Survived Turkey Day & Last Cyclocross Race of the Season

This photo recoiled my neck and rattled my noodle. I just happened to have recorded my 500th activity and that lead me into investigation mode. For ALL of the calendar year 2017 - 295 Hours - 3,067.2 Miles - 39 Personal Records - 439 Activities

Thanksgiving turned out to be a much bigger surprised than I expected, or at least thought that the day might flow. I definitely rode a roller coaster!! But it was the way it was. I was lucky enough to start the morning off completely alone. I was originally nervous about being alone but I worked on tasks at hand and made the best of it.

And Yes, Edible Flowers In That Salad 

I wasn't expecting The Dude to walk in before the 3pm hour. Again, another surprise that holiday gatherings offer, The Dude walked in just after the noon hour. SCORE!! He was thinking about cracking a brew and I had been pounding H2o all morning. So Game On. Cranked up a VERY random CD selection while we prepared a variety of dishes.

About that time is when I was FINALLY able to shed my old skin and allow old engrams to release into that space. Some might refer to that space as the Universe. I'm Cool With That

Now imagine if you will, think back to when you were about 8 years old, sleepover with friends, now I can continue. My Uncles morphed the word booger into a Movie game that became infectious. Hope you catch it!! We started replacing ONE word in movie titles and our bellies hurt for days because of the laughter. Have You Thought of ONE???? Comment Below, Don't Be Shy!!

Fist Full Of Boogers, A Booger Named Desire, Bridget Jone's Booger, My Cousin Booger, Attack of the 50 Foot Booger, Black Booger Down, Gone With The Booger, And MY PERSONALLY added and favorite, Willy Wonka And The Booger Factory. This went on randomly like those CD's playing all night. Stupid humor BUT outrageously funny. Seriously, go ahead a comment below with your rendition. Play it forwards OR backwards. Example - Booger Night Fever or Saturday Night Booger

I am telling you, I had no idea how depressed, sad, and worried I was about this day. Also, my feelings had just been totally crushed and pissed out the window on me. But having Uncles to celebrate our youth with?!?!?!? WoW, Laughing Is Amazing!! Giggling like school kids again was righteous.

My spirits were lifted and my heart felt a happy little beat again. Of course the booger game didn't stop there. It rolled into book tiles and eventually made its way into song titles. Come On Now, Comment With A Movie, Book, Or Song. Example - Dan Millman's A Peaceful Booger or The Beatles, I Want To Hold Your Booger. I'm still cracking up!!! Being Dumb Is So Damn Fun At Times

And Now, another cyclocross season is in the books. How ya like THAT turkey there in the soccer field?? Definitely my favorite venue.

Plenty of options, places to dismount, and super fast straight aways for burning up that cardiovascular system. The Grand Valley saw rain, snow, & wind. It was a true cyclocross weekend!!

RADIO SHOW: Here is a big update. I hosted my first show without The Boy Dog coaching me through a good nap or with a revolving door of volunteers handing out butt rubs. He absolutely love walking to the station.

I had previously been in the station and thought that I would be able to keep it together. I rode the bike on down to the station by about 5am and I am glad I went early. Within about 5 minutes of being in the broad casting booth, I cried like a baby. Not having The Boy Dog felt so awful and empty. I miss that guy so much. But it was way too late to call in sick so I pushed some Wide Spread Panic over the airwaves until The Motet felt alright.

I then "started" the show at 6am and stayed focus. https://www.radiofreeamerica.com/show/morning-muse-kafm-community-radioThis is the link that will be good for the next two weeks ONLY. Its a free link!!!

I featured the late 1970's TV show Mork & Mindy. It was mostly a B-Side Classic Rock show with Mork soundbites mixed in. A well received show. Sh*t ton of phone call ins. A number of texts that stated the obvious, Welcome Back. I passed on talking about The Boy Dog over air and simply focused on remaining present and upbeat. But damn I was pleased hearing from listeners. Considering Mork & Mindy "took place" in Boulder Colorado, all the calls were folks reminiscing and story telling of Robin Williams. Way Cool

I have listened to the show and you can clear hear my voice start to crack a few times but I held it together. I drank a lot of water and took deep breaths when those emotions started creeping on into my mind. And for some weird reason, as I put on my helmet, about to leave the building, my guts knotted up with emotions that I was suppressing all morning.

A majority of my ride was rough and watering eyes makes a ride just a wheeeee bit treacherous.
So Overall, I enjoyed the show but not looking to pick up another show anytime soon.

