I took a spill on my bike this past Tuesday during the morning group ride, it was real disheartening. The roads were slick due to the fog out here, and I happened to be at the front of about 40 riders, as we went around a turn, and the minute I hit the painted part of the road my tires slipped out like I was ice skating. To add insult to injury, no one stopped; basically everyone just rode around me and took off up the road. I had to bend my rear derailler into place in order to ride home.
I limped into the office later, and I got a call from a guy named 'Stu.' Turns out Stu was the guy I was riding next to when I went down. He's a partner at a firm here in L.A. and all I got out was that my name was Mitch and I'm a recruiter before I hit the deck. Stu had his secretary google-track me down. He told me he felt real bad about my fall and wanted to see if I was alright, etc etc. A pretty nice gesture I thought.
So, I'm feeling a little better about things; but then I walk out of the office and hear a bunch of noise from the recruiters...you guessed it...his secretary knew one of the recruiters here so she called her to ask about how I was doing since I was in an accident. Keep in mind that I was supposed to be 'at a meeting' not out riding the bike. Sweet times....
Friday, November 13, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Triathlon Training Ride
It was a long weekend to begin with. I thought I was being sooo good by not going out on Friday night, and waking up and getting a run in with Kelly on Saturday morning that did us both well. But of course, if you run, shower, then immediately head to the Standard Hotel and begin drinking, it could lead to trouble. By and by (which I've learned you can say when you want to skip ahead in a story) after a full day of poolside drinking, and a full night of not remembering how I ended up back in my hotel room, I was one hurting dog on Sunday morning.
Water, food, a little wine (ok, not the best hangover cure, but we were in downtown so we went over to the San Antonio Winery...) and I was finally starting to feel better, so I thought it would be a good idea for me to get a bike ride in, as the L.A. Triathlon was in two weeks, and I really wanted to dial in the training. So I went out and headed towards Palos Verdes, and although I was feeling bad, I climbed Silver Spur over to Hawthorne, and came down and around for a hilly 25 miles.
I entered the Hermosa Beach city limits feeling good about myself, and as I cruised up Valley Blvd I smiled to myself at all the activity going on in the park. Kids were playing soccer, there was a family having a picnic, and someone was flying a kite. My eyes settled on an older man with a gray beard sitting on the grassy hill reading a paperback. It looked so peaceful. He looked up with a look of content that equaled mine, and we made eye contact. Feeling good, I gave him a nod. He returned the gesture.
As he did, I hit the biggest pothole on Valley, and my hands immediately slipped off the handlebars. In an instant, I was scrambling to try and recover, the front wheel was wobbling back and forth, and I pitched forward onto my left side and went down hard onto the concrete. A guy with his daughter asked me if I was all right while I was picking myself up. I said yeah, then looked down at my arm and leg dripping blood; and then proceeded to let out a loud "fuck!" before realizing that the guys daughter was standing right there watching me. An old lady stopped in her car to ask if I was ok. All I wanted to do was get the heck out of there and away from the crowds that were forming.
I grabbed my bike and walked off towards home as quick as I could. I was only a 1/4 mile from my house, which is where they say most accidents happen, don't they? My helmet was cracked, and it turned out my shoulder was oozing a little blood as well. But the worst part about the whole thing, is that the image that stuck in my head the most was seeing the look of concern on that poor old codger as I was going down. I sure hope I didn't mess up his peaceful Sunday afternoon...
Water, food, a little wine (ok, not the best hangover cure, but we were in downtown so we went over to the San Antonio Winery...) and I was finally starting to feel better, so I thought it would be a good idea for me to get a bike ride in, as the L.A. Triathlon was in two weeks, and I really wanted to dial in the training. So I went out and headed towards Palos Verdes, and although I was feeling bad, I climbed Silver Spur over to Hawthorne, and came down and around for a hilly 25 miles.
I entered the Hermosa Beach city limits feeling good about myself, and as I cruised up Valley Blvd I smiled to myself at all the activity going on in the park. Kids were playing soccer, there was a family having a picnic, and someone was flying a kite. My eyes settled on an older man with a gray beard sitting on the grassy hill reading a paperback. It looked so peaceful. He looked up with a look of content that equaled mine, and we made eye contact. Feeling good, I gave him a nod. He returned the gesture.
