Catching Up

Hey Gang,

It's been a while. A long while. Let's have some fun and do a quick run down of what we missed.

The story starts on Saturday, December 17th.

Saturday, December 17th:

• X and i hosted a Holiday party. It was packed and things started getting weird around 10:30pm. And weird means awesome. Realized how good LCD Soundsystem is. No riding today.

Sunday, December 18th:

• X had to fly out to the East coast so i was on my own. I had grand plans of riding bright and early but the party the previous night put the clamp down on said plans. Instead i pretended to be 24 again and sat around on the couch all day being hung over and watching TV. Actually it was great. I needed the chill time and there was A+ quality TV to be watched. I finally managed to motivate and get on the bicycle around 4pm. It was one of the best rides of the year. I felt really good and just hammered it. Slobber hanging out the mouth hammering. I felt like i could go forever. Or for 2 hours, whichever came first. Realized how good Lonley Boy by The Black Keys is.

Monday, December 19th.

• X was still out of town, clean up the house from the party on Saturday and did some last minute X-mas shopping. Realize how good Omamori by Elite Gymnastics is. No riding today.

Tuesday, December 20th.

• X gets back at 7pm. Fit in more last minute X-mas shopping and make sure the house is tidy. It is. Realize how good Hey Moon by John Maus is. No riding today.

Wednesday, December 21st.

• Feel a little under the weather and leave work early because of it. Throw up a few times in the evening. Today sucked. No music and no riding.

Thursday, December 22nd.

• Called in sick to work, legitimately. No more puking today but also no appetite and no energy. Manage to rally and pack for Springfield, MO. We hit the road at 5pm for a 2 night stay with Aub's family. I made her drive. On the way down i remember how much i love King of Spain by The Tallest Man on Earth. Watch the Jayhawks take care of USC. No riding today.

Friday, December 23rd.

• More Springfield, MO action. You know it's the home of Cashew Chicken. No riding today.

Saturday, December 24th.

• Drive back to KC and manage to get on the bike around 5pm. We hit up some good Christmas lights and pass a couple doing the same thing only they have christmas lights on their bikes. Well played. The best christmas song ever?
• Oh, and X got me a BRAND NEW CARBON FIBER MOUNTAIN BIKE FRAME FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Pow!

Sunday, December 25h. Christmas.

• I puked around 2:30am. Damn, i thought i was getting better. Let's call it an isolated incident and move on. We had planned on riding today, it was a beautiful day, but i was still feeling a little weak from the sickness so we chilled before the family stuff and watched Garden State. Remembered how amazing Nick Drake is. Christmas was great, the only thing i felt like eating was mashed potatoes, but they were really good mashed potatoes.
• Did i mention that X got me a BRAND NEW CARBON FIBER MOUNTAIN BIKE FRAME FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, December 26th.

• Race day! There was a cross race today. Boxing Day cross. The start of KC's "Christmas week" and the grand finale of the local cross calendar. I love it. Three races in a week. Belgium smellgium this is KC cross, baby! But, i was worried, i'd been under the weather since Wednesday and hadn't eaten that much at all. Racing seemed like a bad idea. But X did a great job of motivating me, plus I'm a close second in the overall for KBAR and also the 360 series so i've just got to be gunning hard for these final races. I had a big breakfast to try and pack in some energy. Bagel with cream cheese, bacon, egg casserol. Cholesterol.
• Pow!
• Boxing Day Croaa Race Re-cap: I did this race last year but this year was about 20 degrees warmer and the course was a lot better. Bigger and more dynamic, plus the ground was soft and a little muddy... which is nice. I was plesently surprised to see 16 starters. Last year there were 5. The race started and i could quickly tell it was going to go better than i thought. I was worried i'd have no energy but it was exactly the opposite. I was pushing a big gear pretty easily and getting out of the saddle at will. 7 days of no riding meant the legs were fresh, the lungs however were hurting big time. I rode into third half a lap in but 1 and 2 were gone immediately. David was 2nd, hes the guy i'm trailing in KBAR. 1st place was a dude from St. Louis and he dominated everyone. We talked, he seemed cool. David said he felt good but couldnt hold this guys wheel for more than a few seconds. So i finished 3rd! Totally pleased with that. Even won some cool Sox.
• Remember how good Sussudio by Phil Collins is.

Tuesday, December 27th. Today!

• Took today and tomorrow off work, using up the remaining vacation days. Pretty nice little tuesday. Played Folf for the first time in about a year, Winsteads for lunch, solid ride thru the city on Mountain bikes, chilling at the crib drinking light beer and watching movies. Life is good.

Tomorrow is the Grote Prijs night race!!!!!

So thats that.