This is going to get good...

Anonymous said...
So I hear that you issued a big challenge this weekend and after a bunch of smack talking it was accepted. I think you need to take a picture of your Benjamin and post it for all to see so you can remember what it looks like when it’s gone. Care to make it more interesting? Forget the Benjamin, how about a carbon hard tail 29er for a shiny new Specialized 56cm road bike? Down 2

Who doesn't love Benjamin Franklin?

So I had a chance to spend some time with a great lifelong friend this weekend. After a few days I came to this conclusion... We're both in the same boat. Or at least ON the same boat! We're both somewhat out of shape, could lose 25-30 lbs., love two wheeled things, are sleep deprived ( for different reasons ) and are generally fed up with feeling "like crap". So I offered up a challenge. Twelve weeks, one hundred dollars, see who loses the most. Rich went one better. One hundred dollars to the first person to hit 195 lbs. Goodbye Clydesdale class! I'm sure my cardiologist will be thrilled.

Time to "Do WORK!"- Christopher "Big Black" Boykin

Return of the "MAN"

HoooRAHHH July!

'nuff said.

Happy Fathers Day!

Walking With The Dinosaurs. Fun? You betcha!

Wish you were here.

Ever try LSD?

Long Slow Distance, Long Steady Distance? We've all heard about it. How it's supposed to be good for base mileage and early Spring training, but hey it's June after all. Well I asked my cardiologist about riding and he responded like this, " Well... Yes. You can ride BUT keep your heart rate low, low o.k. None of this 180-190 beats per minute. Just take it easy till we work this out, alright." Now I can't remember a time when I ever had a better excuse to ride slowly until this moment. "No, easy ride today for me thanks. Cardiologists orders." LOL. Why not laugh? I'm still riding, and I'm still six feet ABOVE ground, everyday is a gift... So I rode. Two hours and twenty three minutes with an average heart rate of 135 BPM. Perfect. Thanks to Polar, Good Charlotte, Jimi Hendrix, Chicago, and Social Distortion. Oh, Apple too, for making i-pods. I made some mental notes during the ride... Recovery, is it a true indicator of cardiovascular fitness? At one point during the ride, my HR climbed to 164. Short hill but I did try to stay relaxed. 46 seconds after (still pedaling, active recovery?) my HR dropped to 126. Is this good? I don't know. I do know this... I was riding my bike, the Sun felt awesome, and it was great to be alive.

I'll take that.

This is not a Comeback.

This is not a comeback... Comebacks are for Lance Armstrong, Michael Jordan, and Bell Bottom Jeans.



On April 6Th. my older brother, Dennis, passed away. Heart Attack. 41. Husband, Son, Father of two children, and my Brother. There are no words to describe how much I love Him and how much I miss Him. In this, I am not alone.



Today at 3:30 P.M. I found myself in my cardiologists office anxiously awaiting the results of my Cardiac Computed Tomography Angiography. A radioactive contrast die accompanied by a 64 slice CT scan. Along with a Calcium Score Test. In short by 5:30 P.M. today I was already scheduled for a Heart Catheterization on Friday @ 6:30 A.M. Calcium score zero, yet blockages still present? With the heart cath they would have went right in there, and as needed put in stents. This would have meant taking Plavix for life. Not good if you happen to crash a bike or something... I left the Cardiologists with an appointment for Friday @ St. Peters Hospital and an arm full of pamphlets, instructions, and new prescriptions. A nauseating mix of emotions swirling inside my head. I missed Dennis more now than ever. At 7 P.M. My Cardiologist called me back and explained that he wants whats best for me and had been thinking about my case since I left. So much so, that he reviewed it with a few of his peers at the practice. He's decided to go with a Nuclear stress test first, he really doesn't want to see me on the Plavix for the rest of my life. Now there are some blockages which he referred to as a congenital defect that need to be determined just how bad they really are. I can't express how grateful I am to this man as he truly cares about my health and about the quality of life I desire to live. He's professional, and compassionate. I TRUST him. So tomorrow we will schedule the nuclear stress test and I want it A.S.A.P.! It is not something I can score perfect on ( Like an A+, there are some blockages there, especially on the LAD, the one that probably did my Brother in...) but as you can imagine , I sure would like to do as well as possible. If this fails it's in for the heart cath and a much higher chance of stents. Not so good...



But the day may come when you got something to lose /And just when you think you're done paying dues / You say to yourself "Dear, God What have I Done?"/ And hope it's not to late cause tomorrow may never come / REACH FOR THE SKY cause tomorrow may never come...

