Moab MTB VidS

Just put together some Moab MTB helmet cam footage from the porcupine rim and amasa back trails. View the ish here. MOAB!!

When nature and pollution combine to make something gorgeous.

A visually striking sunset can make you dizzy like the way a beautiful girl can make your head spin. As humans, it's our nature to be drawn to the beautiful and exquisite. They grab and pull you in and soon you forget how you got to where you were but you don't really care. I caught a glimpse of this sunset through my window as I was closing my blinds to snuggle with myself for the evening and the next thing I knew, I was on my roof staring into the eyes of a beautiful girl we call "sunset." She had the most vibrant glow and I was instantly mesmorized by the captivating scene in front of my eyes in my very own city. These are the simple pleasures in life that make us appreciate choices we make. They can unlock hidden away happiness that is stored in the darkness of our minds. 

Sometimes we can get stuck on something that we thought was "everything" but in  the scheme of things is contrived and trivial. It's hard to let go, but once you can, there is a moment where you feel free, free until it clouds your mind again like that first glass of wine...when does it truly release it's grasp? I guess it must be when you accept and stop hoping. It's funny that a simple thing that occurs everyday can stir up your mind and rearrange a thought that is always in the background to brimming on the surface of every firing nueron in your brain. Perhaps we'll never understand parts of ourselves, but at least we have the sunset to show us how beautiful life can be.

Fun Meter Pegged!

The view from Porcupine Rim

Uhh OWW!

Moab is a mecca for outdoor adventures. I spent my weekend there attempting to mountain bike some of the most technically difficult trails I have ever ridden. It was amazing. I was really stoked for my first Moab trip and oh boy did it exceeded my expectations. We only rode two trails in two days because of how physically demanding they were. After a 3 hour ride I felt as though I had been repeatedly shaken in a martini mixer filled with rocks and blistering sun. I loved it! We rode Amasa Back which is a 10 mile out and back ride that is 5 miles of climbing and 5 miles of descending. I managed to crash and severely bruise my hand in the first 10 minutes which was actually quite hilarious because I was all "gung-ho" to rip the shit out of the trails and just got humbled immediately. But never the less, I still was able to grip the handlebars and enjoy the ride. The next day we rode Porcupine Rim which is one of Moab's signature must ride trails. It is nuts. There is a 4 mile section of single track that navigates technical ledges and loose rocks all just feet from the exposed rim edge where if you lost control and fell off the edge, you probably would have time to pull out your cell phone and call your mom before you hit the ground and died. Pretty hairy stuff. But then there are wonderful downhill sections with twisting turn and nice ledges that you can gap and all kinds of fun features to play on. I'm definitely going back...and soon.

Beat Down and LOVING it!

Your probably wondering, "Tyler, what about your Paleo EP" and yes, I managed to keep it up although it wasn't easy and I did drink my fair share of chocolate milk to aid in recovery. The update is that everything is going good, my gut has seemed to calm down a bit and I don't get the feeling of being bloated as often as I did when I ate a bunch of grains and nuts. Hmmm...am I onto something. Stay tuned! Oh and the knee held up great, even when dropping 5 foot ledges to flat...Thank goodness for full-suspension mountain bikes. Come on knee, stay with me, I promise I'll be nicer this week.

P.S. I'm 26 today...wtf?! 

The Amazing Backwards Woman!!

 

This picture is simply astounding. This lady, bless her soul, has somehow eaten her way to making her pooch look like her ass! My favorite part is that she is at Taco Bell...this may have something do with her complete dysmorphia, but I'm not expert so don't take my word for it.

