Slickrock Haiku

Slickrock is awesome
My tires always hook up
Steep climbs are all mine

“Spring” Board

I am currently in Moab, UT, a town that has completely surpassed any expectations that I could have had for it. I will be getting in to telling about Moab a little later though, as I have to do some backfilling to make up for simply not having the time to share everything that I have been up to.
Previously, I told of my wild trip to Colorado Springs, but I have not yet talked about my time in the Springs. When I arrived, after completing my version of Cannonball Run, Sarah, her niece Hannah, her sister Jill’s family and a couple of their friends were there to greet me. After the marathon I had completed (running 26.2 miles = driving 26.2 hours?), it was great to have such a fond welcome. Quickly, a cold one was placed in my hand, and we had homemade bananas foster ala mode for dessert. Everyone seemed excited to stay up, play cards and socialize, but I was not long for the conscious world, I laid down on the couch to watch everyone play cards and woke up several hours later as I was being ushered from the couch to bed.

The next morning, we woke up for breakfast, as prepared by Jill’s boys. Jill has an awesome family. She is married to Craig, who is totally laid back and I will henceforward refer to as “Information Savior” for reasons you will soon discover. Jill and Information Savior have four boys: Daniel will soon be attending Va Tech on a full ROTC scholarship, Jordan is hysterical and a fun guy to be around, Austin is a really caring kid with a servant’s heart, and the youngest, Joey, is another funny guy and was gracious enough to relinquish his room for the duration of my stay. Shortly after breakfast, we did the tourist round of the Springs. We ascended Pike’s Peak for beautiful views, visited Garden of the Gods to see unique rock formations, and drove through old town Colorado Springs. That night, we relaxed and ate dinner together.

The following day was Sunday, and the real reason we were all gathered in the Springs. Jordan was to be confirmed in the Catholic Church that day and he had chosen Sarah as his sponsor for the process. We had a pretty laid back day leading up to the Confirmation, and didn’t do much apart from watch Avatar.

Avatar Tangent

NAGAA (Not as good as advertised). I was into it for awhile, but it kind of lost me as time went on. The special effects were amazing and I always appreciate a message that reinforces respect for the environment, but there were a couple of issues I found. First, the animation was great, but it really didn’t seem like $700 million worth of great special effects. Perhaps I need to see it in 3D, but I think there is a law of diminishing returns when it comes to spending money on CGI. Second, is an irony noone seems to be talking about. Did it completely escape James Cameron that he spent $700 million on a film that attempted to preach about the beauty of living simply and primitively? Apparently it did. Dear James Cameron, thanks for some breathtaking scenes in your film, Avatar, but please leave the preaching to those that are at least trying to walk out their message. Also, how did this movie get a PG-13 rating? Is it just me, or did Neytiri spend, like, roughly, the ENTIRE movie pretty much naked and didn’t the body count rival that of Saving Private Ryan? Maybe $200 million of that massive budget was used to buy a more consumer friendly rating from the MPAA.

And now back to your regularly scheduled program . . .

The mass and confirmation we attended were beautiful. The church that Jill and Information Savior’s family attend is a really impressive structure, and the bishop who gave the homily for the service was captivating. We watched as close to forty young men and women confirmed their faith. While I am not catholic, I find young people committing to the principles of the Christian Faith extremely reassuring. Following the mass, Information Savior prepared excellent steaks for dinner and we sat around the table with more family, having some very interesting conversation. Eventually, it was time for the evening to wrap up. This would be Sarah’s last evening in the Springs, so we stayed up talking and trying to make the most of our time before we parted ways. Unfortunately, I was still exhausted from my travels, so we spent a minimal amount of quality time together before each retiring to bed.

The next morning, we awoke around four a.m. to take Sarah and her Hannah, to the airport so that they could fly home to Virginia. Goodbyes were tough, but they were said nonetheless. After dropping Sarah and Hannah off, Information Savior and I drove home. During the ride, I mentioned that my computer didn’t seem to be working at all. He said he would take a look at it. When we got home, I went back to bed and slept in, something I hadn’t done since reaching the Springs.

