Get Dirty

SRSLY

So what have I been up too?

      Well it's been hectic, but the dust is starting to clear!  Graduate school was a bear, and I had to shut down my training regimen for a while.  I was out for several months, gained several pounds, studied a lot and completed my Master's degree.  I'm now working on my Ed. S., and have also gotten back on my bike to prep for a big month of racing in August and September.  I'm also thinking about racing cyclo-cross this season, but I will see how I feel in September when I'm in my practicum work. 

    The pictures below are of the Dirt Jump track that we are building; we finished Phase 1 today.  It has 8 jumps ranging from 7 feet tall to 3 feet tall, 2 berms ( the first one is 12 foot tall and doubles as a wall ride, and a 40 foot mogul set.  The following Phases will include a 12 foot tall DIRT HALF PIPE!  A pump track, and a pyramid will be coming also.  In the more distant future we will make make bigger jumps!  But we are waiting for  a few logistics to fall into place.

above we are sculpting the first two jumps, each jump has a table top on the left and a spine on the pro-side The first jump is 7 foot tall and the second is about as tall.

Here is a before picture

 Bob is in the bobcat starting to build up dirt mounds to work with.  On the far left he has started clearing the woods so that we can come out of the trail network and down the drop-in hill to access the jumps.

 Here me and the boys are sculpting the pro side of jump one, as you can see the spine is about 3 ft.  The table top side is about 5 feet deep.

 Here is a picture of the first two jumps and the first berm,  that's me  Waaaay back there standing in front of the berm, this might give a perspective of how big it is. 

 just trying to sculpt the landing side of jump 1

We decided to play a little bit!  This kid was  digging the jump, and it wasn't even finished 

This little guy was getting some good air and Roger is talking about giving some helmets to some of the kids that helped us build.  That's a relief because these kids have too much going for them to take a digger on the noggin.  I will try and get some pictures of the complete track.

Once upon a time I was in a rock band!

It's funny how things come back to haunt you sometimes! I was surfing the internet and someone had posted this on YouTube, anyway this is one of the bands I used to be in. This was our first album and I think we recorded it in 2001, but I would have to look to know for sure, during our touring days we opened up for Cold, Unloco, One Side Zero, Zac Maloy of the Nixons, The Feds, and others that I don't remember. We played a private party for Papa Roach and their touring manager wanted us to go on the road with them, but our self proclaimed manager screwed up the deal so it never happened. We almost got signed by the band Stained, it was down to us and another band and when that didn't pan out I walked away from the band. I left the music scene pretty bitter, I often thought it ruined my life, but now I realize it just postponed things for a while. I still play my guitar, but anytime someone tries to get me to get in a band I throw away their phone number! Lol, I have some crazy stories I could tell about those days but those should be kept in private.

Common Bicycling Injuries and misc.

Here comes The Darkness

Something made me think of this psuedo 80's band! LOL

106 miles on New Years day

The 11th annual Tailwind Cyclists New Years Day century started with 11 riders, most turned out 30-50 milers and only four of us went the full distance. It was a tough ride with brisk 15-20 mph wind gusts, but the temp was fair and the sun was shining! The four man squad included local strong man Todd McGeorge, Tailwind's John Mayfield, BMC/Walmart's Jacob Cauble, and myself. We started at the shop in Pittsburg and went to Girard, Union Town, Ft. Scott, Arcadia and then back home. Those guys pushed me hard, but I donned my poker face and did my share of pulls. I don't think they believed me when I told them I was hurting pretty badly. I was also suffering from soreness from Wii bowling during the New Year's Eve festivities, LOL. Believe me when I say we take our Wii bowling seriously! Anyway, what a way to start the year! I hope everyone has a great 2012, and I'm looking forward to seeing everybody at the races!