Taz spinning outa control

View from the cockpit

2008-01-04T04:14:00.000-08:00

Well, I have been threatening to post some pictures from my rowing single on Lake Geneva and here they are. I have been rowing the last few days and it is quite mesmerizing with the Alps lingering all around the lake.

We'll start with my new friend called "Nimbus".

Picture looking back at the rowing club after just leaving the dock.

This next is as I am rowing away from the boathouse looking back on the Swiss Alps.

Here is a look to my left at the city of Lausanne. If the sky was a bit clearer you would see the Swiss Alps in the background.

Beautiful view of the merging of the Swiss and French Alps.

The heart of the French Alps looking across the lake. I get a little vertigo if I stare too long.

The weight room at the rowing club with you know who grinding away on the trainer.

My room of pain where I am trying to get back some rowing form just for fun.

They have lots of pictures of the Canadian team to show good technique. Many of my lightweight friends from home, but sadly none of me or Betina. I'll have to sneak one in there before I leave. ;)

2008 Already! Wow

2008-01-01T14:58:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to everyone. Yah, even that kid that used to kick my ass at lunch time just for fun. I met him later in life and I'd love to say he didn't look so bad anymore, but he actually looked worse. Just one tough guy.

Some more of my European knowledge nuggets.

- No matter how hard you try to avoid hitting people in the malls you fail. Even picking a corner tucked far away from everyone still got me bumped a few times. Oh, there are no seats in the malls, hence trying to rest while standing. It seems like people navigate by bumping...

- Here in Switzerland lights go red, then yellow, then green. I have no license for that stuff??

- Also, about the lights, your light is strategically planted before the entrance to the intersection only. This means if you nudge too far forward you pass you light, and have no idea when you can go. Also, makes trying to predict the light switching extremely hard on a cyclist. I've had to learn a whole new basket of tricks.

- If you want to feel like 5' 10" is a giant then travel to Spain. The majority of the men are short and mostly look like either boxers or wrestlers. Maybe it was our hunt for cheap accommodations that created this view.

- They have multi-level grocery stores! I got about half-way through the groceries and couldn't find the nuts, cereal, milk, etc. I saw the escalator but immediately thought it was up to the rest of the mall. When I scoured the store again for the missing items with no luck I took a closer look and realized people were going up there with the shopping carts. I thought the carts were being held level by the owners but when I got there I realized there was a separate escalators for the carts. You and your balanced cart travel side-by-side up or down the escalators. I'll try to get a picture next time. Words can't describe how cool this looks.

- Rooms with a kitchenette in Spain seemed to always have a few handy things in the fridge. A bottle of wine, an energy drink, and a Beer! The first time I thought it was left behind by the privious renter, so immediately drank the Beer in fear they might return to collect. Then when we got our 2nd room we had the same. Opps... Just in case we were following an absent-minded renter, I again quickly drank the beer. ;)

- They have a "Cheers" bar in Spain?? A perfect model with the Indian, and a porcelain Norm with a beer in hand and all.

- Europeans love small dogs more than Americans

- Going into underground parking with anything bigger than a Geo Metro will cost you a lot of time shifting through your gears trying to stop from scrapping up your car.

All for now. Lets all make 2008 one to remember and cherish forever!

cheapest Schokolade!

2007-12-21T12:04:00.000-08:00

I found it. 43 cents/100g! That is also 43 cents in francs. It is more like 38cents US/100g. Alright, I can afford to live over here now. ;)

I'll continue my search, but I think the bar is pretty high now and it will take a miracle to clear.

The European Life

2007-12-19T03:38:00.000-08:00

Well it has been almost 3 weeks now and I have some opinions forming that I need to express.

- the cheese really smells bad over here, but tastes great

- chocolate is the food of choice because it is by far the best price per calorie.

