Yep! August 31st is about to leave us. Enter September. Here comes October. Too soon for November. Look out December.
7 minutes from my front door, climbing the parkway from the Folk Art center. Keeping the legs soft for some bicycle racing this weekend in SC at the NC/SC state championships.
Making the turn onto Town Mountain road. I was hoping to see some bear.
Whilst I washeth my bi-cycle clothing in prep for tomorrow nights ride, I threw something new together tonight. Started with ground buffalo and a cAn of MANWICH Sloppy Joe sauce. I decided to add an eNtIrE pack of 3-grain Tempe and two whole Roma tomatoes. "I chop dem suckas up!" I threw in some garlic salt and let the juice from the tomatoes cook off. :: Click on the pictures. ::
I added a half eaten 1 and 3/4 ounce bag of Doritos (from Saturday's lunch stop at Subway) and a glass of freshly poured cranberry juice. Ah, can't forget le Bed of spYnAch. All served on a Wheat Honey bread. Then, I had another Buffalo Tempe Joe on a sesame bagel (initially from Saturday's race recovery food bag). I have enough left over Joe for two lunches.
The Hilly Hellacious Metric Century. 4 hours and 64 miles. 5380 feet of climbing. The first climb, Locust Grove, is one of the hardest short climbs I've done.
Early this morning I checked the hourly forecast for Salisbury, NC. By 1:00 it was supposed to be 101 degrees. Ouch!!! Our race start was at 1:40. Andre and I arrived and it was hot. But, our warm-up (ha ha ha) felt good and we both felt good.
Here he is sitting up after crossing the line.
Release the melon-lopes! I actually shaved for the occasion. Silky smooth and much cooler under the pants.
This is no after-ride dinner, because there was no ride yesterday. I threw together what was remaining in my little Kitchen of Coffee Stains and put this yummy dish together. Ingredients: Spinach, grated Parmesan cheese, whole wheat rigatoni, sliced almonds, onions, whole mushrooms, 3-grain tempe, and Roma tomatoes. Served with cranberry-gatorade mix and Chardonnay (that I didn't actually drink).
I've been sampling my African coffees looking for that special flava that I can't seem to track down. The Rift Valley blend is seasonal. I enjoyed this mug of Arabian Mocha Sanani before work watching the Morning Joe. But, it doesn't have it. I used to get it in an Ethiopian brew, but maybe the beans are off this year. Who knows?
Then, I went to work. This is me with the Bart-O-Mask 5000. You can't hear a thing through the ear muffs. I guess this is used to chainsaw trees and stuff. I put in on and it was so quiet that I about fell asleep.
Tonight's little dinner involved the RICE COOKER: Mahatma whole grain brown rice with shrimp, yellow squash, Broccoli and corn. I can't remember what I was drinking.
Had a hard ride last night, so I needed something good for dinner. Buffalo is some of the leanest meat available. As I slow-cooked the burgers, I prepared my condiments and veggies.
Buffalo Burgers on Honey Wheat Berry sliced bread, with grated Parmesan cheese, ketchup, mustard, sweet relish, spinach, Roma tomatoes, and onions. Served with a glass of Pinot Noir. The burgers were very good. I've been craving burgers for most of the summer, but don't like the normal red meat beef burgers as a part of my diet.
Tonight's after race meal was a Frank standard, breakfast for dinner. The menu got a last minute switch from a bowl of cereal to eggs and toast, served with Gatorade. The race did not go well. A crash split the field and I could not catch back on. I am getting ready to race on Saturday in Salisbury, NC. Off the bike tomorrow and then a few short efforts on Friday. I don't plan to do well on Saturday, just want to see how long I can hang on. Need to gauge my endurance and recovery over the next few weeks.
Ingredients: Bed of Spinach, grated Parmesan cheese, Big chunk of Salmon, 3-grain tempe, onions, yellow squash, mushrooms, garlic, Roma tomatoes, and Freshly shaved Parmesan. Served with 100% Cranberry juice.
Early morning start on the Parkway with Mike and Fred. These guys like to climb. Fred rides some of the most exciting and awesome routes north of Asheville. Remote country roads with some of the greatest climbs in the country, if not the world. They are just unknown! I keep forgetting how awesome the Parkway views are and the feeling you get riding your bike at high elevations.
Climbing NC 215 alone after 45 miles of intense riding with Mike and Fred. This was brutal! The 7% grades were killing me today.
The view at the top of NC 215. We are looking south . The long views have been hazy over the last couple months. I used to live for views like this. It is easy to take them for granted since they surround me everywhere.
It was a very busy day on the Parkway near Asheville. On the drive home I saw this guy on a bike. He was the tallest guy that I ever saw on a bike before. Notice his seat-height compared to the motorcycle.
After 80 miles and 6300 feet of climbing in the heat, all I could do was EAT and SLEEP!
The ride. Had to use the flashers tonight, got home at dark. About time to release the melon-lopes.