I will tell about the rest of the time in the Springs in my next post, as this one has gotten a little long. Thanks again for reading.

-Clint

P.S. I have pictures from this time, but most of them are on my camera which is currently inaccessible due to a silly mistake. For now, just look at this rock formation at Garden of the Gods and watch out for Big Foot!

(Interesting rock formation at Garden of the Gods)

(I brake for huge, mythical, scary beasts)

Wherein I Compare Driving Long Distances and Endurance Racing

On Thursday evening, around 9 p.m., it struck me that I hadn't gone on a nice drive in quite some time. I do most of my driving around town and into Northern Virginia, so it is rare that I can get out on some open roads and really enjoy myself. I am very fortunate that I really like the car I own. I have yet to come up with some clever nickname for it, so for now we'll just call it what it is, a Subaru Outback 2.5 XT. The Subie was neglected throughout tax season, so I felt it necessary to really use all of it's abilities on a drive. First, I loaded it down with bikes, a cargo box and sundry other personal items:

(The Subie in "Road Warrior Mode")

Having felt that I was sufficiently fulfilling the ruggedness quota of my car (It is, after all, an SUW, and yes, I am a hapless victim of marketing lingo), I decided to take a trip west on 66, away from all the hustle and bustle of the DC area. After about 50 miles, 66 hit 81 south, and I thought, "What the heck, the buru needs a little more attention, I'll take her a little further." But the buru got greedy and took advantage. I swear, you give her a mile, she takes 1,651. 81 led to 64, 64 led to 70, 70 led to 24, and after nearly 26 hours of driving, I was in beautiful Colorado Springs, at the base of the breathtaking Pike's Peak.

(In Colorado Springs, the Buru feels at home, as there is mountainous terrain and many other of it's kind.)

That's right, I left Warrenton, Va at approximately 9 p.m on a Thursday night and arrived in Colorado Springs, CO at 9 p.m. Friday, having only taken brief breaks for gas, caffeine, food and stretching sessions. I would like to point out that at no time did I feel overly drowsy or incapable of continuing with my drive. Had that happened, I would have pulled over and slept. My goal was to get to the Springs as quickly as possible but not at the risk of my safety or anyone else's.

As I have mentioned before, I have some experience with endurance mountain bike racing. I have raced both on teams and individually in 18 and 24 hour races. These races generally consist of riding in a 7-15 mile loop as many times as you can in the given time frame. In these races, I have ridden my bike as long as 15 hours continuously. Throughout my drive across half of the country, I was struck by the similiraties and differences between driving a long, long, long, long time and endurance racing. They are many and some are enumerated below.

1. You will be uncomfortable.

(My mountain bike saddle)

(My driver and passenger seat after filling my car with approximately half of everything I own)

If you take a good look at either of these seating positions, you would probably observe that neither would likely be a comfortable place to be for an extended period of time. Your observation would be spot on. Although I love my car, one fact that became "painfully" apparent during my drive is that it was designed in Japan for people that are slightly smaller than me. This caused many aches and pains as my journey went on.

2. You have to shut out discomfort.

I am no doctor, but I have learned there are different parts of the brain that govern your ability to process information and respond to it. When driving or riding a long distance, you have to learn to use and listen to parts of your brain that are critical to your task, but ignore the parts of your brain that make the task more difficult. Example: When your brain tells you there is another car near by or a turn you need to take soon, you respond by saying, "Hey, thanks brain I will take that information and use it accordingly." When your brain is telling you you are in pain and still have 18 hours to go, you respond with, "Shut up and come back when you have something useful to say."

3. You will eat ridiculous, unhealthy things

McDonald's, corn dogs, energy drinks, trail mix, soda, fried foods, beef jerky, donuts, candy and pretty much everything else that is banned from The Biggest Loser house is what you will eat when driving a long time or endurance racing. The reason you eat this way when racing is because these foods are easy to handle, and although generally bad for you, are often processed into useable energy very quickly. The nice thing about eating like this while racing is you burn the calories very quickly. When driving you generally eat this type of food because it is conveniently located on or near the highway and since you are just sitting the whole time, you can can count on being a little more hefty by the end of your drive. I like eating this way much better on a bike.

