Strange Vibe Today

As of recent I have been feeling sort of Zin, until today.

Nothing has happened, there is no apparent catalyst, the day just has a strange vibe. A vibe like some changes are about to happen. It's that feeling like someone just gave you some disappointing news, yet there has been no news. Or has there? Maybe it is old news bubbling to the emotional surface as if to say "remember me, you haven't really released me yet and I am here to remind you of that thing or situation you don't like"... so when are you going to get over it?"

Perhaps my Pain Body is hungry, perhaps my egoic self needs conflict or needs to feel special by resolving some conflict that presented itself with the choice to deal with or ignore.

I have news for my Pain Body...I am going to rip your friggen legs off and feed them to you on the lunch ride today. Pop up to give me shit will you? That does it, I am attacking and you won't get no say in the matter. TAKE THAT EGO!

Bastard!

[Post Lunch Ride Entry]
I officially ripped my legs off and fed them to myself on Calaveras. At the top I puked them back out and reattached them with enough recovery time to hit the sprint and feed them to myself again. At the last and final sprint I puked them out one more time and left them laying on Foothill Road at Castlewood. If someone should happen to see them can you scoop them up in a bag and send them to me?

-Nome Out

SPAM Magnet/Gate Keeper

I guess USA Cycling sells the email addresses of all the people registered as Team/Club contacts.
I get so much friggen cycling related SPAM that it's ridiculous.

At this point I tell them in an eloquent as possible manner "send that shit for free or go the hell away". No free trial, no access to my network (team). That's how it works.
Here is a response I sent to a company that wants me to fork over some bucks for some crap they are pushing.

"You guys SPAMMED me, I didn't contact you.
I am the contact for a large and very active racing team here in Northern California. Northern California is the home of the largest number of licensed bicycles racers in the entire United States.
Of those licensed riders, more than 70% are over the age of 35 and are business professionals (lawyers, doctors, software engineers...etc) making an annual household income of well over $100,000 a year.

In other words, this is your target market.

I get SPAM like this all the time as companies get my email address off of the USA Cycling website. If I purchased every product that I received these emails for I would be broke and have so much stuff in my system that I would make Michael Rasmussen seem like Mr. Clean (that's a joke). Most emails I just delete. If you want me to forward information about your product to my team and friends, send a bottle. I will evaluate it, provide feedback, and if it works tell 50 of my best friends.

That's how it works."

-Nome Out (aka East Bay Cyclists Guinea Pig)

Local Cycling Nooze

In the shadow of the Astana fiasco, local riders in the Northern California cycling scene have been with similar accusations and findings. These recent revelations in the unexplained speed of the Masters fields as of recent have lead to intense under cover investigations.

In a recent leak to the lesser known media outlets it was discovered that a certain rider with exceptional talent has been auctioning off his blood for the use of transfusions into other riders of wanting talent. When confronted Olaf simply said "Have you seen my house? I have a mother load of cats to feed...I have to do something for some extra money...shit I can't even afford to get my bike upgraded to 10 speed. Besides, I am just a blood donor, thats not illegal."

A current team leader from a local East Bay team dawning spiderman like costumes has refused interviews and also been spotted wearing long sleeve jerseys and clothing on very hot days. Speculation is that the team leader himself has made very high bids for the oxygen rich Olaf red elixir.
One question from the media is why this racer has been absent from the local scene since returning from a team trip to Iowa. Our sources have recently spotted him doing secret training in the coastal mountains of the Bay Area, but even on the bike this rider of slight build has refused to stop to talk with our sources.

I need you to fail.

My ego needs an identity, it needs someone to help so that I can feel I have purpose in life. I need you to fail so that I can help you and say "look what I did, it is part of my purpose for being" even if only spoken to myself.

I need you to fail so that I can win, and then I will feel important...for a moment. Then I need you to fail again, perhaps next Saturday.

When you proceed not to fail, I will change categories so that I can find some new people to fail and help me feel important. Perhaps I will race an older category.

I need you to be starving so that I can give my life purpose and collect food for the hungry. I need to fill my soul with small achievements of helping those who have failed.

Your failure gives me identity in the World. Your failure helps me to be perceived as compassionate and giving. Please fall down so that I can assist you in getting up, or even carry you to the hospital.

Your failure helps me to feel good about myself. I shall appear to sacrifice my happiness in order to assist you after your failure. Because I am just giving like that. I am a giver.

Rest is good.

Never underestimate the power of taking a break from racing.

I am fresh, I am lighter, and I am enjoying riding again. It is a very freeing experience.

Can't wait to ride Shasta with Gianni. I have always wanted to ride it, so one more new experience in the books.

I may be back this season for Done Again and University if the roto-rooter nose treatment goes well.

Before

After

Chip off the ol block

The kid can rock! Only 7 months ago was he asking for a guitar, but the kid is learning fast and able to pick songs up by ear.

Dyllan went to a week long Summer program and in that week learned about playing in a band and with other musicians. This is a brief video of the recital they had at the end of the program.

Warning: This isn't like the recital your Mom made you do when Grandma was in town. These kids can rock!

Dyllan is the one with the hat on and the black and white guitar.

Heavy Listening

I am currently listen to a book on CD by Eckart Tolle "A New Earth". (My wife is reading it, but I don't have that kind of free time)

He covers a substantial amount about the Ego, and of course the general insanity of all man kind.
As he points out, insanity is the norm, sanity the obscure.

Here is reflection of one concept, the Pain-Body, by Saleem Rana:

"First, there is the field of complete consciousness.

This then expresses itself in an organic form.