Hope you leave a booger comment, hope you stream the radio show, & stay hydrated,
Cheers

I am so fortunate to be able to call Colorado home, having an iPhone in my pocket for opportune times, & knowing that I have my health, functioning body parts, & the ability to ride my bike when and where I want. So Fortunate

Seriously??? That Brook Trout is Eating AND Pooping a garden snake. Unreal 

The Western Slope Anglers held a meeting at KAFM and I volunteered to bartend. So glad that I did because the guest speaker was brilliant. He has been guiding for over 30 years and his stories were backed up with amazing photos. I am not a fisherman but he painted moments with his words that had me believing that I too could land rainbows effortlessly. Very Talented & Seasoned Gentleman

This could arguably be argued!!! After approximately 4,000 miles on this commuter in the calendar year of 2018, an overhaul took place. Couldn't be happier about it. Fast Eddie went over the top during this "basic" tune up. He replaced the bearings in both hubs before packing them in new grease, hooked me up with a new pair of pedals, took all the cables out of their housing for new spray lubricant, tightened the headset, adjusted the brake pads, and made it clear to me that I need to bring the bike back in after Turkey Day for a once over as a precautionary check. Will Be Sending Fast Eddie Business 

I happened to be gabbing on the phone and a flock of blue birds infested my juniper tree. Their wings were so beautiful and the "jumped" around this tree like little children engaged in London Bridge Falling play school antics. I Found Myself Smiling

This Needs NO Explanation!! Right??? My only two Uncles on my mothers side of the "family" rode out on Amtrak and are here for Thanksgiving. The Dude & I took them out to Palisade for some Disc Golf and then hit Carlson Vineyard for a quick stop. This particular vineyard does an excellent job of decorating their showroom for the holidays. Top Shelf Day All Around

 *This Section Is Just For Me * Carry On With Your Day * Nothing To See Here*


I am not sure how I am going to make it through these damn Holidays without this guy and our routines. Over his 13 years, Shadow Boy walked into my life the week of Thanksgiving at 3 months old, from then on, we played in various locations while a bird was on the smoker. He truly enjoyed the gathering every year!! I know this because he was such a rambunctious puppy but would lay quietly under the dinner table while we all ate and took turns "dropping" scraps in his general vicinity.

Him & I would round up all the oldies and we would walk the neighborhood after dinner and check out all the new Christmas decorations. He was so proud to pack up with humans and found that extra pep in his step. Its just about the only time that he wouldn't pull on his leash, just trotted along beside us while everyone would drop comments like " such a good boy" or " he is so handsome" or " so well behaved unlike my mutt"

Thanksgiving 2016 

There is an outside chance that Mother Nature might drop some snow flakes Thursday. I couldn't believe my eyes or wanted to believe my eyes when I saw the forecast. The Boy Dog obviously loved the snow because I love snow storms. Its a real pisser to think that he won't be here Thursday AND its going to snow. Maybe I will find my Big Boy Pants & Persevere. Well, I guess I wasn't really given a choice because family members are in town and are counting on me to deliver.

These photos are from my old iPhone4 and I never thought that I would cherish them they way that I do. In this photo, I was wrapping The Dudes X-Mas Gift last year, The Boy Dog clearly protested this behavior and expected more attention. Its just one of his many ways of showing me who was The Boss Apple Sauce. I Miss Him So Fucking Much

September Came And Went, October Hurt, & Turkey Day Is Closing In

Capped of the month of September with a sweet ride on some gorgeous single track outside of the postcard perfect Moab Utah.

The more popular area in Moab for mountain biking is Slick Rock. I had no idea about the Klondike Trail System north of the airport. Talk about radicle and super fast. The Dino-Flow is a MUST!! And its an excellent play on words. Dino = Dinosurs and Flow = Flowing Along With A Big Ol Smile.

Klishy mentioned that we should ride these trails and we knew we only had about an two hours of good light. We checked out the map and came up with a plan. Klishy is a gifted athlete so even though I say we rode the trials together, we never rode together. He always has to wait for me at different intersections or when he knows that I am way behind. Its why I appreciate riding "with" him.

The signage is absolutely brilliant and we could clearly see that a lot of time and effort has been spent on this network of trails. No way could you ever become lost, milage for every section, and tons of options for the locals who ride these trails everyday. And it was the little things that made the difference. Such As, they defined the single track with rocks going into turns and/or straightway through drainage areas.

Moab even painted a BoB Ross Sunset for us. There is something to be said about sunsets in the desert. 

Now for the dismal numbers from September. I am trying to keep in mind that I took 5 full days off during the month. I let Shadow Boy go on the first day of Fall. August also produced some excellent destracting numbers and I knew that I mentally would not be able to complete with those numbers this month.