As he did, I hit the biggest pothole on Valley, and my hands immediately slipped off the handlebars. In an instant, I was scrambling to try and recover, the front wheel was wobbling back and forth, and I pitched forward onto my left side and went down hard onto the concrete. A guy with his daughter asked me if I was all right while I was picking myself up. I said yeah, then looked down at my arm and leg dripping blood; and then proceeded to let out a loud "fuck!" before realizing that the guys daughter was standing right there watching me. An old lady stopped in her car to ask if I was ok. All I wanted to do was get the heck out of there and away from the crowds that were forming.
I grabbed my bike and walked off towards home as quick as I could. I was only a 1/4 mile from my house, which is where they say most accidents happen, don't they? My helmet was cracked, and it turned out my shoulder was oozing a little blood as well. But the worst part about the whole thing, is that the image that stuck in my head the most was seeing the look of concern on that poor old codger as I was going down. I sure hope I didn't mess up his peaceful Sunday afternoon...
Monday, June 8, 2009
Fun with Towels
So I just had this experience at the gym:
I was sitting in the sauna, reading the paper; when a guy walked in who clearly wanted to chat. So by and by we get talking, and it's a nice chat about the economy, what he does, etc etc. But it's getting kind of hot and I'm cooked enough to want to get out, so I say "alright, I'm out. What was your name?" And as he is replying "Darren" he leans over like he's going to shake my hand as I was getting up. As I got up, somehow my towel got caught on a nail or something in the wood, and it basically tore, and fell off. And so I'm standing there shaking Darren's hand with my d(*^%%$ and b$@$((s fully exposed. Not fun or comfortable for either of us.
To make matters worse, I shower off, then go to the rack to get my OTHER towel, only to find that someone had taken it! The locker room is set up so the towels are on the other side of the locker room from the showers, so I basically have to walk out in nothing but my shower shoes when I see a non-english speaking janitor in the locker room. So I ask him politely to grab me a towel, but due to his lack of understanding it turns into a :30 scene of me naked yelling at him to hand me a towel. It got everyone's attention.
Then to finish it off, I got to the car and realized the whole time I had two different shower shoes on. See picture attached:
I was sitting in the sauna, reading the paper; when a guy walked in who clearly wanted to chat. So by and by we get talking, and it's a nice chat about the economy, what he does, etc etc. But it's getting kind of hot and I'm cooked enough to want to get out, so I say "alright, I'm out. What was your name?" And as he is replying "Darren" he leans over like he's going to shake my hand as I was getting up. As I got up, somehow my towel got caught on a nail or something in the wood, and it basically tore, and fell off. And so I'm standing there shaking Darren's hand with my d(*^%%$ and b$@$((s fully exposed. Not fun or comfortable for either of us.
To make matters worse, I shower off, then go to the rack to get my OTHER towel, only to find that someone had taken it! The locker room is set up so the towels are on the other side of the locker room from the showers, so I basically have to walk out in nothing but my shower shoes when I see a non-english speaking janitor in the locker room. So I ask him politely to grab me a towel, but due to his lack of understanding it turns into a :30 scene of me naked yelling at him to hand me a towel. It got everyone's attention.
Then to finish it off, I got to the car and realized the whole time I had two different shower shoes on. See picture attached:
Friday, January 2, 2009
Santa Barbara Half Marathon
The half marathon was a success! I felt like I spent as much time preparing for the weekend as I did actually doing training runs to get ready for the race. We had 10 people going, so we needed a place to stay (near race course and allowing us to get ready for Halloween), A Limo to take us to the wineries (immediately after the race.) On top of that we had to get group costumes nailed down, a place to go out that night, and a way to eat enough food throughout all of this so we could all stay upright for the entire weekend. Phew!
Andy flew into town on Thursday night, and stayed at his cousin Tom's. Lisa and I both took Friday off from work to pick up our costumes and take a nice leisurely drive up to SB. Friday night the 10 of us got together and had dinner and a few bottles of wine, but clearly we were all trying to prepare for the race the next day.
Race day was overcast and raining when we woke up-not the best conditions for running, but miraculously the rain stopped the minute we walked out of the hotel to go to the race, and we didn't feel another drop the whole time. Our first good sign of an epic weekend? Perhaps.
