The first full week of 2009 is ending and it's been full of bad news. The economy is the big player as we all know. I feel lucky to be in the Automotive Industry and still be employed. Two of my teammates, Brain "The Wrench" and Gerry 'Captain Terror", work in my office with me and it's funny because usually this time of year we are already talking about the upcoming race season.
We as many know I have no plans to race at all in 2009. In fact I don't even own a complete mountain bike. I have a frame, fork, a set of wheels and some other scattered parts but not enough to throw a whole bike together. I sold all my race stuff to cover xmas this year so we didn't have to dip into our savings to pay for it like we do every year. My company is still going but none of us are sure for how long. My family is more important than my race season. Sue and I have made a few changes and started preparing for the possible "worse case scenario" in that my company goes under and I lose my job. We had put our cottage up for sale in Sept with the plan to build a new one across the lake on her dad's property. It actually sold last month but now we plan to just keep the money in the bank until we see how this economy thing plays out.
It's weird not having a mtb to ride. I still have my road bike and recently acquired cheap used bmx bike. I have already developed a complete parts list for the new DJ/Urban bike I want to build but honestly I can't justify spending the money right now. Even with the big cushion we have from selling the cottage going out and building another bike just seems like a bad idea.
It's funny because a good jump bike for me would be the deal Captain Terror could get me on a Redline D640...but I know if I ended up getting it I would not be completely satisfied and I would end up upgrading most of the bike. So I want to piece together the exact parts I want to make sure I will be satisfied when it is done. Have I become a bike snob as to where I just can't ride a normal bike anymore??? I am not even happy with my bmx bike, I keep looking at upgrades for that and I hardly ride it. But really, even after you build the exact bike you want is it ever completely done?
So to keep me busy and away from spending lots of money I have decided to tamper with building wheels. I have a couple extra bmx wheels laying around and I figure they will be good practice wheels for my first couple tries at this. Might cost me $20 for some new spokes and nipples but that'll be it. Once I gt a couple good wheels I hope to start building my own mtb wheels. This should keep me busy along with having the new baby.
And last, as for milage.....I am so out of the game. Rode about 100 miles in November on the trainer, 0 in December and none yet in January. There are a lot of people who are faster than me now.
I'm still going to d my best to cover the team events this season. I have always felt like the team's Public Relations rep. Sue and I have already talked about the Tour De Cure as well. I want to ride it with Ashton this year so I will be planning to do the short ride instead of the metric century like I normally do. I may even pull Abi in the trailer as well so she can be involved.
So keep tracking this blog. We'll be more diverse in the cycling world this year. Road, XC, CX, bmx, Urba, DJ, Park riding....never know where the team will show up.
Keep the tires aired down and the layers built up, it's cold outside.
Aryn
Friday, January 9, 2009
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Starting the year
Well the New Year is finally here. Been a while since I have posted anything. Life got really busy and my riding and training had to take a back seat. In fact it was farther back than the back seat, more like in the trunk. I parted out my race bike, sold most everything off my single speed so I really don't even have a mountain bike right now. I still have my road bike along with the fluid trainer but it has only seen about 100 miles in the past 2 months. Those who know me know I usually bust off well over 100 miles a week normally.
Most people know that Sue and I are having another baby in about 4-5 weeks. Because of that I have decided to not race the 2009 season. Plus, over the past few months I have really started to enjoy more of a trick/stunt riding style on mountain bikes and bmx. I recently picked up a used bmx and have been tooling around on it. In fact just last week I took my son Ashton to the new indoor ramp park that just opened up in Royal Oak. We had a blast. However, I am not sure I belong on 20" wheels. So now I am looking to build a 26" wheeled jump bike to use next summer at places like the Stony Creek Skills Park. Ashton and I went there last fall before it got to cold and I had more fun there than I have had in a long time on a bike. I plan to keep rolling on my bmx until I get that new jump bike built. I already started looking for frames.