One of my special versions of a Quesadilla.
Folded over, cut in half and served with a glass of Pinot Noir.
In the AM we have freshly ground and brewed Ethiopian Coffee in a new mug painted by my super daughter.
I've been "back on the bike" too many times this year. I started riding again on Sunday. The power and jump are there in my sprints, but the endurance needs work. I've started implementing "Ice Cream Intervals" on my rides......to sweat all the summer ice cream out through my skin. I also need to lose a few pounds. So, I'm not holding back and just digging in. I need someone to get on my case about doing weight-lifting and yoga this winter. Where is a good personal yoga instructor when you need one? I know that would help.
Here is the overly ambitious Fall Race Schedule:
Ingredients: Bed of spinach (pronounced SPY-NATCH), grated Parmesan cheese, 100% stone ground Penne Rigate whole durum wheat pasta, Vidalia sweet onion, yellow squash, choppin broccoli, shrimp, sliced Parmesan cheese, garlic, Italian seasoning and glass of chardonnay. Are you hungry?
This is the entrance of Pisgah National Forest on US 276 near Brevard, NC. Some of the best mountain biking trails in the country are located here. I used to come here from Atlanta almost every weekend to camp and ride until 2002. In 2003 I moved here and picked up the road bike. Tell me, is this picture "photoshopped" or not?
I was completely unaware that Em took this picture of me. I can't remember who I was talking to, but I must have been really focused.
So, on Saturday during our road trip to Ohi-ya, Em and I figured out when she would be half my age. It will be the year 2021 on November 11th. November 11th was her mother and my wedding aniversary date. What a coinky dink that is, huh?
Chill out little rockin dude.
I arrived home about 1:30 AM. No traffic on the road for the last 100 miles or so. Em and I were amazed at the number of Ohio license plates that we've seen lately, both in Asheville and on the interstate. Just about every 3rd car was from Ohio. Apparently most of Ohio went on vacation or something.
Here is a little poem I wrote and picture I put together and gave to my daughter years ago. I am going to work so that the Spirit of Frank is not extinguished.
Here is a sweet picture of us through the chiminea.
Store-bought Pepperidge Farm chocolate B-Day cake from the freezer department and homemade ice cream.....shaken in a bag. Stay tuned for spinach shrimp pasta. (yeah, yeah, yeah.....I say something about the fat problem, then I show a picture of cake and ice cream....I know.)
What would a birthday be without laser tag!
I've been living in Asheville for over 4 years and never had been to the Biltmore Estate. We went there on Monday and it was a nice time. Nice house! Way tooooooo big for me. The walk from the bedroom to the kitchen to make coffee, and to the living room to watch Tour tapes on the TV would take me about 45 minutes. If I were a kid, it would be a great place to have a Big Wheel or Green Machine....remember those? The 3rd and 4th floors of the "house" were stuffy and uncomfortable. It was hot! AC was not an option back then. I think it is a waste of space unless you have someone waiting on you hand and foot.....but, that is just not me. Small, cosey, comfy with just enough space is the way I would like it. The winery was cool. We learned a lot.
Weaving a walk down Wall Street.
The mad creation of my daughter at Asheville Art Museum Summer Camp. Her name is Luelaiy (pronounced Lu-Lay, Lula for short) and she lives with me throughout the year in place of my daughter......Em said that she can't take her home, "it would scare my little brother".
She was made with newspaper, paper mache, paint, glue, yarn and buttons.
Does it not look as if their wheels could just slide out from underneath them? Chris and Nate racing the Pro 1 2 criterium at the French Broad. There were quite a few crashes on this corner. We had one occasion where a lady, under the influence of taunted stupidity, walked out in front of a chasing group. Of course there was a crash. The lady was hand-cuffed for a short time and received a ticket from the officer who was stationed at the corner.
On weekends we have pancakes. The first couple pancakes always come out a little more brown than the rest of them. The last couple usually come out a little thinner. I rarely eat pancakes except for the summer. But, there is something comforting about making pancakes on a Saturday and Sunday morning with coffee.
Mellow Mushroom seems to be our favorite place to do our spontaneous shroomin. We usually order the pretzel bread sticks with Parmesan cheese. You have to be hippified and tangleheaded to work there. It is a perfect restaurant for Asheville. 
We managed to see all 5 Harry Potter movies in about 3 weeks. We both agree that the 3rd one is the best. Em never liked Harry Potter until this year. All of a sudden, we were making trips to Wal-mart to be the DVDs for $9.44 each. It cost $16 to go see the 5th movie in the theater. 
Sorry to say that the bicycles have not seem much action lately. I've had two sessions on the trainer lasting about 40 minutes each. The race next Wednesday should be interesting. I am anticipating a fall race season assuming the rest of my life gets in order. I may have to live out my race ambitions through the fall cyclocross season. I was going to do this last year, but lost my motivation to race in the fall. For me, the fall is a time to rest and do other things, like go camping and work on personal projects.