The race went great. I ran with Andy, while Lisa and Julie ran together. Tom ran with his sister Colleen, his friend who flew in town on short notice to run the race, and we passed by Kelly (recruiter at Matura Farrington) and her friend Alex who was running the race as a training run for a marathon they were doing soon. Andy and were running in Superman capes, mine one from an old Halloween costume, his handmade. We got a lot of good comments on the capes, and actually made it into the local paper. (Article will be included)
The real fun came after the race was over. We immediately went home and showered, and the limo was waiting for us by the time we got there to whisk us away to the wineries. We hit three of them, and even with the suspect weather had a great time. Then-quick- head back and eat pizza before donning our costumes in time to be the first group to walk into Sharkeez. Unfortunately the night was a bit of a blur, but here's what was worth remembering:
Andy flew into town on Thursday night, and stayed at his cousin Tom's. Lisa and I both took Friday off from work to pick up our costumes and take a nice leisurely drive up to SB. Friday night the 10 of us got together and had dinner and a few bottles of wine, but clearly we were all trying to prepare for the race the next day.
Race day was overcast and raining when we woke up-not the best conditions for running, but miraculously the rain stopped the minute we walked out of the hotel to go to the race, and we didn't feel another drop the whole time. Our first good sign of an epic weekend? Perhaps.
The race went great. I ran with Andy, while Lisa and Julie ran together. Tom ran with his sister Colleen, his friend who flew in town on short notice to run the race, and we passed by Kelly (recruiter at Matura Farrington) and her friend Alex who was running the race as a training run for a marathon they were doing soon. Andy and were running in Superman capes, mine one from an old Halloween costume, his handmade. We got a lot of good comments on the capes, and actually made it into the local paper. (Article will be included)
The real fun came after the race was over. We immediately went home and showered, and the limo was waiting for us by the time we got there to whisk us away to the wineries. We hit three of them, and even with the suspect weather had a great time. Then-quick- head back and eat pizza before donning our costumes in time to be the first group to walk into Sharkeez. Unfortunately the night was a bit of a blur, but here's what was worth remembering:
- Our entire group being the only ones on the dance floor at Sharkeez
- Andy getting carded a second time after we were inside, and taking serious offense to this when he did. All while wearing a heart costume with girl shorts on underneath, and a fake uni brow and mustache.
- Me completely sweating through my Easter Bunny costume.
- Holding the money for Andy and I in the pocket of my shorts, underneath the bunny get up. When we went to get tacos late at night, picture the scene of Andy (in his heart costume) unzipping and feeling around for my wallet while I'm leaned up against the counter of the taco stand. The lady ringing us up mentioned to us several times that we could sit down to eat, for some reason we insisted on eating our tacos standing up at the counter while everyone else ordered then sat down.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Friday night training ride
I actually stopped a guy in his tracks. Of course, I don't blame him...what would you do? Here's a guy riding by on a tandem bike, coming out of the dark, yelling..."Free mustache rides!"
He stop and stammered..."Free musta....oh wow, uh...that's awesome....I guess"
But I'm jumping ahead, let me rewind to the start of the night:
Lisa's parents were in town, and I was planning on going to dinner with them. Rather than drive over (because I knew I was going to have a few glasses of wine) I decided to ride my vintage tandem bike over. Being that it was her mom's birthday, I told them I would stop for a birthday pie down the street at the Marie Callenders. It was a beautiful ride over, the sun was setting, the roads were fairly empty, and everyone I passed looked like they were finally unwinding the noose from a week's worth of work.
I decided on two pies, and got back on the bike to ride the two miles to her house. Here I was, the hero; pulling up on an awesome bike carrying the nights dessert. Right as this thought floated through my head, like a flash, I went down.
Yes, I fell.
The chain came off the bike, with one hand holding the pies I had no choice but to eat concrete on my left side. You've all been there- hit the ground and then jump up so quickly from a mix of adreline and embarrassment that it's even worse than if you just laid there. Quickly I assessed the damage: bleeding and raw elbow, with the tops of both feet (in flip flops) raw and oozing red. What do I do? I'm going to 'meet the parents' and I've not only completely crushed dessert, but I'm going in with a mutilated arm...after turning away from her dad for the first 2 minutes, I realized I was going to fess up. Especially when they took a look at the pies.
I cleaned myself up, with several doses of hydrogen peroxide; and powered through dinner. Don't worry, I made sure to pour with a heavy hand when it came to my own wine glass.