From here it loses itself in organizing the physical environment around it.

It begins to split into mind, and mind then splits into ego, and ego then believes itself the origin of consciousness.

As ego, arising from thoughts of limitations, fractures itself against obstacles, it develops what Eckhart Tolle calls the pain-body.

The pain-body then becomes an unconscious entity within. It seeks to feed on pain to survive. It makes a person feel pain and it causes this person to inflict pain on others.

After the pain-body strikes out, it tends to propagate. Soon armies are formed and war propagated. Mind itself now works in service to the pain-body.

The past two world wars are an expression of the pain-body in complete domination.

Release from the pain-body comes from observing the mind; observing how it takes a feeling, becomes identified completely with it, and thinks and acts out that feeling.

This witnessing is separation from the pain-body, disidentifying from it. When this happens, the light of awareness begins to dissolve the pain. One sees this shadow entity for what it is, an accumulation of past hurts, an expression of renegade life-force particles.

Witnessing is recognizing the self to be other than egoic mental and emotional turbulence. It is a return to recognition of the awareness that propagates thinking, which is a small part of consciousness.

Witnessing is placing the conscious in the moment and observing it express itself through mentation.

Recognizing oneself as the author of mind and not the outcome of mind removes the automation that goes along with a belief in determinism, which in turn arises because of the belief that mind arises out of matter.

This is the movement referred to as spirituality, and it is a movement toward wholeness.

Spirituality itself can be confusing because of the elaborate expressions on what it is; but, in its essence, it is an attempt to return to wholeness.

Wholeness, it will be discovered, can’t be fragmented.

Wholeness is a return to identification with the origin of creation; a return to contemplation of the field of consciousness itself; a return to what is referred to as God, Beingness, or Spirit.

Our journey in life is a journey toward freedom, identifying with what it real, which arises from pure subjectivity, the implicate order. Our entrapment in the explicate order is by virtue of unconsciousness about the pain-body."

They say that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. I guess I am ready for this information. The trick will be in application. I grew up with some challenges that this book illustrates very clearly. Hopefully I will gain some insight to overcome those challenges.
We shall see.

Nome out.

Breaking News: Zabel to join the Spidey Crew

Just shortly after today's crash in the Tour de France Erik Zabel announced his retirement from the Professional side of the sport upon the completion of the Tour.
Following the announcement was the news that Zabel has been in talks with the California based EMC/Vellum Cycles Masters Team for the 08' season and to continue cycling for fun and racing on a Nor Cal Masters team.
Zabel had stated what a great place California would be to raise his family and enjoy year around cycling.

Zabel has decided to prepare himself for the 2008 U. S. Masters Nationals. As it turns out the German was actually born in San Fransisco when his parents worked as house servants for a German business man, Baron von Schnitzelstein, giving Zabel dual citizenship and making him eligible to hold a U. S. Championship title.

More news on this topic later.

By the way, check this out: http://groovy-t.blogspot.com/

Kaiser Wrap Up, no frills...

I decided to stick to my plan of making this a build ride for later events.
You have two choices at Kaiser, kill it and spend a couple of weeks recovering...and maybe not enjoy the ride. Or, keep in below threshold and use it to build.

Having this be my 4th time I chose the latter.

Gianni and I had a little fun at the start and did some pace setting, and keeping the bike upright.
300+ riders and most of them tourists in a mass start, you definitely want to be at the front.

After Sasser and Jonathan started hitting the early climbs pretty hard I decided to back off and cruise and let them have at it (swords drawn). Get out of the way, or you might get cut.

Gianni pulled into the first rest stop as I was leaving and thought, ah screw it, I drug him out her to this thing so I wait and we will enjoy the company. Gianni's front derailuer was trying to opt out of the ride, but the mechanics fixed him up. 20 minutes later we were rolling again.
Nice and easy, keeping the HR round 155 up Toll House. Nice steady spin with lots of breath to chat it up. Even did some coaching along the way and help some poor soles out.
One kid had the build of climber, but he was wrestling with his bike, and the bike was winning.
"Relax, keep the upper body stable, and don't pogo up and down".
I chatted with this rider later, he mentioned it helped and he was having a much better ride.

Gianni and I split up just after the Shaver Lake stop, and I decided to punch it for awhile.
I turned on the MP3 player and let Iron Maiden, Accept, and Rainbow drive me up the Big Creek climb. Easily one of the hardest sections of road in California. With the music blaring, and the new 27 spinning I pounded up this section faster and easier than I had done on any of the other 3 times at this event. Even the 20% section seemed to go by pretty quickly.

Same same up Kaiser Pass.

It was nice to finish this brute of a ride (155 Miles, 13,500' of climbing) feeling pretty fresh and having enjoyed the hospitality along route. The melon ROCKED, now I am craving cantaloupe big time. Looks like it's pretty good for you, check that link.

It brings a bit of a smile to face to think of all those riders who think they are racing this thing and blow all the rest stops just so they can finish 30th something and finish 2 minutes earlier than last year.
Got news for you dude...you didn't ride any faster, and you didn't do yourself or your fitness any favors.
If you aren't in it to win it, relax and have some fun...it's a beautiful ride and oh so much more enjoyable to feel good on the bike...the next day!

Not having destroyed myself, the wife and I went for a nice ride Sunday morning with a slow group out of Ptown. It was fun and good for the recovery.

Today, I feel great!

So Stinkin Proud

EMC/Vellum's own Jasmin Parsons at the West Coast Jr. Development Camp.

After winning the Jr. District Crit she received an invite.

We are all so proud of her!

-Nome