Week 2

Well gang there isn't much new to report with my Paleo EP. My energy levels have remained constant and I have noticed much, if anything, of a change in how my stomach feels. I'm still only halfway to the recommended 30 day challenge. I'm slowly getting used to planning out every meal and really starting to enjoy it...most of the time. My new passion is cooking with loads of olive and coconut oil, damn, it makes everything tastes so much better. In case you were wondering, here is what a typical day of food intake looks like for me:

Breakfast:

• Frittada loaded with eggs, sausage, mushrooms, asparagus, spinach, cilantro, thyme, jalapeno, onion, avocado and garlic all cooked in coconut oil.
• Bowl of fruit: raspberries, blue berries and black berries.
• Coffee with heavy whipping cream

Lunch:

• Pork Shoulder cooked in the crock pot with garlic, onions, diced apple, Worcestershire sauce and olive oil.
• Handful of roasted almonds and beef jerky
• Banana

Dinner:

• More Pork Shoulder
• Salad with lots of greens and veggies

I am constantly drinking water throughout the day and will usually have a snack or two in between meals which consists of an apple with almond butter or a smoothie with frozen berries, almond milk, spinach, scoop of whey protein powder and a banana. If I'm still hungry at night I'll make a bowl of popcorn cooked in coconut oil instead of vegetable or canola oil as they contain lots of the short chain omega 6 fatty acids that I'm already trying to balance out with omega 3s.

So in light of that delicious menu, I think it's time for breakfast! 

Week 1 + Some

Hey Friends! So, I'm a week into my new eating plan and things are going great. My appetite has begin to calm down and I'm not as ravenous as a fat lady at McDonalds anymore. Thank you, God! My energy levels have remained high and I'm not snacking every other hour like I used to. My gut still feels about the same so I hope to see some improvement there over the next few weeks. I've also been getting back on the bike much more in the last week and because of that, I have had to incorporate more carbs before, during and directly after my rides. I'm hoping this cycling season I can keep the 5 lbs that I've gained since last years all time low. Being light is great for climbing, but horrible in the flats. I need to maintain a healthy balance. Wish me luck with that!

My knee that I had surgery on a month ago is holding up well and taking all the pain I can throw at it and spitting it out right back at me! I still have some minor swelling and it gets stiff and a little sore after being on my feet all day at work. Despite all those minors downers, I went out to the RMR Crit races last night and hung in there for a middle of the pack finish in my first "race" back after only a month! I'm definitely stoked to be riding hard again (and pain free!!), but I have a lot of catching up to do before I can think about doing some damage in any upcoming races. My knee is sore today, but I don't think I've set myself back, it just needs a day or two of rest before I get back on the horse.

The old family comes into town tonight!! WOOOO!

Paleo EP - Day 4

I'm done calling this thing a diet. A diet is a ridiculous word that out of shape middle aged people use to convince themselves that they are going to lose some weight and begin working out again. That's definitely not me, I will now use the term "eating plan" to describe my food intake.

This speaks for itself!

 
I have never eaten so much food before. I think the absence of carbs as fillers in my food is the cause. For breakfast I made a huge scramble with 4 eggs, half an onion, half a green pepper, five mushrooms, a handful of spinach and half a cup of sausage and I ate the whole thing along with a bunch of strawberries and honey dew and I could still eat more. Anyone that knows me, will tell you that I usually eat like a bird, but I'm not eating small amounts intentionally, I just eat til I'm satiated. Never more because I hate feeling too full. UGH! I feel as though I'm alwayhungry all day long. I hope my body adjusts because as much as like to eat and cook, I can see it becoming a lot of work.

I made my beef jerky while watching the Champion's League final yesterday. I'm really happy Manchester United lost! (Poor Emory) I feel your pain buddy. Anyway, the jerky turned out quite well. It tastes like Teriyaki jerky. I think next time I'll try to use a little less salt because it has a savory salty after taste. My only complaint is that it didn't make very much. I used almost two pounds of beef and only got a medium sized tupperwear of jerky...WTF. The oven ate all my beef!

JERKY!!

Paleo Diet - Day 2/2.5

Yesterday was my first "real" Paleo day. After work I hit up the great Costco. Damn, I love going there and hate checking out because I always end up spending way more than I intended to! $150 later I am now fully stocked for my Paleo adventures with the exception of fresh veggies. So, I'm walking down aisle after aisle just looking at foods and going, "Damn, that looks tasty, but Shit, I can't have that." I think that happened about 50 times and all the free samples...Oh it was a little painful to pass up the bagel bites and fish sticks! It's amazing how many foods you cannot eat on this plan. But I am pretty stoked about the bacon and sausage coming back into my life. 