Leaving dinner, I felt like I couldn't leave well enough alone with this bike...in fact, my actual thoughts were "this bike owes me" and to pay me back I brought my tandem down the strand towards the Hermosa Pier. Being the most immature 30-year old I know, and one who love attention, I realized quickly that calling out to people as I rode by "free rides" wasn't giving me the punch or reaction I wanted. So I changed my greeting to "free mustache rides"...a calling that got a much better reaction.
As I rode down the packed pier, I yelled my greeting to several groups. Coming to the stop light, I noticed a group of guys with buzz cuts and 'Fire Academy' t-shirts on. One of the was obviously drunker than me, and he stumbled over and declared "I'm going for a ride on that bike."
me: "Ha ha don't get any ideas. No one's getting on this bike."
Buzz cut: "Oh yeah, I'm getting on!"
Me: (grabbing his wrist as he tries to mount the back of the bike) "No really, you're not getting on."
BC: "Why not? I'm getting on" (twisting his arm to try and free himself from my grip.)
Me: (maintaining a deathgrip on his arm) "Listen to me...you're not getting on. I'm sorry, I know it'd be fun but it's not happening."
Me: (Maintaining a death grip on his wrist, and simultaneously walking the bike across the street, while dragging BC with me.)
BC: "Why can't we be friends? Let go of me and let's be friends!"
Me: (stopping across the street in front of a crowded restaurant, while holding onto his wrist) "Look...it's not happening. I'll guarantee you're not getting on this bike, so what do you want to do?"
BC: (Takes a picture with his camera-phone, makes a stupid face, and jogs away)
Crisis avoided, why not walk the bike home? I'd say that the tandem and I were even tonight. It got me good by spilling me onto the street, but paid me back with a pretty good story.
He stop and stammered..."Free musta....oh wow, uh...that's awesome....I guess"
But I'm jumping ahead, let me rewind to the start of the night:
Lisa's parents were in town, and I was planning on going to dinner with them. Rather than drive over (because I knew I was going to have a few glasses of wine) I decided to ride my vintage tandem bike over. Being that it was her mom's birthday, I told them I would stop for a birthday pie down the street at the Marie Callenders. It was a beautiful ride over, the sun was setting, the roads were fairly empty, and everyone I passed looked like they were finally unwinding the noose from a week's worth of work.
I decided on two pies, and got back on the bike to ride the two miles to her house. Here I was, the hero; pulling up on an awesome bike carrying the nights dessert. Right as this thought floated through my head, like a flash, I went down.
Yes, I fell.
The chain came off the bike, with one hand holding the pies I had no choice but to eat concrete on my left side. You've all been there- hit the ground and then jump up so quickly from a mix of adreline and embarrassment that it's even worse than if you just laid there. Quickly I assessed the damage: bleeding and raw elbow, with the tops of both feet (in flip flops) raw and oozing red. What do I do? I'm going to 'meet the parents' and I've not only completely crushed dessert, but I'm going in with a mutilated arm...after turning away from her dad for the first 2 minutes, I realized I was going to fess up. Especially when they took a look at the pies.
I cleaned myself up, with several doses of hydrogen peroxide; and powered through dinner. Don't worry, I made sure to pour with a heavy hand when it came to my own wine glass.
Leaving dinner, I felt like I couldn't leave well enough alone with this bike...in fact, my actual thoughts were "this bike owes me" and to pay me back I brought my tandem down the strand towards the Hermosa Pier. Being the most immature 30-year old I know, and one who love attention, I realized quickly that calling out to people as I rode by "free rides" wasn't giving me the punch or reaction I wanted. So I changed my greeting to "free mustache rides"...a calling that got a much better reaction.
As I rode down the packed pier, I yelled my greeting to several groups. Coming to the stop light, I noticed a group of guys with buzz cuts and 'Fire Academy' t-shirts on. One of the was obviously drunker than me, and he stumbled over and declared "I'm going for a ride on that bike."
me: "Ha ha don't get any ideas. No one's getting on this bike."
Buzz cut: "Oh yeah, I'm getting on!"
Me: (grabbing his wrist as he tries to mount the back of the bike) "No really, you're not getting on."
BC: "Why not? I'm getting on" (twisting his arm to try and free himself from my grip.)
