Alter my lifestyle?; I accept!

It seems that this has gotten a bit more serious than I thought it would. Last week, I mentioned to Brandon that the thought of living a straight-edge lifestyle had been bouncing around inside my head for a week or two, to which he replied 'me too'. There's no question of whether I would be able to live said lifestyle, my only hesitance is my motive to do so. I don't want to do it just to do it. I want to commit to it for a reason, with some sort of motive in mind. For me, its about being true to myself. I don't feel that I need alcohol in my life cause the juice just ain't worth the squeeze. With that in mind, consider this to my official proclamation of the start of my straight-edge lifestyle.

Old News

I ran across a news article that i did for a buddy of mine during my time at Virginia Tech. He did the interveiw as part of an internship at the Roanoke Times. Here's the archived link- http://www.biglicku.com/blu/Stories/StoryDisplayPage.aspx?Title=A%20long%20way%20from%20training%20wheels&ID=97

Not much going on lately. Taking a few rest days after a solid week and a half of riding, doing some homework, and dreaming about new bike parts. I spent this weekend up in East Stroudsburg visiting Jenny and doing some non-bike related activities, aka, devastating all of her friends in two games of bowling.

Set 'em up and knock 'em down

Right about now, this is starting to give me goosebumps

NEW BIKE!!

Here she is, the new ride. This one's been a long time comin'. The old 2001 Cannondale R800 finally shit the bed and needed to be retired. (It actually died quite a few years ago, I've just been dragging its dead carcas around since then). Instead of just settling for another standard road bike, I opted to go for the double duty bike, a 'cross bike. That way, I can ride it on the road with slicks on and then just switch them out for some nobbies and race 'cross in the fall. I swapped over most of the drivetrain from the C-dale, along with a set of Shimano wheels thanks to Bill Strickland, to a new Jamis Supernova frame and fork. Intitial reaction: I like it, alot. It wasn't until now that I really understood how thrashed the Cannondale was. I actually feel safe on this bike, something that wasn't always the case on the old bike. Decending on the road feels like nothing now, and I don't feel like the bike in going to fall apart at any second. Other than that, it's comfy, looks cool, fairly light, and doesn't make any noises either. I'm happy. Hopefully it lasts another 6 years. And it should, since it's entirely designed for off-road use, I'll be more willing to maintain it.
Motivation for 2008 is still going up. I don't know where it's coming from but I like it. Monday was an epic ride over in Michaux with Brandon. About 6 hours of riding, lots of climbing, 3 inches of snow, temperatures in the low 20's, no stopping (we ate PB&J's on the fly), and a "no-slackin" pace had us both beat by the end of the day. No pictures though, there wasn't time to take any anyway.

Lunch Special

Cooking is quickly become my second favorite activity to riding. It's fairly easy, doesn't take a ton of time, and you can make anything you could possibly want with whatever food you have. I hadn't done a whole lot of it during winter break, but now that I have more time on my hands, I dove back into it again with this. Whole wheat pasta with italian marinara, mushrooms sauteed in terriyaki, and oregano and parsey to top it off. Boy it was yummy.

Mostly Photos

Blogging material hasn't been coming easy as of late. In lieu of real information, here's a bunch of pics that I don't think I've posted yet. Its quite a mish-mosh.

Some redneck being interveiwed by the local news station after crushing skulls at a bicycle race.

The camping site Brandon and I poached for the Snowmass NORBA National. I thought it was a sweet pic. It was fun to visit but I don't think I'd ever live there.

Daytona Supercross- March '07

Second trip to Virginia with Matt and Brandon. We scratched the ride for obvious reasons.

My roommate last year at Virginia Tech always thought it was hilarious when i rode the trainer. One day he made me hold a fishing pole with a raw hotdog in front of me while I tried to chase it. He thought it was hilarious. I didn't see the humor.

My arsenal of bikes almost one year ago exactly. None of which I will have anymore after this weekend.

The Cascades- Pearisburg, VA. Just a cool waterfall a few miles away from Virginia Tech.

Matt, Brandon, and I cut down a tree with a machette.

Training is going very well. I can't wait to start racing again. Motivation is at an all time high which is good...I think. Been eating well, riding well, and sleeping well. Hopefully that will translate to a strong season. I've finally figured out a solid goal for the season, although I'm not going to disclose it quite yet. I will tell you that it is quite ambitious. And that's a good thing.

For Sale

Trying to clean some stuff out for new incoming merch of '08. I have a brand new set of Bontrager RaceLite wheels. It's a sweet wheelset that I never got a chance to use. Comes with tubless valves and rim strips and rotors. If your interested, make me an offer. The full scoop on them- http://www.bontrager.com/Mountain/Wheelworks/Wheels/5766.php

Happy New Year, folks.