That is one HUGE jug of Olive Oil!

 I think I am going to be having a difficult time with breakfast. My stock oatmeal is out the window, it was so easy and it filled me up for a solid few hours. I'm going to try making a Quiche the night before work  and eat that for breakfast...we'll see how motivated I stay with that idea. I've read that some people will just drink the Olive Oil straight up to supplement their breakfast....ugh! But I suppose I'll end up trying it.

On Day 2 I felt a little different, definitely a little more gassy with upped protein intake. 140 grams of protein is a lot! Paleo recommends 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight!! I found an awesome recipe for jerky that I'm psyched to try out. Check it out BEEF JERKY!.

Well, that's about all I have to report since Day 3 has only just begun. Gotta replenish my body after my first Team bike ride of 30 miles. Damn, they kicked my trash. 

Paleo Diet

Today is Day 1 of my Paleo-Diet trial. I am going to give it a proper go because I have been having gut irritation and over inflammatory problems for over a month now. The basics of the Paleo diet are high protein, moderate fat and low carbs. This means tossing out all the bread, grains (my beloved quinoa..), pastas, peanuts (no peanut butter...oh god!), juices, dairy and anything else that is a refined packaged item. Most of these items won't be much of an issue for me to give up, but I can only imagine what a struggle for some it would be to give up bread, dairy and cookies! My roommates love their ice-cream and this is a big no-no on the Paleo diet and I could just see this as a deal breaker for them. Haha! I love them.

So, basically what today is going to consist of is going home and cleaning out the cupboard and fridge of all the no-no items. Then going to the store and shopping....Fuck! But, I am incredibly curious to see whether or not this diet will help out with my issues and give me a performance boost on the bike. I have acquired the book, "The Paleo Solution, The Original Human Diet" by Robb Wolf from my Mom. Thanks Mom. This will be my food "bible" for the next few weeks. I have also been listening to Robb Wolf's podcasts and they are really interesting and he's entertaining too. He's not some fucking science dork, he's an athlete, he's funny and he doesn't have a filter.

I think the biggest issue for me will be the alcohol. I am definitely not going to stop completely, but tone it down...a lot. I'll keep my blog updated on my progress and hopefully I'll see some positive results.

Vimeo!!

Ty's Vimeo Account!!!

I am finally back from my two month hiatus away from the internet world. Rejuvenated and born again with a new outlook, upgraded status and another account on an interweb site. Damn!

Lately, I've been tooling around with my new POV camera and macbook pretty hard. I'm morphing into an electronic junky...soon to join my arsenal of electronic devices will be the coveted iphone. But that's just a side note. The real point is I've finally figured out how to edit some videos and post them on the internet. Check them out at http://vimeo.com/user6226040/videos. This is the link to my vimeo account where I will be posting my lastest and greatest footage from the adventures of Ty. Please bare with my primitive editing skills and mediocre athletic abilities as I continue to try and wear out my body before I'm 30. Let the good times rollllll.

Happy New Year!

Sipping on the "Arrogant Bastard" clone

It's 2011. I'm drinking in the new year with my newest batch of beer and it's delicious! If you have ever had an Arrogant Bastard by Stone Brewery then you will love mine because it is a clone. It's dark and strong with a smooth finish. Let's put it this way, I'm still hung over from last night and despite having a head ache and being disgusted by the smell of alcohol, it still tastes good (the hair of the dog...). Anyway, I'm pretty happy about it.

Well, another year has passed and 2010 was an exciting year to say the least. I over came a five month hip injury that put me on the shelf and really had me wondering if I was ever going to be the same again. My cycling season didn't produce many great individual results, but the team had some awesome performance and I definitely got stronger and enjoyed every race. Well, maybe I didn't really enjoy Lotoja, but I'm glad I stuck it out and finished strong. I applied to PA school, but didn't get in...bummer dude. I played really hard and made a lot of great memories along with some that I'd like to forget as well, but that's life, right?

