Friday, March 26, 2010

The Fates take a poop on Fast Dan

I am not a huge believer in fate. I like to believe that we shape our own destinies. (Or "densities" as George McFly would have us believe) However, I am thoroughly convinced that the 3 old ladies from Greek mythology that sit around and decide our fate had it in for me today.

First off, its March. The first day of spring has already happened. There have been days where the temperature only drops below 50 around midnight. So when I got up this morning and saw the temperature wasn't supposed to get above 40, I was a little dismayed. But only a little.

As I dressed up to ride I put on long tights and a jacket, thinking they'd be coming off as I climbed. The truth is I couldn't even feel my toes, hands, nose, or brain until the first climb. Fates 1, Fast Dan 0.

As I got to the Shoreline trail the sun started to come out. Started. But never really finished coming out. Totally psyched me out. Fates 2. Fast Dan 0.

As I got down to Springville and headed up the climb along Slide Canyon, the sun finally decided to come all the way out. And get warm. Very warm. Perfect for a long steep climb. By the time I got the top I was drenched with sweat. As I started down the descent the sun conveniently snuck back behind a cloud, resulting in a 50 degree drop in temperature, sucking all the fun out of the descent. Fates 3, Fast Dan 0.

About half way down the canyon I started feeling some stiff bumps in the rear. Sure enough the rear tire had gone flat. Not just a goat head or nail, but a nice tear in the sidewall. Of course it was too big and too much on the side for the Stan's to seal it up. So I pulled my spare tube out, patched up the torn sidewall and inflated the new tube. Sure enough, my spare tube had a huge hole in it. Total deucer for the fates; putting the running total at Fates 5, Fast Dan 0.

As I started walking down the canyon, my hands were too cold to even operate my phone. So I walked. And walked. Much like the Utah pioneers of old, except I did NOT sing as I walked and walked and walked. Just rocked out a little to Motley Crue. The pioneers would have definitely appreciated a little light rock. Fates 6, Fast Dan 0

After warming up a bit, Mark Johansen (I figure if he's gonna be a good enough friend to pick me up in the middle of the day I might as well spell his name right) answered my phone call and came to pick me up. He took me to the shop so I could fix my tire.

After fixing the tire I decided to try Provo canyon trails. As I got to the race course it looked like the sun was about to come out again. Psyche. After promptly hiding behind some dark mean looking clouds it began to snow. Then hail. Then snow. Then big hail. Then bigger snow. I just kept riding. I came to the conclusion that the Fates were now in full force, attempting to take the Fast out of Fast Dan, and I couldn't let that happen. So I kept on riding. Faster than ever. However the score continued to favor my opponents, Fates 7, Fast Dan 0.

The turning point finally came at about 4:00, as I rounded the top of Upper Frank and saw the altar. I hadn't seen it since early December. Three months was a long time. I got a little choked up. I had almost cried the day the big snow happened that sealed off the upper trails for an entire winter. It was like saying goodbye to a friend. And now he was back. The same tears that tickled my corneas 3 months ago were right there to welcome it all back. It was like NBA Jam, Tournament Edition, where you had those rad "Hot Spots" where shots were worth like 9 points. Basically seeing the view of Utah county from the altar was like being on fire and slam dunking from a half-court hot spot. Fates 7, Fast Dan 9. Take that old ladies. Bombing down Betty made the entire day worth it. Life is good.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Just a picture


I stole this from Miles. I like it.

Monday, March 8, 2010

"Somebody has a case of the Mondays"

-Note: The first person to name what movie that line is from, they *win a free (slightly used) Racer's Cycle Service water bottle and a mountain bike ride with me: The Phast Dan

-* I'm attempting to boost my number of readers and overall popularity by giving out free stuff. I hear it works well

So its Monday.

I normally don't have to be to work until 1:00 pm. So I normally don't even get out of bed until around noon. I know, rough life, huh? However, today (not so normally) I decided to be productive.

I got up at 7, showered, watched my roommates eat breakfast (I've decided that I'm not going to eat until April. I'm kind of giving up food for Lent. After watching 5'10", 120lb cyclists blow by me this weekend, I've decided that at 165lbs, I'm about 65lbs overweight. Chicks dig skinny guys, right? Maybe I'll start a new blog where I take pictures every day, showing how many ribs stick out of my chest in order to shame myself into getting down to my goal weight: 21lbs. ((yes, that is correct, I want to weigh less than my bike)))

So yeah, I finally managed to get to my office, start thinking about being productive (who really wants to outline the diagnostical differences between simple D.O.M.S. and full blown rhabdomyolysis anyway???) but all I could think about was mountain biking.

And well, since I'm supposed to be here in my office, and not off rolling around in the dirt, I just thought I'd write about mountain biking, since I told myself I'm not allowed to go until at least 10 o'clock this morning.... (only 37 more minutes to kill)

Here is a picture of me this weekend. The weather was perfect, the trail was great, and we all got to go race some bicycles, "yeah, baby"

OK, I can't wait anymore...I'm out of here. Its sunny outside.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Sweet Pictures


So I've never been into photography. Which isn't to say I don't appreciate some good picture taking skills. My brother married a photographer, and one of my best friend's dad teaches photography...needless to say, I've been "exposed" to some good art (sorry, couldn't resist the pun)

So, to spare you from pictures taken with my phone, take a look at some well snapped photos Kyle took of the new bikes.

Look Here for pictures

Thanks, Kyle

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Night Train (never get enough)



While the rest of you are tucking your kids into bed or voting on the next American Idol, I'm out chasing my own dreams...one night train at a time.