100g chocolate = 55 cents
100g beef = $4.50
100g potato chips = $5
100g of veggies = don't ask. Only the middle/upper class can be vegans

- the biking is fantastic! Even when the roads are supper narrow the cars only pass when they can give you at least 5 feet clearance. It seems like most of the roads are just large bike paths anyway. ;)

- the people are either super friendly or super snooty. Yesterday we had to visit three restaurants before we found one that would let us put our bikes in front of the store. The sad part was two of the rejects were in the designated Olympic Park area. So much for sport friendly...

- The Eurorail is awesome, always on time, super fast, super clean, but... They fail miserably in my books. Some of the train cars have places to put your bike, but to my surprise, in my first ride, I was fined because I didn't buy a extra 1/2 price ticket for my bike. In the kiosk there was a picture of a man and dog for the 1 1/2 ticket and a man for the 1. I guess my bike is a dog. That was the last time I plan on traveling by train if I can avoid it. I have been biking the 1+ hr to work instead to save the 11+5.50 per trip cost. I can make the commute on just about 100g of chocolate, so it is a real saver. ;)

- People here are absolutely fanatical about turning stuff off. Not just hitting the power button, I mean turning down the volume on a stereo, turning the power off, and unplugging it. Hell if they could dismantle it and store it in baggies I bet they would. I say it like I dislike, but part of me thinks it is very considerate and environmentally friendly. It speaks of hypocrisy though, because the extra time it took them to leave a room, they make up for on the local streets driving like maniacs. You never cross a street unless you can see a good 100m in both directions. Yikes

- We should take a good lesson from European parking. They pack the cars so tight together I have no idea how they are going to get out. While I was sitting in a coffee shop I witnessed how it happens. It took one driver about 5 minutes of edging back n forth, before he was safely squeezed between two other cars. He came in, ordered a coffee (took about 2 minutes) and then took another 5 minutes to get the car out. Amazing stuff...

Well enough of my rants. I'll wait until I have some interesting photos to post for my next scribblings.

Au revoir

Evian - more than just bottled water

2007-12-08T12:05:00.000-08:00

Your friendly neighborhood blog failure here. I've been fighting the injustices of the world and got distracted from my blogging obligations. So much so, that my cartoon partner in life is now more connected than I. You read that correct! The roadrunner (aka BamBam) is blogging. To check her out go to

http://www.roadrunnerandtaz.blogspot.com/

We got a new camera and she has control so lookout.

For those that don't know, we are now in Lausanne Switzerland. I know, life is tough. Today we biked half-way around Lake Geneva into Evian, France for some Crepes and Beer/wine. Betina couldn't resist and had to order a bottle of Evian water. It wasn't until she ordered it that I realize the significance. Slow mind, but fast legs. ;)

We then waddled ourselves down to the Ferry and took a cozy seat on the Ferry back to Lausanne. It dropped us off within 200 ft of our apartment. Awesome Day!

Gunite old dirt Backyard, Hello drink floats!

2007-06-18T08:47:00.001-07:00

Today they are blowing in the Gunite (i.e. cement). So far so good, and things are still on track to have it completed for the wedding visitors.

Yesterday was Nevada City, and that race never ceases to be a blast. Last year was a big confidence builder for me, and this year was just over the top. The team road out of their skins and we got both myself and the blogGod himself off solo! Who'd a thunk...

BamBam breakout!

2007-05-20T21:57:00.000-07:00

I knew it was coming, just not sure when.

Today BamBam lived up to her name. Working for her teammates at TriPeaks she covered attack after attack during the final road race. Getting 5th in the time trial the day before she was starting to gain confidence in her abilities after coming off a cold just before Gila. After lots of efforts a group finally got the better of the chasing field. It had a Curi (Webcor), Cromwell(Colivitas), Gilmore, Spors(Arizona U), Ziergler(Velo-Bella) and BamBam. They got to the base of the final climb with a small gap on the field and then Curi and BamBam went to work dropping the others. My girl jumped for the win with 800-900m remaining and got her first NRC win of her career! Yippeee. She moved up to 2nd overall in GC (cycling news got it wrong) even though her own team set tempo going into the climb to keep the break from going too far up the road. Doh! Hopefully, they will have more faith next time.