Now is the time for new beginnings and with the entrance of the new year, we have the opportunity to change our lives in a positive way with the traditional new year's resolution. It's a funny concept, but one that we should all give a shot. I'm pretty awful with money and my resolution is to track my spending and come up with a budget plan. We'll see how it goes. Day 1 of 2011 and I spent $23 on checked bags for my flight tomorrow. Here we go.

Luray Caverns

Fried Eggs

Today the family and I had a memorable experience. We took a two hour drive to West Va to check out the famous Luray Caverns. The cavern has been highly commercialized and guided tours now run the show, but it was still an incredible sight. The caverns are adorned with massive stalagmites, stalactites and other geologic wonders. The most incredible sight was man made, but simply amazing. If you don't

These were Everywhere!

know it or not, each stalactite has a unique sound when tapped. So some genius thought it would a cool idea to make an organ that tapped stalactites of different sizes to produce various tones! There was also an amazing drip formation that took on the appearance of fried eggs. And a stalactite that formed from above while a stalagmite formed from below and the two fused together forming the infamous "bride and groom" statue. A glowing pool of water (may have been enhanced by light bulbs) called the wishing well where you could throw a coin and make a wish. Don't even ask to know what I wished for or else it won't come true and I really want it to happen. There were just so many amazing "rooms" and formations that you could spend hours down there examining them and still not noticing everything. It's the type of place that even if you worked there and guided tours everyday you would still notice something new each time! My only complaint about the tour was the fact that it was a tour and you were herded around like cattle from each room to the next. It would've been much more enjoyable to simply walk the caverns with your own small group and taking as much time as you like to see it all. All the same,  I would still highly recommend checking it out if you are ever in West Virginia or near the Shenandoah National Park (which by the way was closed...bummer).

Wishing Well

Bride and Groom

Christmas Dinner

My first ever trip to the east coast has been great so far. I've enjoyed lots of family time and tons of lounging. Just how I would picture my Christmas vacation, at least for a few days. I do wish I could be skiing the amazing Utah snow and hanging out with the family in the evenings. As you are all probably very interested in knowing what my favorite gift from Santa was....I will now indulge. Santa was generous enough to bring me a helmet cam (but only because I have been a very good boy this year) to film my many extreme outdoor activities so you and I can relive their amazing moments. Here is my first use of the camera and it's editing program. The video captures our Christmas blunder, the Southard family had it's very first Christmas dinner without meat! Hilarious and another great memory to add to the many great ones over the years. Another great memory that we made this year was dressing my Dad up as Santa and taking our annual family picture with him instead of that phony dick at the mall who smells like BO and doesn't care about anyone over the age of 14. Anyways, I'm super stoked about my newest toy! My blog is about to get a whole lot cooler if I can actually make the time to do a post from time to time. Hopefully some epic plowder riding ensues!

Plowder

Winter can be such an amazing time of the year and its totally weather dependent in my case. For most people snow storms mean more stress and hassle. But to me and my fellow powder whore's its a small price to pay to ride new snow. We get stoked seeing our cars covered in snow each morning as we head out the door for work. Albeit, we don't really enjoy having to work when there's fresh pow, but it still puts a smile on my face.

 This past week the entire west coast has been getting a ton of precipitation flowing in from the Pacific. Utah has been given an amazing early Christmas present. We have received over 50 inches of snow in the past week alone! Our snow pack has finally crested 100" and its still December! It's every snow shredders dream. Freshies, powtay, riding the white wave and plowder are some of my favorites of describing the new snow.

Unfortunately, but still excitingly enough I am leaving Utah and its amazing snow pack to visit my family in Virginia for the Holidays. I've never been back east and am curious as to why I have such a bias toward it, despite never having experienced its culture and landscape. For some reason I am repelled by the east. Maybe its the crowded cities and no significant mountains part. But, I'm being honest here, I love to snowboard and quite frankly, if your state doesn't cater to my pow pow cravings then I'm just not interested. Snow or not, I'm very happy to be visiting the fam and am anxious to see them. Hopefully I'll find a good way to distract myself from the plowder here in Utah while I'm MIA. Shred hard my friends and Merry Christmas!