4. You have to go through "Kansas"

Kansas is a beautiful state, but has very few gas stations, convenience stores, not windy areas and interesting things to look at. Kansas is a grind to drive through. It is a place that although you are driving 80 mph it rarely seems like you are making any progress. When riding a bike, Kansas is more of an emotional place, it is a time when it feels like you are making no progress and have little encouragement. The only way to get through Kansas is to refer to #2.

(A field full of windmills: Hands down, the most interesting thing to look at in Kansas)

5. You will feel satisfied when you are finished.

I love the feeling of realizing that you have covered what seems like an insurmountable distance. Being able to share that feeling with friends and family while partaking of your favorite adult beverage is amazing. The sleep that comes afterwards is nearly as good. It is like no other sleep I have ever experienced, it is thorough, deep and sublime.

Staying up driving as long as I can. Call me at some strange hour.

Double Down

Blah Blah, anecdote about how I have to double down on my focus to accomplish everything that needs to be done before I leave Virginia, blah blah blah. That's not what this post is about. This post is about this double down.

If you didn't click on the above link (really? It's so easy! C'mon, just do it), then you will need a brief description of the double down. Some would argue that the double down represents everything that is wrong with America. I would argue that it represents our freedom to sandwich bacon, two types of cheese and a mayonaise based sauce between two pieces of hormone enhanced fried chicken. If that freedom is wrong, I honestly just don't want to be right.

I have been taught throughout my life that my body is a temple and I believe this to be true, but every now and then even a temple allows a dirty lumberjack covered in mud and sweat to come on in. I resisted the temptation that is the double down for two weeks since it's release. Today, the double down would absolutely become my dirty, sweaty lumberjack.

After making my decision to try the double down today, it was time to visit the friendliest, fastest fast food restaurant in Warrenton, KFC (Just kidding, if I really wanted to go to a fast friendly place, I would have gone to Chick-fil-a, but regretably, it was Sunday and Chick-fil-a does not serve the double down). The fact that the staff at this particular KFC was both slow and impolite did little to hamper my excitement over my foray into heart attack inducing cuisine. Although the wait and the interaction at the drive thru were not encouraging, once I was handed the bag, the true double down experience began in earnest. The bag I was handed held two double downs (one for me and one for my girlfriend Sarah, you will pity her throughout the rest of this post) and I was immediately struck by both it's weight and greasiness. Arriving at Sarah's and opening the bag continued to impress. First, there was the box containing the sandwich and bearing the image of an American patriot, the Colonel:

(Look at his wee beedy Eyes, "You will eat my chicken")

One look into the Colonel's eyes confirmed what I already knew in my heart: I had passed the point of no return. I would, in fact, eat his chicken.

(I am the double down. Fear me, for I will both burn you and clog your arteries)

Inside the box, I found my my sandwhich clearly labeled. In it's extreme font, it screamed at me, "I am the double down, devour me! But use caution as you do so for I am hot." As if this monstrosity needed an introduction:

(Double down, the sandwich so packed with protein there is no room for bread. Are you sure you want to do this?)

I was absolutely sure I wanted to do this, but to give you an idea of how this sandwich appears next to an actual person, I will show someone who was not sure they wanted to do this, Sarah:

(Earlier today I asked Clint two questions, "What do you want to eat?" and "Why am I not in your blog yet?" I immediately regret this decision)

Right now, I am publishing embarassing photographs of Sarah on my blog, I have a feeling I will immediately regret this decision. Here is Sarah taking her first bite of her double down:

(Nom. Nom. Nom.)

Here's a shot of my double down after my first bite:

(Was that first bite delicious?)