Me: (maintaining a deathgrip on his arm) "Listen to me...you're not getting on. I'm sorry, I know it'd be fun but it's not happening."
Me: (Maintaining a death grip on his wrist, and simultaneously walking the bike across the street, while dragging BC with me.)
BC: "Why can't we be friends? Let go of me and let's be friends!"
Me: (stopping across the street in front of a crowded restaurant, while holding onto his wrist) "Look...it's not happening. I'll guarantee you're not getting on this bike, so what do you want to do?"
BC: (Takes a picture with his camera-phone, makes a stupid face, and jogs away)
Crisis avoided, why not walk the bike home? I'd say that the tandem and I were even tonight. It got me good by spilling me onto the street, but paid me back with a pretty good story.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Preparing for our Santa Barbara Race
Typist: Tom
Inspiration: Ali
Technical Support: Mitch
Flag Bearer: Lisa
For you calendar savvy folks, you will realize that our race and wine tasting extravaganza falls on Halloween Saturday. That means costumes. We put our heads together and have come up with a theme--Holidays. we'll all dress in costumes to represent one of our nations great holidays. For those of you running, it might not be recommended to run in your full costume, though any flare you add will surely be appreciated (Mitch has threatened to wear his cape).
Here are some initial thoughts on who could be what. we're interested to hear your excitement level. feel free to improvise and/or change your holiday. plan early.
please forward this to Molly as we don't have her email address handy.
Colleen - Pumpkin
Andy - Turkey or Shirtless indian
Ali - Miss Claus
Lauren - Elf / Santa's helper.
Tom - Leprechaun
Mitch - Easter Bunny
Lisa - Lady Liberty
Molly - Seniorita de Cinco de Mayo
Julie - Cupid
Inspiration: Ali
Technical Support: Mitch
Flag Bearer: Lisa
For you calendar savvy folks, you will realize that our race and wine tasting extravaganza falls on Halloween Saturday. That means costumes. We put our heads together and have come up with a theme--Holidays. we'll all dress in costumes to represent one of our nations great holidays. For those of you running, it might not be recommended to run in your full costume, though any flare you add will surely be appreciated (Mitch has threatened to wear his cape).
Here are some initial thoughts on who could be what. we're interested to hear your excitement level. feel free to improvise and/or change your holiday. plan early.
please forward this to Molly as we don't have her email address handy.
Colleen - Pumpkin
Andy - Turkey or Shirtless indian
Ali - Miss Claus
Lauren - Elf / Santa's helper.
Tom - Leprechaun
Mitch - Easter Bunny
Lisa - Lady Liberty
Molly - Seniorita de Cinco de Mayo
Julie - Cupid
Hometown Fair approaching
So it is time to start preparing for our favorite running race in the Southbay- the Manhattan Beach 10k. The day is October 4th you can find info on the race at http://www.mb10k.com/. We have to sign up before race day so make sure you plan accordiningly.
This race is part of the hometown fair, a glorified art fair w/ fried dough, corn on the cob, etc. But the good part of the fair is that it does have a beer garden! (caveat- every year we say we're going to go hoist a few, but every year I'm too pooped to do it.)
Logistics-wise, we can accomodate a couple of people parking at my house, and then ride the cruisers/tandem bicycles over from there. Post-race, I would like to invite everyone to brunch at our house, which will consist of eggs, facon, soysauge, french toast, and homemade (or purchased) apple fritters.
Also, this is an important race as it is getting many of us ready for the Santa Barbara half-marathon in November. I would like to keep my detailed race notes at the website below, and I encourage you all to contribute any running/racing stories or comments to it.
This race is part of the hometown fair, a glorified art fair w/ fried dough, corn on the cob, etc. But the good part of the fair is that it does have a beer garden! (caveat- every year we say we're going to go hoist a few, but every year I'm too pooped to do it.)
Logistics-wise, we can accomodate a couple of people parking at my house, and then ride the cruisers/tandem bicycles over from there. Post-race, I would like to invite everyone to brunch at our house, which will consist of eggs, facon, soysauge, french toast, and homemade (or purchased) apple fritters.
Also, this is an important race as it is getting many of us ready for the Santa Barbara half-marathon in November. I would like to keep my detailed race notes at the website below, and I encourage you all to contribute any running/racing stories or comments to it.
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