Arsenal!!

Today is a massive day for English Football. My hatred for Man United once again comes boiling to the surface as we are set to battle with the Red Devils for first place in the EPL. It's time for Arsenal to step up their game against their biggest rivals and shine. We've had a rough go against United (and the other "title contenders") in the past few seasons, but I feel that this is our year to regain the crown. We are team full of belief, ability and most importantly maturity (finally!) to do something with that belief. We've been regarded as contenders in recent years solely because of our dominance in the early 2000's, but everyone knew we didn't really have the goods to bring home the EPL title. We've lacked that killer instinct that all the title winner's seem to possess. And by that I mean having other players step up when key players are injured, squeaking out wins with nitty gritty performances and taking care of the smaller teams. No one this season seems to be emulating these characteristics as all the big teams have faltered a few times this season already. It is likely that all the key men for these teams are still feeling the effects of the World Cup and battling with tired legs and niggling injuries (such as Fabregas's hamstring woes.)

 Despite this, we still have a colossal match on our hands today! One that I look forward to every season. This one today is a little more significant to me this year because Arsenal have a great opportunity to take hold of the Premiere League title race and put some distance between themselves and their challengers at the top of the table. It's also meaningful because I have a little bet with Mr. Emory (who just happens to be a Man U fan) that if Arsenal beat Man U, then he has to come visit SLC (finally) within the next 6 months and vice versa if Man U are victorious today. This is big! See you soon EM!!

Prediction: It's going to be a tight one today. The game is at Old Trafford so obviously Man U have the advantage and will likely score. A win would be momentous and massive statement for Arsenal if we were to take all three points today. I don't think either team is willing to put caution to the wind and risk defeat at such a crucial point in the season. Man U is still undefeated this season, although they have tied almost half of their games thus far so chalk up another draw....1-1. Vidic to score off the corner first and Nasri with another piece of magic to level it up. Come on you GUNNERS and put Man U in the place like we did a few seasons ago....

Dexter

Tonight is the season finale of Dexter. It's an awfully grotesque show that has this unexplainable power to grab the attention of millions of Americans, luring them into watching a socially inept creature who lives a lie and tricks everyone into thinking he's a normal 9-5 daddy. In actuality he's a mass murderer of the earth's scum. It's a great show because it relates to people with violence and I'm just speaking for myself here, but I, in some sadistic way love to see Dexter killing evil men who committed heinous crimes they have gotten away with. Tonight we'll see Dexter take down another bad guy, but the real question is whether he is going to get away with all his murders and will he lose another love? My prediction is that Dexter is going to kill Jordan Chase, but in the end Lumen is going to take the fall for Dexter's murders and Deb is going to finally realize her brother is a killer, but she's going to accept him for what he is. And Boston boy is taking the fall for Dexter's murder of Liddy. Hmmmm. I'm getting a little antsy for this to play out. Dexter Dexter!

Holiday Bulge

"Don't dig your grave with your knife and fork:" -English Proverb (They are so wise)

It's officially the Holiday season and maybe I am a little tardy in acknowledging this, but I know it's in full swing when I start hearing Christmas Songs playing at work (uggh). The holiday season also signifies that time of year of when people just start baking copious amounts of sweet, rich foods and handing them out like they are kittens from a litter of 50! I don't quite understand the change that sweeps over us Americans during this time of year, but everyone seems to think that it's a great idea to add a layer or two to the winter coat of your family, friends and coworkers by sharing the gift of baking and delicious dishes. Just about everyday of work for the past two weeks there has been a basket of sweets sitting in the break room for all to indulge. Thanks!

Yummy in my Tummy!