Cycling News Report

I got one happy girl on her way back across the country tonight. I've been feeling slightly guilty lately because of my recent success in the P/1/2, knowing just how much she has put into training this year. I have no problem blowing off workouts when life just gets too much to bare. She is more focused than me, though, and does a much better job keeping cycling on the top priority list.

Nice to see the dedication turning into real results. Being fit and motivated enough to take advantage of an opportunity is the key. Patience will always reap rewards.

This just in: The whales in Sacramento are finally turning around and heading back out to sea. Talk about taking a wrong turn.

Home Sick

2007-03-23T15:38:00.000-07:00

I have been doing so well lately with pushing forward with my California life. Then Wham!, I get a bunch of photos from my uncle and find myself overcome with missing where I spend my first 25 years. I haven't been back in 3 years and it might be time soon. I normally miss the people, and still do, but now I also miss the city itself.

the hills,

the paths we travelled on as kids,

the rivers and lakes we explored for fun,

the woods where we spent countless hours messing around, building make-shift log cabins, drinking anything alcoholic and basically removing ourselves from the adult world to find our own lives.

These days are gone I know, but the places are still there. I envy those that didn't have to move for their careers. I wonder if the feelings ever get strong enough to make them think of these things and return to those special places for some quiet time.

Where I once worked in my early teens filleting and packaging cod fish.

The real foggy city. St. John's, Newfoundland. I've had my fair share of fog. It can get so bad you can't drive at all. Serious. I remember not being able to see my hand in front of my face it gets that bad.

Icebergs! As if it wasn't cold enough. These can stick around until June time if they are large enough. Puts a bit of a damper on the summer temps.

Envy...

2007-03-14T18:03:00.000-07:00

How dare this person!

If there was a computer and a carbon bike in the background then I would be officially made redundant. With all the people in this world, I bet there is someone so exactly like yourself that it would scare you silly. I get spooked when I see that some one's hand writing is indistinguishable from mine. What you might thing of as being original might not be at all.

Time to Blog again

2007-03-12T19:00:00.000-07:00

Forgive me Father for I have sinned. It has been over 4 months since my last blog post. I have been overwhelmed with life's mundane tasks and lost my way. I have emerged a new man, armed with a plan for our backyard, a date for our wedding, a rebuilt and working scooter, and some new power in my legs if the cycling gods deem me worthy this year.

My life has been slightly chaotic but somewhat organized. Like planting a seed, things take time to grow and slowly I am seeing the fruits of my labor. Work is demanding but satisfying, cycling is time consuming but intoxicating and delicious, home life is down right pleasurable. I'm at a point where I wouldn't want to be younger or older, just content where I am.

More to come later as I will have to get back into blogging a little bit at a time. My fiancee (I like saying that) returns home from some fast and successful racing with her Cheerwine mates in Australia/New Zealand. An incredible 2nd in GC for Leigh Hobson and also the QOM honors. BamBam will be ready to tear it up with the M35 boys again soon.

In the meantime here is a pointer to my latest web effort. I consider myself somewhat of a web shop-lifter. The beauty about html is that when you see something you like you can just take it without anyone knowing. The wedding site is a collection of features from many existing web sites with a flair of my own creativity thrown in for kicks. Enjoy...

Wedding Site

No fluke I ended up in California

2006-11-14T11:28:00.000-08:00

Whenever I get home sick, I just look back at some photos of winter and remember why I left.

We have it good here folks...

Some of my favs are

Adiós Amigo Y Amante

2006-11-10T20:51:00.000-08:00

What is that saying... "Absence makes the heart grow fonder"

Making up for lost time pedalling her bike non-stop this past summer, my honey is now paying back the hand the feeds. Not the one that feeds her powerbars and Gu, but the one that actually pays the bills.