Why yes it was, double down, thank you for asking. While the double down did have it's shortcomings, there was no denying, this was a tasty morsel. It was a lot to handle, though. Sarah soon had to give up.

(Double down, you have defeated me, I am sad)

The double down had defeated Sarah, but no such tragedy would befall me:

(Is that all you've got, double down?)

I eliminated my double down with extreme prejudice. Incidently, I was able to finish Sarah's "sandwich" as well.

The Aftermath

The double down was much of what I expected, but was not a life altering meal. I enjoyed it once, but doubt I will be selecting it from the KFC menu again. Here are a few arbitrary characteristics I decided to rate it on on a scale of five.

Intimidation: 5.2

Deliciousness: 3.1

Greasiness: 4.7

Assurance that the cheese was actually cheese and not some other strange substance: .9

Thanks for having fun with me today. I had two comments on my blog this week. One was that people would like pictures and another friend said he would only continue to read it if it continued to be funny. I hope I filled both my picture and hilarity quotas.

-Clint

The End of a Season

Since I began work with a public accounting firm, tax season has come to define a large part of my year. From January to April, I have to reconcile myself with the fact that most things in my life have to come secondary to my work schedule. This has nothing to do with having irrational or overly demanding employers, mine are quite the opposite. The sort of dominance that tax season exerts over one's life is simply the nature of tax accounting.



This tax season was particularly challenging because I have so much to do in order to prepare for my trip across the country and my year long internship with Amor. As usually happens, the beginning of April came and I simply had to understand the fact that I would be doing little aside from working. For the most part, I stopped riding my bike and working out, watching helplessly as my waistline grew. Worse, I have had little time to commit to my preparation for Amor. Even worse yet, I have not had the opportunity to spend time with my family and friends and visit the places I'd like to before I leave. Fortunately, I've been helped along throughout this busy season.



The first big encouragement came in the form of finding a place to live. I had been overwhelmed by the prospect of finding a new home in San Diego. I started to search for a place, but quickly found that it was difficult to evaluate all the variables of selecting an apartment in a city that was foreign to me. At the point I had given up and decided to wait until I got to San Diego to find a place, I stumbled upon an ideal living situation. In briefly looking at online classifieds, I found an apartment at a reasonable price. Upon further examination, I found that my roommate in this apartment would be a guy my age who also happened to work for Amor. A few e-mails later, I had a new apartment and a new roommate. I'm very excited about this opportunity being presented and am confident that it will work out well. Next, the financial obligation in order for me to start on with Amor was met. I still have a really long way to go in order to fundraise my full goal, but thanks to a few supportive friends and family, I have a great start. Finally, I got to see my parents this weekend. They arrived Saturday to pack up some of my belonging that will go into storage. My mother also brought one of my favorite childhood meals, her homemade chicken parmesan. It was strange knowing that this is the last time I will see them before I take off for the year, but it was great getting to spend some time with my Mom, Dad and little brother Matthew.

Overall, whenever I'm looking for some positive reinforcement, I'm finding it. Since tax season ended, I have begun packing and also just taking some time for myself and those close to me. It's crazy how it's all going by so fast.

Encouragement Abounds

I found myself typing these words out in an e-mail to one of the employees at Amor. I chuckled at myself for using such a funny phrase, but was so excited that it was true.

This has been an insanely tough week, as I worked close to 80 hours in the office and still had to keep up with everything else that is going on. As a result, this post will be brief, but it's been awhile since my last post, so I felt I had to get something out there.

Despite how hectic everything has been, I have still continued to receive encouragement from both friends and family. In addition, I have gotten a great start to my fundraising, thanks to the same friends and family. I still have a long way to go, but I am extremely encouraged, nonetheless. It also appears that I have found a place to live in San Diego, along with a futon to sleep on!

I am so thankful that every time I start to question myself or the path ahead of me, I receive a solid kick in the pants in the form of one of the barriers in front of me breaking down.

Encouragement does, indeed, abound.

-Clint

P.S. - If you've been reading my posts thus far, feel free to leave some comments!