'm home in North Carolina now, and counting the days until I can get back on my bike.

I'm not sure how to post pictures or do anything fancy on here yet, but as I learn more I'll be sure to add pictures of different places that I ride, my bikes, and of course the guys that I ride with.

I guess that about does it for now. See you in the trails!