Well the winter switch has been turned on and I'd be perfectly happy if whoever did that would go right ahead and turn it back off. Thank you (to be fair I stole that line, but it's pretty good regardless).
It's been nearly a month since my last post, there hasn't been much to report so I've been gathering small fun nuggets and now it's finally time to show and tell. My car is nearly gone, that is someone is making payments on it and once it's all paid for I hand over the keys. Either way I've been solely relying on riding my bike to and from work 5 days a week. Yes even during this so called "bomb cyclone," I'm certain that some poor meteorologist transferred from somewhere near the equator to a small news station in Oregon and didn't know what to do when the weather forecast called for rain, rain and more rain. Clearly the world must be ending... or perhaps they found themselves without a job since all the Portland schools decided to close for the nonexistent snow forecast. I very much enjoyed the news clips this morning of the live reporters riding in a car with the wipers on intermittent and trying to make news out of nothing. In a word: American.
Anyhoo, I'm slowly learning the roads out in West Salem, they're pretty lumpy and so far have been fun to ride. More exploration to come. I have however found quite a large number of gravel roads which makes me want a disc brake gravel bike for the off season. Looks like I've got a new project to work on: Operation Gravel Grinder (to be continued). It's nearly time to write out a training plan for the 2015 season and I'm excited for what it will become. Still very proud to be on English Cycles for the foreseeable future, these guys are great and I hope I'll be able to hold my own and be a good teammate.
It's been nearly a month since my last post, there hasn't been much to report so I've been gathering small fun nuggets and now it's finally time to show and tell. My car is nearly gone, that is someone is making payments on it and once it's all paid for I hand over the keys. Either way I've been solely relying on riding my bike to and from work 5 days a week. Yes even during this so called "bomb cyclone," I'm certain that some poor meteorologist transferred from somewhere near the equator to a small news station in Oregon and didn't know what to do when the weather forecast called for rain, rain and more rain. Clearly the world must be ending... or perhaps they found themselves without a job since all the Portland schools decided to close for the nonexistent snow forecast. I very much enjoyed the news clips this morning of the live reporters riding in a car with the wipers on intermittent and trying to make news out of nothing. In a word: American.
Anyhoo, I'm slowly learning the roads out in West Salem, they're pretty lumpy and so far have been fun to ride. More exploration to come. I have however found quite a large number of gravel roads which makes me want a disc brake gravel bike for the off season. Looks like I've got a new project to work on: Operation Gravel Grinder (to be continued). It's nearly time to write out a training plan for the 2015 season and I'm excited for what it will become. Still very proud to be on English Cycles for the foreseeable future, these guys are great and I hope I'll be able to hold my own and be a good teammate.
It has been a little tough getting the gumption to learn new roads, get lost and navigate your way back home. I don't enjoy the unknown or unstructured portion of riding, I like to know exactly where I am going and how I'm going to get back. This may be, in part, to always having a formal ride planned. The aspect of riding for the sake of riding is still quite foreign to me but I'm working on it.
On a more intellectual and expressive level our house now allows me to have my saxophones and piano setup at all times. I've been playing quite a bit more, especially the piano. Lately I dug out a piece I've been meaning to learn for quite some time and am slowly working my way through Claude Debussy: Clair De Lune. Gorgeous piece and fun to brush up on my sheet music skills. I'll keep updated as to how its coming along.
On a more intellectual and expressive level our house now allows me to have my saxophones and piano setup at all times. I've been playing quite a bit more, especially the piano. Lately I dug out a piece I've been meaning to learn for quite some time and am slowly working my way through Claude Debussy: Clair De Lune. Gorgeous piece and fun to brush up on my sheet music skills. I'll keep updated as to how its coming along.
Our English Bike are built, and off to paint, we should be on track for having them fully assembled by the 2015 season. Now it's a matter of assembling the components, (want to get us christmas gifts? VISA gift cards would be most appreciated :) ).
Tomorrow I'm headed down to Corvallis to try and ride with my teammate Adam and his wife, should be cold and a good time. Very much looking forward to riding with other people for a change.
So, to summarize this post, I ride my bike everyday either for commuting or training and it's awesome. I like living in a house, I'm learning a new piano piece, and the bomb cyclone was a dud.
**Insert picture of me dropping a microphone on stage and walking away**
Tomorrow I'm headed down to Corvallis to try and ride with my teammate Adam and his wife, should be cold and a good time. Very much looking forward to riding with other people for a change.
So, to summarize this post, I ride my bike everyday either for commuting or training and it's awesome. I like living in a house, I'm learning a new piano piece, and the bomb cyclone was a dud.
**Insert picture of me dropping a microphone on stage and walking away**
Until next time, I promise weekly updates will become more regular as the life of a Salemite continues to unfold.
Stay warm, keep riding.
Cheers,
-Andrew-
Stay warm, keep riding.
Cheers,
-Andrew-