Back on the Saddle, Again

Easter came 2 weeks late for me, but now I'm certainly feeling alive again after 2 rounds of antibiotics and lots of rest. Interestingly, you know you're feeling normal simply b/c you enjoy riding the bike again. And you enjoy it most, when you're making yourself hurt. The enthusiam to suffer is back. Time to race again.

A Hellyer tradition in the making...

After being sick for over 2 weeks and not having ridden a track bike for over 6 months, I really didn't have any business being on the track for the 1st Get Ready for Summer race of 2010. But since it was a beautiful sunny day, Payton convinced me to go down to the race. It's quite comical, really, that my 5yr. old urged me to race. But I suppose, he was incented by alterior motives. You see, it's a tradition of ours to get a burritto lunch with Horchata (cinammon sugar rice milk) and cap it off with Mango ice cream. Of course, he wanted to go down to the track. He also gets to play around in the heat which is foreign to us San Franciscans. Plus I feel like he's buddies with many of the riders now too, who give him Clif Bar treats, etc. It really is a great time at Hellyer in Spring. It's a fun time to catch up with friends I haven't seen since last year. But most of all, it's quite precious to me to now have this father and son tradition.

Here's a video of the racing, filmed from my Nano mounted on the handlebar.

All at Once

The things that matter most in our lives are not materialistic or grand. They are moments when we are IN the moment, when we are present in the most attentive or caring way.

Sex on Wheels

5hrs of some incredible riding on the Coast today. It's November and it's sunny and warm. Incredible - hence the song of choice by the Thrill Kill Cult.

Offseason

It's been a long season of training, racing, traveling, etc. Now it's time to ride purely for fun and simply enjoy being on my new crossbike in the headlands.

Rainbows and Clouds

Payton is wise beyond his years, here's why......

I should be happy with my performance at Elite Track Nationals. I should be able to rationalize my performance as something positive considering I did do a personal best in the 200m TT and won the first omnium event. I should be happy we got bronze in the team pursuit despite a disastrous team effort. I should be happy that I more than held my own against the young pros. But, my mind can't stop being critical of all that went wrong. It's like a broken record playing horribly in my head. And so I was not happy. Worst, I was not present. But now thanks to my 5 yr. old son Payton, he brought the negativity to a screeching halt. His words liberated my mind and brought me back to the here and now. He gave me a gift. That's why it's called the present, right.

When I first got in yesterday, I was so happy to see my family. Joking around, I was showing my kids my hand with the torn finger nails and asked them if they think it's gross. My daughter said "Ewww, it's yucky," which it really is. It's really nasty actually. But then when I asked Payton, he said "I don't think it's gross." Surprised, I replied "Really, what do you mean?"

Payton said "When I look at your torn fingers, I don't see what you see. I see Rainbows and Clouds. Impressed, I said "Why do you think that?" He said "Because I want you to feel happy!"

His response choked me up and made me stop and think. I can't help but be so proud of him and also thankful for reminding me of what I know to be true.

Things happen, but nothing ultimately means anything. We make up our own meanings.
Our reality is a choice we make. As I like to say between stimulus and response is a choice. It's our ultimate freedom.

Thank you son for your wisdom.

AVC Keirin Finals 2009

It definitely wasn't ideal spending 2 days in Disneyland before the big AVC track meet. But, I'm a father before anything else, so I enjoyed running around with Payton and Aria. We had a blast. Btw, I tried renting a motorized scooter reserve for disabled people so I wouldn't walk around too much, but the kids refused to have me do that. "Not right!" says Payton. Oh well.

But I knew I would feel much better after having rocktape applied all over my lower back, legs, and even face (big stach). Honestly, the pain in my lower back dissappeared and my legs felt supple again . Plus, I had my new speed weapon - fast forward wheelset (disk + 5 spoke). These wheels are the best wheels I've ridden. All things considered, I'm pretty happy with the performance especially against such a world class field.

AVC Men's Keirin from Greg van den Dries on Vimeo.