|
It was another week of bike rides and training. Though I did have two photo shoots mixed in there to break things up.
On Tuesday night I had the rider orientation meeting. David Smith, the organizer of the ride, gave us the safety down low. Bill and Mark, both members of my team were there, so we chatted afterwards about our training and the ride itself.
On Thursday I was feeling kinda sick. Went to the doctor and had some tests, and felt icky aftwards, so I took the day off. By noon I was antsy cuz the weather was finally so nice, but I wasn't feeling up to riding. So I decided a drive in the country would be lovely.
At the orientation meeting, they gave us directions to Krause Springs, the destination and overnight camping location for the two-day ride. The directions seemed easy enough, and it wasn't but 30 some odd miles out to the location. They must really be winding us along a bunch of back roads to get the 66 projected miles of the first day.
I took a couple nature pictures on the way.
I thought my mom might enjoy seeing a butterfly picture. The Mountain Laurel were fantastic this year. The best they have been in years. Most of the trees are done blooming, but out in this Western location there were still some trees with the last blush of flowers.
Mom, this butterfly is for you!
I also found some cool tree roots that I thought might make an interesting composition. What ya think? Should I stick to naked people?
Speaking of naked people, As I said, I had several photoshoots this week, and have about 5 more planned over the next 4-5 weeks. Its gonna be crazzzzzzzy!
You all might remember Mark from December 2001.
Well, he is back in town, and has got his hair all grown out. He was complaining about a bad haircut he had recently got, but the photos we took really maximized his new look. I had some other shots of him that never felt “finished” so combined with these new photos, they make a complete set, so I will be adding a new gallery soon. Now that I think about it, his look has changed so dramatically that it might look funny to have them mixed together. Hmmmm.
I also took photos with Andy. He is a personal trainer at the gym, and I didn't do the model scouting for him. Phillip, a reader fo the site and gym buddy, signed up to do some training with Andy. Thanks Phillip for the gentle persuasion!
Andy is a Kung Fu master and has some great poses he wanted to try out. He was genuinely excited to take more photos, so we made an appointment for Friday at 5pm
Ok, so Andy is gonna go down as one of my favorite models. Much like Alex in January, 2004, he continually gave good face, body and poses. I tried to do a Top 20 pics for him to go look at, but it ended up being the top 150 images…seriously I could do a whole book on these photos.
Here are three pics that I thought might impress you all with his fantastic flexibility and balance. I will try to get him online for June.
Saturday was a big training ride up in Cedar Park/Leander.
Chester and Peeair were both supposed to help train that day, but Peeairs riding partner…JBB (bill) couldn't get his sleepy ass out of bed. Needless to say, Peeair was quite miffed that Chester would be riding while he would have to stay on the sidelines to cheer everyone onward.
You all know Chester is “accident prone” so while getting himself situated on the my Camelback, he did slipped and fell from the tailgate of my truck. Peeair did try to save him at the last minute, but alas, he took a spill. Fortunately he was still ready and rarin' to go!
Teamates Andrew, Jen, and Amanda also joined us for this training ride. Andrew is from Bryan/College Station, and has been training real hard out there in that flat land, and has been coming over for the weekends to get in some good hill training. He's doing awesome. Jen and Amanda were both on mountain bikes, so they definitely were gonna get some endurance training while lugging that extra bike weight. I think they both said they would have road bikes for the ride itself, which I was glad to hear, cuz, well, the mountain bikes are dang heavy, and even with slicks on, it can really add to the challenge of the ride.
The route was real confusing, and at one point the lead group I was in went the wrong way. We had to double back a mile or two. We had to stop about 10 times to figure out where to go. The maps were actually good, no fault of the ride organizers, its just that we couldn't find street and intersection signs anywhere!
We stopped at about the 12 mile mark at a gas station. Mark, one of my other teammates, came up and said “I made it!” He had gotten in a little late, and actually left just after the beginners were pulling out. So he caught up with us, and I was sooooo glad. We road together the whole way, and we got to talk about what was goin on his life.
The sun was out, and the weather was fantastic. I fried my shoulders pretty bad. Oops. I will never learn.
We got finished about noon, and when we pulled in, one of the two sag vehicles pulled in with an injured rider. A woman named Kathy had taken a pretty serious spill. She got into the car ok, but couldn't seem to get out. Kathy really wanted to get in her car, and have here buddy drive her to the hospital. Jill, the sag lady, asked me to help her out. No way she was moving. Jill finally called 911 and an ambulance came to pick her up.
Since Kathy's cycling buddy was being sagged forward, there was no one left to help any riders in need, and there were still a lot of people out. So Jill drafted me into sag an sweep, and I back out to drive around and lend a hand.
Before I left, Peeair INSISTED that he go with Kathy to the hospital. Kathy gave a heartfelt thanks, a little sniffle, and clung to him like a security blanket. It was real sweet!
As for the sag job, it was so much fun! I found the tail end of the riders, and like a vulture, hovered around to see if anyone would need a ride.
Turned out one of my own teammates had finally had enough at about the 33 mile mark. Can you imagine riding 33 miles on a mountain bike-big huge knobby tires? And this wasn't no uber-light full suspension pro thing. The bike weighed like 50 pounds. She might not have made the entire ride, but for goodness sake, she's a machine for going that far on that bike. She's gonna fly when she gets on a road bike!
I emailed Jason, the ride leader, later that night. Turns out Kathy broke her hip in two places, and is obviously out of commission for the ride. I hope Peeair is there to help keep her spirits up!
On Sunday I did some more training with jbb. I took him through my hilly 30 mile ride, and he did awesome! His pace was not stellar, but he was steady, and he got a lot of endurance and strength training in. He's not gonna have any problems at all on the ride. Which is relief, cuz I feel like I talked him into it!
We went shopping afterwards, and I bought myself a new helmet. The one I have was a gift I got about 6 years ago and never really quite fit. It would creep way high, and I constantly have to try and right it. This new one fits snuggly and doesn't wiggle. Can't wait to give it a try, not in the literal sense of course- not after seeing the aftermath of Kathy's crash!
We also went over to Academy and I bought myself a $19.99 sleeping bag! My dad probably got a shiver when I purchased it, cuz that's not a REAL sleeping bag. He very generously gave me one from his hunting inventory a couple years ago. “Boy, this here sleepin' bag is rated to keep ya warm at under minus 40 degrees!”
Needless to say it was a little overkill in the 60 degree Texas temps last year. So I will save the arctic version my dad gave me for when I do the Tour de Klondike.
I looked at tents too. I have a tent my dad gave me at the same time, but am not sure I have all the parts. I better set it up and test it out. Though I would really like a nice one-person tent.
I finished off the day in a Hilton hotel room. Jupiter Entertainment did the interview for their new TV show for Oxygen on the Tracey Tarlton/Celeste Beard fiasco.
I got two really nice letters from readers. One saying “Don't do it, Producers are scumbags!” and another said to do it, but to record the entire interview. I feel like I am about a 10 second sound bite on this whole tv show. Its only a 30 minute show. Chances are I might only be in a couple shots, if that.
Interview lasted about 45 minutes. Had a good time. Nice crew.
And now its 10pm, I am pooped, and glad this weeks over and this journal can be put to bed.
Comment on this Entry
Hill Country Ride Site
Where are you guys and gals? I need you!
The team needs you!
Peeair NEEDS YOU!
Make a wee little donation!
| 