In reality, we all need to think twice before we take that next cookie or piece of chocolate fudge during this time of year. Most of us aren't getting much exercise since the days are growing shorter and the temperature is hovering around freezing. Many leading sources believe that the average adult will gain 7 to 10 lbs over the Holiday Season! WTF! The sad part is that the people that put on this weight are the ones most likely to keep it as well. They'll tell themselves that their New Year's resolution is to lose 15lbs, but will quit their diet after two weeks and retain all that lovely extra cellulite that parties in all the wrong places on our bodies.

The dreaded "Belly Fat"

I love the holidays, don't get me wrong, but I find it quite depressing that for so many of us they signify a time to overindulge and neglect our health. This shit affects the rest of your life. It won't kill you to not try every dish at your next Christmas Party or not make 10 different dishes for your Christmas dinner for 5 people! Just take it back a notch.

Here are a few tips to keep that weight down during this wonderful time of the year:

1. Weigh yourself daily. Go ahead, don't turn a blind eye on your worst fear and step on that scale. Many of us "pretend" or try to convince ourselves we are staying the same weight by avoiding the scale. If you weigh yourself daily, it will be a constant reminder to keep the weight off.

2. Be aware of what you eat throughout the day. People "forget" they had four cookies at work and then eat four more later that same day. Try to be conscious of everything you are eating.

3. Always look for opportunities to move. Talk a brisk walk during a down time when spending time with family. If you have some spare time go for a jog or the gym instead of sitting in front of the computer or TV.

4. Learn to say "No" or "I'll pass." You don't have to say "yes" to everything.

5. Eat a little before you head out to that Christmas Party or Family gathering. Hunger can undo the best intentions.

6. Clear the table when finished eating. I always find myself picking at left over food at the table just because its there.

8. Alcohol has a lot of bad calories too. Keep that in mind.

7. Most importantly, Remember that the holidays are about friends, family and being thankful for them. --NOT FOOD--

Happy Holidays Everyone and remember to pray for snow!

Its not me, its my nature

Bad things happen, whether for a reason or not, and it's hard to come to grips with why or how. It can be extremely difficult to deal with, consuming every free sedentary moment throughout your day. Other times things happen and we just shrug okay and get on with our lives. Every so often something happens that is amazing and we don't ask questions about why or how we just soak in the goodness and life seems so great and simple. Why is this? Why is it that we, as humans, dwell on the negative? Asking questions, trying to get to the bottom of whatever problem, digging deeper and deeper, completely absorbed, uncovering more than we wished for until it becomes a skeleton in our closet. We analyze and ruminate until it is always there and incredibly painful to recall. We pick at every detail until all that is left is a red inflamed abscess that has little resemblance to its origin. When we finally realize how grotesque its become, we slap on some ointment and a band aid, try to forget and hope it heals. On the flip side, when something positive happens in our lives our natural instinct is to think we deserve whatever fortunate occurrence has materialized before our eyes. We say to ourselves, "Damn, that is great and so am I, more things like this should happen to me." We really don't consider why or how for more than a few hours. We take it in and instantly want more. Our appetite for satisfaction grows and grows, always wanting more, swelling exponentially. We evolve into gluttonous, rapacious, green-eyed monsters.

This post sucks.

Teton Pass

The rocky mountains went off this weekend! My lovely girlfriend, Leah, and I decided to take a little break from Utah this past weekend and head up to Victor, ID to visit our good friends John and Kendle. While there we were given the greatest gift of all, fresh powder! Over 2 feet fell! With Saturday snowfall totals at 18 inches in some places. It was snowgasmic! We skied on Saturday and Sunday off Teton Pass at Glory Mountain and Edleweiss. They are both extremely popular and safe places to ski when avalanche danger increases. If felt like we were in mid January, not late November. The snow was light, fluffy and bottomless. It was my first time on the splitboard since last ski season and Leah's first time touring with AT gear. She was great! John and Kendle are finally seeing the light and are now totally geared up to backcountry ski all winter long. WOO! We made effortless turns down gently sloping terrain at the tree lines because the avalanche danger was considerable. Even so, we all got that very special feeling that tickles your senses when you surf the white wave. It almost doesn't seem real because of how light and floaty the snow feels beneath your powder stick(s), its probably the closet thing to walking on a cloud.