She is off again to England in search of engineering greatness. Another week alone in isolation for this bambino. Last time I dug a huge useless hole in the back yard just for fun. I had a plan, but my mistake was it was just my plan. Ooopps. Instead of measure twice and cut once, I now know to talk things over twice and dig once. ;) Who knows what is in store for me this time.

Bye-bye for now my luv...

Pretty Colors

2006-11-07T16:29:00.000-08:00

Being a computer nerd and an pseudo-athlete I like to mix my worlds from time to time and churn out useless pieces of crap. Well, last week was one of them times. I finished the first draft of my somewhat colorful training schedule. Colors are used to identify effort levels, yellow for easy all the way to purple for ready to explode.

I am now 2 days into the program and it is actually refreshing to be back into something structured. The last few months have been ride when I feel like it, and I didn't really feel like it that much. :) Finally, my mind is fresh again and the thought of riding and training is giving me goose bumps. I am totally and utterly addicted to the freaking bike again and luv it. I know I need help so I am one step closer to being normal than you. ;)

Anyway, here is my colorful world.

2007 Training Program

username=guest passwd=guest for now...

Friends

2006-10-31T14:57:00.000-08:00

Working on the wedding invitation list has taken me back thru
time. One thing I know is I am the worlds worst at keeping in
touch with old, current, and new friends. I get sucked into
this time absorbing life of hi-tech and become an island of one.
Not exciting, but easily managed and peaceful.

There are the solid and not to be broken childhood friends that
you can call anytime, any day and be brought back in time. The
shared time was unbounded and careless. A connection that
withstands time.

There are the school friends where you suffered the ruthless
deadlines and exams to differentiate yourself from the
unmotivated and un-driven. We witnessed each other at
our most stressed and broken and friendship kindled to help
or be helped.

There are the work friends that drift by in the halls with short
greetings followed by weekend and weather chatter. You get
to know so much about their drive and talents, but very little
about them in general. Such a waist...

Then there are the sport friends. The people we bump into each
race weekend, and road trips. These are the dearest because
they share an addiction to be different. They push life hard and
smile the better for it. They make the insane look trepid, the
sane look reserved. They are the warriors of life.

Cross-eyed for Cross

2006-10-23T17:35:00.000-07:00

Images of glory flickered in the distance. The vehicle was somewhat familiar, but the venue is untamed and unforgiving. The body and mind are sharp and focused, but it will take time. Thoughts of racing for the top placings are replaced with fear of survival.

We line-up for the M35 A's and as usual a late porto pitstop had me at mid pack. Then the silliness starts. 10 rider callups which shuffles me to the back row. We are off... My fitness is untapped for the first 2 laps as we rounds the sand corners, crest the dirt piles, and role on the hard stuff. The body is finally start to rev, but the mind is working even harder to keep upright. The skill is not bad, but nothing close to what is needed to return to glory.
.
Time to race and learn...

As the race progresses, I switch back to my days of video-mania where I repeated the same race course over and over trying for a better time. Each lap I would do the math, compare it to my best, and then set out again trying to better. I was successful in making each of the last 4 laps better than the last, with the final being golden. Good enough for 16th against some seasoned dirt veterans.

Onward to the elite A's where the pre-race idling caused me some nausea that I could have done without. The contenders looked even more amped than the M35ers, so I decided to refrain from the fight until post nausea. Off the line I was last. NO, not close to last, or a close last, but an absolutely, positively LAST!. There was a pack of racing riders, a gap of dead air, and then moi. I suffered and suffered for a few laps, and then I finally started to come around. I was again racing against the lap clock. I posted a few good laps trying different lines, different dismount locations, run more, run less, etc. etc. By the last 4 laps I was building confidence that I was not an unwelcomed rider. The course, was starting to show me the way, and I listened. I pushed the last few laps hard and held off getting lapped. The result was 24th, about mid-pack. With more improvements and a few more races, I might be able to start the fight from the gun.