So after 50 hours for August, looks like 30's are the constant or consistency of Septmeber. No running miles recorded and I am totally OK with that. The Boy Dog was sleeping about 18 hours a day I didn't want him to smell me after a trail run when he wasn't up for it. Thats So Not Fair.

Totals for the month are as follows

30 Days in the Month

37 Hours on the bike

31 Activities 

30 Personal Records

451 Miles

Its occured to me that I will need to investigate Strava a weeeeee bit more. I say this because I will be uploading commuter miles, road bike miles, and mountain bike miles in 2019. Or if any of you have some insight that you would be willing to share with me, comment below. Thanx in Advance!!

Thanx For Checking In And I Was Extremely Touched By All Of The Comments And Condolences From You Fine Folks.  You Can Stop Reading At This Point Because Everything Below Is Just For Me.

When Sadie Girl passed away, I was sad for awhile but I had The Boy Dog to comfort me and keep me moving forward. When I put Ol Gramps down, it was totally his time, I had The Boy Dog to comfort me and keep me moving forward.

I Planted This Memorial Tree In Honor Of Shadow Boy

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday and The Boy Dog always scored an outfit. He loved dressing up and roaming through neighborhoods with me. He loved the little kids and was always so damn gentle with kids in costumes. Remember, he was just shy of 100 pounds those last few years.

Night Time Cyclocross Race Outfit 

But this Halloween was one of the emptiest nights of my life. I was nearly holding myself together earlier at the gym and a segment of the news popped up with 'keeping your pets safe' and that was the final straw. I just couldn't keep from crying all day long. It Phuc-N Sucked

L to R - The Dude, Baby Daddy, H Bird, & Me 

My Niece wanted to host a Robot Halloween and then we would Trick-or-Treat from there. I knew I had to rally but I was not enthusiastic what so ever. Not saying that I was a party pooper but I just didn't have the extra gear of motivation.

Baby Daddy looked GREAT and Iris was dressed as a power pack. CLASSIC !! H Bird hand panted they three outfits and The Dude made his glow-n-the-Dark. We definitely scored on the neighborhood as it was a series of cud-de-sacs. Tons of kids and the ENTIRE neighborhood participated and decked out their homes. VERY IMPRESSIVE

Amazing Decorations These Days

Overall, it WAS nice being around family. But not having Shadow Boy by my side makes me even tear up right now. I miss him like you wouldn't believe. The other day while I was making dinner, I am a sloppy cook, a carrot flipped off the cutting board and I called out for him without even thinking about it. He loved ground scores. Once Again, I Cried Myself To Sleep That Night

Starva sent me a lovely October update. That whole colorful updated e-mail pointed out that I was 542 miles lower than September, 114,00 less vertical gain, 191 miles less running, and only recorded 2 PR's in October. So I Got That Going For Me

Cyclocross Race in New Castle Colorado

I still ride to the office, still lifting weights between 3 and 6 days a week, & still struggling with daily routines without The Boy Dog. Then, just when I didn't think that it could get any worse, my old 2011 MacBook Pro died and I lost all videos and photos of Shadow. Lost ALL My Data, I can deal with losing my music, but losing all of those Boy Dog memories was the icing on the Phuc-N cake. For the month of October, I asked myself this a lot, " What's The Point"
I am not suicidal but I haven't been this unhappy in all of my life. I completely dropped off CrackBook, I haven't created any Youtube content, & this is my first blog update. The craziest part of that is the fact that nobody really even noticed. Nobody, I Mean NoBODY has reached out and asked where I have been.
Thats not a poor me or a dig on anyone. Its just an observation of mine and justifies why its pretty damn easy to pass on social media. If you are not traveling, setting records, or posting cute puppy shots, again, who cares??
Regardless, I am going to use this particular platform as my personal journal. I have races coming up in 2019, I also have travel plans in 2019, & I am finally looking forward to spending New years Eve with The String Cheese Incident.
I have a lot to be thankful for.
I know that I am loved.
I know that this is all part of the process.
I know things happen for a reason.
I am suppose to be getting stronger but its the fact that plans aren't as exciting without The Boy Dog

I thank all of you for stopping by and I really appreciate all of you other bloggers. You have continued to inspire me even though you have no idea that you are doing so.
http://lacemine29.blogspot.com
http://georgezack.blogspot.com
https://bethrunsinri.blogspot.com
https://mumbai-eyed.blogspot.com
http://perthdailyphoto.blogspot.com
http://trailmomma.com
http://patricktillett.blogspot.com
https://highriser.blogspot.com
http://pittbrownie.blogspot.com

Cheers