It was also really great to get to hang out with John and Kendle and peek into their lives up in Idaho/Wyoming.. They just bought their first house! Wow! They really are growing up. They've chosen a first rate location to settle down in (that is if you love the outdoors, mountain especially) and in a way, a small piece of me envies that. It's also a bonus for me, because I will always have a warm, cozy and friendly place to stay whenever I want to ski the Tetons. I'm really glad we made the trip up to see them. I miss them a lot and am stoked they only live a short 4.5 hour drive from Salt Lake, that is, unless it isn't blizzarding and the roads are a nightmare like they were for our journey home. But oh well, we need the snow. With the holidays fast approaching and ski season ramping up......Let it SNOW!

Amazing Soccer Goals

Scoring a goal in soccer is an amazing feeling. Your teammates rush towards you to congratulate you, almost tackling you, their jubilation radiating, your adrenaline pulsating. In that moment, you are completely filled with joy and euphoria. On any stage, this simple tasks intoxicates your body and mind with ecstasy. I loved scoring goals as a player and even in simple kick around games. The passion of scoring a goal is something that you will always remember.

My most memorable goal came in my second to last game at BCC as a Sophomore. We were playing against Southwest Oregon CC in a single elimination game to make the playoffs. The game was in the second half of golden goal overtime and only minutes away from the dreaded penalty shootout. An opponent had the ball inside his own half and my teammate pressured him hard and forced him into a heavy touch, I intervened and swiped the ball from him about 35 yards away from goal. I had only two defenders in front of me and the goal with one more chasing hard from behind, I feinted right and went left and got half a step on the defenders. At this point I was nearing the 18 yard box and streaking towards the left side of the goal, the keeper began to move off his line to cut down the angle. I was running at full speed with three defenders crowding around me when I hit a low, rolling shot that went just beyond the outstretched keepers dive and off the far post and into the goal! The game was over. WE HAD WON! My teammates were chasing me all over the field and I was dodging every one of them until they tackled me at the midfield line. It was one of the greatest feelings of my entire life. I was ecstatic and so was everyone else. My coach gave me the biggest hug after the game, I was the hero.

Every year in the soccer world there are simply stunning goals that literally take your breath away. FIFA honors these goals by making a shortlist of the ten best goals and gives the Puskas Award to the most breathtaking goal scored that year. You can watch the nominees here:  
PUSKAS AWARD. (amazing goal videos)
Their is a wonderful volleyed backheel that just doesnt make sense, a few thunderbolt strikes from way out, astonishing displays of skill as attackers breeze past defenders and score with style and long streaking runs filled with power and pace and lovely finishing strikes. My personal favorite is Giovanni Van Bronckhorst's rocket from 40 yards out against Uruguay in the World Cup Semi Finals. Absolutely majestic!!

"Oh my God!" shrieked a nurse. "You are ridiculous!" another cried out. These were the first words I heard as I walked into work and scanned my badge to clock in. No good morning or how are you, just hysteria. I thought to myself, "maybe I should have just used the side door."

 

As soon as I stepped outside the chilly air took a hold of me and shook me awake. I mounted my bike and clipped in to my pedals. I had just pulled out of my residential road and onto Bengal Blvd and began picking up speed immediately. The icy cold began cutting deeper into my face and my entire body was stinging with the intense cold. "Shit, maybe this was a bad idea," immediately popped into my head. It was 6am, pitch black and 30 degrees F and I was traveling at 35mph downhill and not generating much internal heat. Factoring those two numbers together the wind chill was equivalent to -1 degrees F! No wonder I was freezing my balls off and second guessing my decision to bike into work. I was mashing on the pedals to try and generate some body heat After a solid 10 minutes I began to warm up and get the feeling back into my hands. As soon as I felt the warmth creep into my body, I knew I was going to make it. 