- Social Distortion



Maybe this might sound selfish, maybe even ludicrous... If you've never competed in an athletic event, never pushed yourself so hard you thought you may pass out, HR PEGGED @ 196. Then you probably wouldn't understand it at all. But if you have? I just want to ride my bike. HARD. FAST. I want to out sprint a friend. I want to drop someone on a climb. I want to lose 20 lbs. I want my Brother back, even if only for a moment, so I could tell Him I love Him one last time.



This is not a comeback... This is MY LIFE.



LIVESTRONG

Better?

One for the Queen.

(...of the Beaners. Get it?)

Trippin'...

Road Trippin' that is... Birthday party on my fathers side of the family this weekend in his home town of Fulton, outside of Oswego, N.Y. I like things that are well engineered. Like Carbon Fiber, Shimano anything, Duct Tape, Zip Ties, and this here 08 Dodge Challenger SRT8. It belongs to my cousin Tim and he took me for one hell of a ride in it. To say it's fast is an understatement. This is mostly a blog about amateur cycling so for those of you who may not know much about cars , I'll explain it like so... If "Tornado" Tom Boonen was reincarnated as a car, this is what He'd look like. Fast, unnerved by high speeds, good looking ( right ladies?), and Total ROCKSTAR! See Tom's ongoing battle with certain recreational drugs. ( Note that I do not condone such behavior, I just read VeloNews. It's not my place to judge anyone... ) So when I got home this afternoon , I immediately jumped on the bike and went for an hour long spin. Felt great, though not as fast as a SRT8 Challenger. Note to self- Buy some TUBES tomorrow on lunch, jackass!

Oh, almost forgot, I introduced my Nephew ( 8 1/2 ) to the classic "Slow Ride" by Foghat and "the Worlds Loudest Clap". What's the worlds loudest clap you may ask? It was my ill-fated attempt to get a spot on The David Letterman Show. How'd that work out for me? Well you never heard of it did you?

Flat Tires ACT II

You have got to kidding Me? Six BRAND NEW road tires but not ONE tube!? If this were a business, I'd have to fire someone... Good thing it's not 'cause that person would me. So I sliced a side wall the other night and lo and behold I'm out of tubes. I got home from work today and HAD to cut the grass. The next available time would have been Monday and you know I'm not bagging that shit. So I cut the grass, and at least that goes off without a hitch. Thanks to my 20 year old John Deere push mower. Believe it or not I'm actually a decent mechanic. Afterwards I drop into the HQ ( code for the CAT SIX RACING TEAM hang out, a.k.a. my garage ) and get going on what I figure will be a five minute tire change. Ten minutes later and I'm still looking for a tube. SIX new tires and not one freakin tube. WTF! Thankfully I remembered my training wheel in the basement and quickly remedied my situation. It's about 6:30 P.M. and I'm still jonesin' for a ride. I run upstairs change in to some hot, sexy spandex (Lycra, whatever...) and fly out of the garage. Down the road I go... My bike, HR monitor, and two water bottles. Hey, who needs spares when you're rollin' on sweet new rubber. Plus I just wanted to ride. Sometimes you just got to say "What the fuck..." - Joel Goodsen , Risky Business

I Like Cheap Beer

CAT SIX RACING HQ

Yeah, you read that correctly. Now I know there are a TON of cyclists out there who are crying "Oh the hypocrisy..." I like a good micro-brew from East Beageasus just as much as the next dude but let me explain my logic... Cheap beer is still BEER. The truth of the matter is I'm only going to expel it an hour later ( take a leak, in case you didn't catch that ). And, most importantly, cheap beer leaves me more money for BIKE PARTS! Now you see where I'm comin' from. This country is in a bit of a recession and your LBS could use some help. It's time to get patriotic here people and do your part to stimulate the economy. In an entirely unrelated note, ALWAYS remember to bring a mini pump and a few patches on your ride. One time I walked TWO miles in my socks (bike shoes hangin' off the drops) because I rode without flat "protection". My feet felt like someone had taken a belt sander to them! For the next three days. So tonight I rode with nothing but water bottles. No spares, patches, pump, cell phone, nothin. You guessed it. I flatted. Thank God I was only 200 yards from my house. The worst part? The clack, clack, clack of my cleats on the pavement as I walk my bike through the neighborhood dressed in full kit. I can hear the neighbors now..." Honey, there's that guy again, dressed up like a superhero, and he's taking his bike for a walk!" Oh the shame...