The Saga Continues
So last time I wrote I said I was embarking on my mid-life crisis. I'm sure you've been waiting to hear just what sort of mid-life crisis suggestions have come in so far. Frankly I've been astounded by the number and diversity of suggestions. So without further ado, here are some of the suggestions:
- Get a perm and buy a Corvette.
- Write a book
- Start a tradition of doing something special each year with my kids
- Read Ulysses by James Joyce and tell my friends how smart I am
- Buy a dog
- Hike across the Atlantic
- Wrestle with an alligator
- Ride a stage of the Tour de France
- Quit my job and tour with Duran Duran all summer
- Become a roadie
- Get a hearing aid implant
- Get hair plugs
- Buy a 350Z
- Drink tequila while sitting on a beach in Costa Rica
- Ride my bike to the top of Haleakala
- Take an extreme adventure tour to New Zealand
- Fire a machine gun from a tripod in Las Vegas
- Go to the Super Bowl
- Try to relive Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas trip
- Open a bike shop
- Pick a fight in a biker bar
- Thaw Walt Disney's frozen head
- Visit all of the major league baseball parks
- Get a walk-on role on the Simpsons
- Buy two cats
- Climb to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro before global warming melts all the snow
- Rent a private island
Well that's a good start and there some on there that I have on my list and some that I really don't think I'll do. So I have a request, let me know which ones you think I should do. If you have a suggestion that's not on the list I'll entertain that. Send me an email at this link Click here to email me
About Those Rides
I had a request to do a write-up about some of the rides I've done. Apparently some readers have taken exception to my creative digressions. So I figure I can give you an update about this year's training regimen. The Death Ride team has been busting its collective butts to train. We did some epic rides this season. The most recent was a ride called Big Basin. Big Basin is a 110 mile 11,000' monster of a ride. We start in Mountain View ride over to Stevens Creek Reservoir, climb a ridonkulously steep road called Redwood Gulch and then ride over to a state park called Big Basin. The ride is remarkable for its redwood-lined roads. After Big Basin we climb over to a small town called Boulder Creek, Bonny Doon, Boulder Doon, or Bonny Creek, after the climb I couldn't much remember. If that wasn't fun enough, we then proceeded to make a 3 mile climb up the side of a cliff. This road called, Jamison Creek, has to be one of the steepest roads on the peninsula. This road hits pitches of over 20%. You know it's 20% because when you ride up it, you have to lean over your handlebars to keep your front wheel from coming off the ground. Once we climbed over that we had to ride 20 miles into the wind along Highway 1 up to Pescadero. As if that wasn't enough fun. After fighting the hurricane blasts along the coast, we turned inland for 9 miles of climbing back over to Mountain View.
This marks the fourth century ride in as many weeks and we still have 8 weeks to go. What strikes me is how determined this year's team is. I've been amazed at the amount of pain people are willing to endure to finish the ride and to be there for their teammates. We've had 5 crashes this season, the previous two we had none. One person had a broken wrist but has since returned. Only one dropped due to an injury but that's because he broke four ribs. Three women crashed on the ride before Big Basin. Two straightened out their bikes and completed the second half of the ride, the third couldn't continue because she tore through her shorts.
Another amazing teammate is one of our honorees, Grace. She's one year removed from chemotherapy and when other women may choose to settle down, she's out there climbing every hill with her teammates. Truly an example of incredible spirit and will. If you ever get the chance, you should meet some of these people. Their stories are inspiring.
You can see some of the pictures by going to my Picasa web albums
Thanks for reading. If you do not wish to receive these updates, drop me an email and I won't darken your inbox. If you like them, then drop me an email or go to the blog to leave a comment.
If you want to hear from some of the teammates, check out this entry from another blog
So last time I wrote I said I was embarking on my mid-life crisis. I'm sure you've been waiting to hear just what sort of mid-life crisis suggestions have come in so far. Frankly I've been astounded by the number and diversity of suggestions. So without further ado, here are some of the suggestions:
- Get a perm and buy a Corvette.
- Write a book
- Start a tradition of doing something special each year with my kids
- Read Ulysses by James Joyce and tell my friends how smart I am
- Buy a dog
- Hike across the Atlantic
- Wrestle with an alligator
- Ride a stage of the Tour de France
- Quit my job and tour with Duran Duran all summer
- Become a roadie
- Get a hearing aid implant
- Get hair plugs
- Buy a 350Z
- Drink tequila while sitting on a beach in Costa Rica
- Ride my bike to the top of Haleakala
- Take an extreme adventure tour to New Zealand
- Fire a machine gun from a tripod in Las Vegas
- Go to the Super Bowl
- Try to relive Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas trip
- Open a bike shop
- Pick a fight in a biker bar
- Thaw Walt Disney's frozen head
- Visit all of the major league baseball parks
- Get a walk-on role on the Simpsons
- Buy two cats
- Climb to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro before global warming melts all the snow
- Rent a private island
Well that's a good start and there some on there that I have on my list and some that I really don't think I'll do. So I have a request, let me know which ones you think I should do. If you have a suggestion that's not on the list I'll entertain that. Send me an email at this link Click here to email me
About Those Rides
I had a request to do a write-up about some of the rides I've done. Apparently some readers have taken exception to my creative digressions. So I figure I can give you an update about this year's training regimen. The Death Ride team has been busting its collective butts to train. We did some epic rides this season. The most recent was a ride called Big Basin. Big Basin is a 110 mile 11,000' monster of a ride. We start in Mountain View ride over to Stevens Creek Reservoir, climb a ridonkulously steep road called Redwood Gulch and then ride over to a state park called Big Basin. The ride is remarkable for its redwood-lined roads. After Big Basin we climb over to a small town called Boulder Creek, Bonny Doon, Boulder Doon, or Bonny Creek, after the climb I couldn't much remember. If that wasn't fun enough, we then proceeded to make a 3 mile climb up the side of a cliff. This road called, Jamison Creek, has to be one of the steepest roads on the peninsula. This road hits pitches of over 20%. You know it's 20% because when you ride up it, you have to lean over your handlebars to keep your front wheel from coming off the ground. Once we climbed over that we had to ride 20 miles into the wind along Highway 1 up to Pescadero. As if that wasn't enough fun. After fighting the hurricane blasts along the coast, we turned inland for 9 miles of climbing back over to Mountain View.
This marks the fourth century ride in as many weeks and we still have 8 weeks to go. What strikes me is how determined this year's team is. I've been amazed at the amount of pain people are willing to endure to finish the ride and to be there for their teammates. We've had 5 crashes this season, the previous two we had none. One person had a broken wrist but has since returned. Only one dropped due to an injury but that's because he broke four ribs. Three women crashed on the ride before Big Basin. Two straightened out their bikes and completed the second half of the ride, the third couldn't continue because she tore through her shorts.
Another amazing teammate is one of our honorees, Grace. She's one year removed from chemotherapy and when other women may choose to settle down, she's out there climbing every hill with her teammates. Truly an example of incredible spirit and will. If you ever get the chance, you should meet some of these people. Their stories are inspiring.
You can see some of the pictures by going to my Picasa web albums
 |
| Big Basin |
Thanks for reading. If you do not wish to receive these updates, drop me an email and I won't darken your inbox. If you like them, then drop me an email or go to the blog to leave a comment.
If you want to hear from some of the teammates, check out this entry from another blog
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