Brrr

Biking in extremely cold conditions isn't very much fun at first. But, if you dress properly and are able to push through the initial chills, it's actually quite enjoyable. A few items will make your ride much more enjoyable:

• Shoe Covers - nothing is worse than having cold feet on a ride because you really have no way to warm them up. Shoe covers block the wind and keep what little heat your feet generate in.
• Winter Gloves - Fingers and feet are the hardest parts of the body to keep warm on a ride. Well insulated gloves are a must. Plain and simple. I wear ski gloves when it's really cold and just a wind blocker shell if it's above 40 F.
• Balaclava or headband - You lose a ton of heat through your head when it's only covered by your helmet. On super cold days put on a balaclava to keep your neck, lips and head nice and cozy. It takes a little while to get used to breathing with, but stick with it. Ear warmers are nice on the days when a balaclava is too much but you still need to keep your ears warm.
• Jacket - Invest in a jacket that is wind proof and still breathes well. If you use a jacket that doesn't breathe well, you'll be sweating buckets after 15 minutes and will end up getting cold later on because all that moisture you are creating. Pit zips are nice too. 

Even if it's crazy cold out, you still can bike. Make it a test of your mental strength to go out and get on your bike and push through the cold. You'll thank me later.

Cheesy

I wrote this poem for a special someone. Yes, I know its extremely cheesey, but I really enjoyed writing it and wanted to share it. It is inspired by my love for the outdoors and a great girl in my life.

Mt. Baker Backcountry

you're my number one,
my saturday,
the snow in my canyon,
my powder day,
the red in my wine,
my favorite moment in time,
damn! I'm glad you're mine,
you're my funnest climb,
the chain on my bike,
my lifestyle,
the woman I like,
you make me smile.



 I think I'm going to quit my job, drink red wine, smoke lots of marijuana and write love poems all day. I'd say I have a 50/50 chance at making a name for myself. Oh, and I'd like to give a big shout out to Wal-Mart for putting those red roses right next to the check out aisle without them, this poem would've never been created.

Opening Day

So there I was, down and out. Losing hope. Sinking like a stone in the sea. My blood was boiling and my core body temperature was 101 F. The light was getting brighter and brighter, everything else was fading into nothingness. Bruce Springstein's "Blinded by the Light" was playing in the background and I could feel my will to live burning away. I was strapped to a table and completely naked. There was a team of green suits gathering around me, whispering back and forth on how they should end my life. I opened my eyes to take one last look at the world as I knew it and realized that I had awoken. It was all a dream.

And speaking of dreams, an actual dream of mine has come true! Brighton Ski Resort opens this Friday, November 12th. I'll be there shredding the gnar, hitting rocks and tree stumps with my slay blade. It won't matter though because there will be some snow and snow is all that I desire at the moment. I'll see you on the mountain!

65 and Sunny!

It's november and it was absolutely amazing outdoors. The sun is radiating ultra violet rays from the perfect angle. Not too acute nor obtuse, just right. It's great t-shirt and shorts weather when you are partaking in stimulating outdoor activities. The body thrives in this atmosphere like a well oiled piston firing smoothly. The somatic nervous system is innervating your external muscles without delay, every capillary is dilated to the max and your entire body is flooded with oxygen. These are the days that make me happy. They give me a better sense of well being. I love these days, but I also love winter. For now I will enjoy them and squeeze in every last summer activity that I can. I'll even go rollerblading, that's how great it is outside.

Home Brew

Last night I made the wort for my latest home brew! I'm conjuring up a hoppy, red, winter style warmer. It should be delicious if everything works out. There are so many factors in the process that could taint the beer that I find the whole process a little stressful. Everything has to be sterilized, the yeast has to be prepped, hops and other ingredients added at exact times, it's time consuming and you have to attentive in the kitchen throughout the duration of the boil. Don't get me wrong though, once all the work is done and you are sipping on your very own concoction of beer, it's very rewarding. It's also a great way to impress chicks. I love having 5 gallons of beer chilling down in my basement, it's all for me! (besides the ones that I share with friends) They will all be in a neat formation just waiting for me to rip off their tops and let me drink in their frothy goodness. The entire batch should be done in about 3-4 weeks. I'm very excited to get drinking!