As for trail riding in 2009 I hope to get out now and then but not sure how much it will happen. I really enjoy riding with Ashton and with the new baby it'll be hard to jump in the car and ride across town to the trails. When I get me time I'll probably just do my road routes on the Felt which I enjoy. This may finally be the year I get a new road bike. I am way overdue seeing as mine has over 10,000 miles on it.
The big thing this Spring will be if Ashton decides to race bmx. They have a track at Waterford Oaks and they run races every other weekend. If he does I can see myself trying a race or two to see what it is all about. If Ashton does decide to race bmx he'll need more ride time himself so I can see myself doing urban rides with him and Abigail a few times a week to strengthen his legs.
2009 is going to open a lot different that the past few years have. Usually at this time I am already 1000 miles into my off season training and focused on the first few races of the new year. It feels funny not being on the bikes as much but my body feels well rested since I haven't really worked it hard in two months. I plan to get back in a routine so I don't lose my legs completely but I'm sure it will be only half the weekly hours I normally ride. Last year I hit 6,000 miles and that's my biggest total ever. Since I started logging miles 4 years ago I have ridden over 16,000 miles.......that's crazy to me.
So I am ready to go into the New Year and roll with what comes. Looking forward to having a fun laid back year without stressing the big races. But don't think I am done racing forever. I still have a few races I want to compete in after this year. It'll just take some time to build myself up to the condition I will need to be in. So to all my friends and racing foes, keep doing what you are doing and know that when you least expect it I'll be back at the starting line looking to get back to that podium. I'm not retiring......I'm refueling.
Keep your head up and your tires down.
Aryn
Most people know that Sue and I are having another baby in about 4-5 weeks. Because of that I have decided to not race the 2009 season. Plus, over the past few months I have really started to enjoy more of a trick/stunt riding style on mountain bikes and bmx. I recently picked up a used bmx and have been tooling around on it. In fact just last week I took my son Ashton to the new indoor ramp park that just opened up in Royal Oak. We had a blast. However, I am not sure I belong on 20" wheels. So now I am looking to build a 26" wheeled jump bike to use next summer at places like the Stony Creek Skills Park. Ashton and I went there last fall before it got to cold and I had more fun there than I have had in a long time on a bike. I plan to keep rolling on my bmx until I get that new jump bike built. I already started looking for frames.
As for trail riding in 2009 I hope to get out now and then but not sure how much it will happen. I really enjoy riding with Ashton and with the new baby it'll be hard to jump in the car and ride across town to the trails. When I get me time I'll probably just do my road routes on the Felt which I enjoy. This may finally be the year I get a new road bike. I am way overdue seeing as mine has over 10,000 miles on it.
The big thing this Spring will be if Ashton decides to race bmx. They have a track at Waterford Oaks and they run races every other weekend. If he does I can see myself trying a race or two to see what it is all about. If Ashton does decide to race bmx he'll need more ride time himself so I can see myself doing urban rides with him and Abigail a few times a week to strengthen his legs.
2009 is going to open a lot different that the past few years have. Usually at this time I am already 1000 miles into my off season training and focused on the first few races of the new year. It feels funny not being on the bikes as much but my body feels well rested since I haven't really worked it hard in two months. I plan to get back in a routine so I don't lose my legs completely but I'm sure it will be only half the weekly hours I normally ride. Last year I hit 6,000 miles and that's my biggest total ever. Since I started logging miles 4 years ago I have ridden over 16,000 miles.......that's crazy to me.
So I am ready to go into the New Year and roll with what comes. Looking forward to having a fun laid back year without stressing the big races. But don't think I am done racing forever. I still have a few races I want to compete in after this year. It'll just take some time to build myself up to the condition I will need to be in. So to all my friends and racing foes, keep doing what you are doing and know that when you least expect it I'll be back at the starting line looking to get back to that podium. I'm not retiring......I'm refueling.
Keep your head up and your tires down.
Aryn
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