Thursday, November 12, 2009

Veteran's Day

most people are pretty shocked when they find out i am a veteran. it's true. i was in the coast guard for 4 years and going into the the uscg was definitely one of the best decisions i ever made... right up there with asking beth to marry me. i don't talk about it much i am very proud of the fact that i served my country. a lot of people bitch and complain about a lot things with the government and our country but never do anything about it. i gave 4 years of my life to "work" for our country and do my part. that's something that no one can take away from me. it may sound cheesey but when i hear people complaining all the time i often wonder what they have done to give back or make a difference. ok... enough of that.

so even though my employer doesn't give us veterans day off i always take it off. i deserve it! the rest of this post may be kind of boring... it's just what i did yesterday... a day in the life kind of thing.

so this year i used my day off to get out on the trails in get in more time on the new bike.

i headed out early in the morning and rode over to the trails and put my bike to the test. it passed. i am still totally blown away by this bike and the sram XX groupo. i really can't wait to race it next year.

3:14, 30.31 miles, 5406 ft. of climbing, 2 crashes

after the ride i came home and just relaxed. i can't even remember the last time i did that. we have been so busy that it seems lately that every time i finish a ride or workout there is something else i have to do... like go to work, make dinner, or pack up wedding invitations. so yesterday i just propped my feet up, drank coffee, watched sportscenter, and watched beth do p90x.... which actually looks pretty solid. i may have to give some of the workouts a try.

after lounging for a couple of hours I headed out to SockGuy, my newest sponsor, to hang out and pick up some gear. when i left SockGuy i headed up the street to Green Flash to pick up the beer for Ryan and Sarah's wedding on saturday, which is going to be rad! I couldn't let them kick off the rest of their lives drinking Michelob Amber Bock so I got a case of West Coast IPA and another of Hop Head Red. it's going to be an epic wedding reception!

i also got a growler fill of their limited release DIPA: Palate Wrecker. it's good. (don't worry. i didn't pour this beer until after i was done running around for the day).


after dropping everything off at home i headed up to B&L to pick the Tricross. Gordon was swapping out the crankset to something more CX specific and to give me some better gearing. I also got some white Hudz. i think the bike is complete. once i got back home i cleand the mtb and cx bike while waiting for beth to get home from get her wedding dress fitted... it's getting close!

once she got home we headed up to Bestawan to meet some friends for dinner. a good ending to a good holiday!

7 comments:

Kat said...

I have no idea where or how I stumbled upon your blog, but I really enjoy reading it. I've never left a comment because I'm more of a runner than a cyclist, but it's time to come out of hiding because I wanted to sincerely thank you for your service to our country.

"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave." ~E. Davis

Thanks :)

Ryan Weeger said...

hell yeah, that palate wrecker is calling my name from encinitas!!!

Carolina John said...

very james! Thanks for serving. it's just something i know i don't have the strength to do.

sounds like you had a great day off.

Luke said...

2 crashes...a bike that light is a little less forgiving no doubt. we'll have to hook up on the trails soon so i can drool over the new whip.

can't remember the last time we rode off-road!

Charisa said...

Thanks veteran!!

Matt said...

Thanks for the service and the blog about random "efforts:" Blood Sweat and Beers, dude. Not boring.

Don't stop.

Donald said...

James, Happy Vets Day! We Coasties are few and far between. Your new ride is sick, what did you do with the yeti frame? hey man I posted 2010 goals on my page, check them out and give some feed back PLEASE! Rally some friends to follow my blog also! Thanks man, and keep up the good work.