CX Worlds

The UCI Cyclocross World Championships are today and tomorrow in Zaddam, The Netherlands. It looks icy and cold with very little mud. Should be blindingly fast with few bike changes. The favorite is obviously Sven Nys, the defending champ and winner of 8 of 10 World Cup races this year. Bart Wellens (the guy kung-fu fighting on his bike from my blog a couple weeks ago) or Richard Groenedaal could upset Nys if bad luck strikes.

The Austrailian Open Men's final is tonight also. It looks like my prediction of Federer not winning a Grand Slam in 2006 will not come true with Federer playing Marcos Baghdatis. Baghdatis had a nice run beating Roddick, Ljubicic, and Nalbandian, but I don't think he can beat Federer.

Fat Globs and Bone Chunks

Work was pretty gnarly the last couple days. We were slow all day, but ran calls all night long. My dumb ass needed to watch live tennis, so I stayed up pretty much all night. 5 hours of sleep in 48 hours is not ideal. Wednesday night we went on a car crash where a lady jumped her car off the road "Dukes of Hazzard" style right into a tree. She was trapped in her car for 4.5 hours before somebody found her. It took firefighters another hour to cut her out of the wreckage. She ended up having a crushed pelvis, a massively deformed left femur, and a really greusome open femur fracture on her right leg, with bone and fat and muscle and blood and leaves and dirt and glass inside the wound. She also had serious bruising across her abdomen, indicative of internal injuries. She was really f'ed up, and had no blood pressure when i found her, but managed to get a nice stable B/P by the time we arrived at the hospital. Its nice to run a really critical call and kick ass.

Last night I almost got in a fight with a drunk old guy. He wanted to "dance" and got in an old school boxing stance and took a swing. He didn't connect, and I told him we could box once we arrived at the hospital.

Cross Worlds are this weekend, as is the Australian Open finals. A fine weekend for sports.

Cyclocrossworld.com has a cool section called "Bikes of the Super Stars." There are some cool bikes in there. It's funny how different cross bikes are. Some guys use clinchers, others tubulars. Some bikes have deep carbon wheels, while others are more traditional. Some bikes have narrow canti brakes while others have wide, mud-shedding cantis. Double rings and singles. Pro road bikes are all pretty much the same, but cross bikes differ wildly.

Hacky Sack?

Hello Blogville. Work was crappy this weekend. Lots of calls and not a lot of sleep. I saw a dead 4 year old who drowned in a bathtub. I'm not sure how that happens to a kid that old. I wasn't on the call, so I didn't get the privilege to intubate him. I also saw a 23 day old baby that must have been used as a hacky sack since it had a broken humerous, clavicle, multiple ribs, multiple vertebrae, pelvis, femur, and tib-fib. Those are the only noteworthy calls of the weekend.

Today I watched Federer squeek by Tommy Haas. Then I took a napper, and went on a 35 mile ride. The weather was about as nice as it gets here. Sunny and relavitely warm. I felt a little guilty about taking a nap instead of riding for like 4 hours, but I was worn out from work, and the nap was awesome.

Now for more random stuff...

Craft undershirts are the shizzle. I wear one on every ride.

Ebay is retarded. One week you can get a decent bargain on stuff, the next week the same thing is double the price.

I almost had to shop at Wal-Mart today. It seems they are the only place in town that sells shower curtain liners. I have to get some things out of town tomorrow, so I need to pick up one of those.

French pressed coffee is delicious.

Lane's puppy poops and pees on astroturf.

Here is a picture of Heathrow Josef hugging a redwood.

Recertification

My paramedic license expires March 31st, so the last few weeks I've been getting all my shit taken care to recertify. Its a bitch (and expensive) but it needs to be done every 2 years. I'm a lot farther along in the process then I thought I was, which is good.

It was a gorgeous January day here today. Warm and sunny, with minimal wind. I took advantage of it by going on a nice long ride. I like base training. It's nice just riding, and not putting in any hard efforts. The road race season starts in a few weeks in Oregon with the Cherry Pie road race. I raced it last year, but I'm in no shape currently to race. I don't think I'll be racing until June or so. Lots of Crits in the summer months in Colorado in preparation for a full season of cyclocross. I think I counted 25 cross races in Colorado alone.

The Austrailan Open is in full swing. I think I've watched about 15 hours of tennis this week. Martina Hingis looks impressive in her comeback. Serena looks fat. Roddick and Nalbandian are playing well. We'll see how the second week goes. ESPN 2's coverage of tennis is pretty remarkable. I wish they could do the same for bicycle racing. Who knows what OLN's coverage will be like this year.

I go into work for a 72 hour shift this weekend. The Dingleblog's recent post about intubation got me thinking about the last time I've intubated someone. It's been a while, like 4 months. I'm definately due, so maybe I'll have a story about tubing a dead guy or something fun to share on Monday.

The Springs?

I found out more about the hiring process for AMR. My partner was on the hiring board for AMR in central California before moving to Crescent City. He said since Boulder and Colorado Springs are in the same region (and ran by the same people) that my Boulder interview works for any AMR branch in the region. He said AMR has a test over the local protocols and SOP's, and if you pass the test, you have a job. So apparently I was invited to take the test. So I'm waiting for the packet that has the test info and dates and whatnot. The dude said the orientation academy is in March, so the test is sometime between now and then. So its looking like we will soon be moving to Colorado Springs! Fun Fun.

Now for some random things swirling in my head...

I got this in the mail today. Its awesome. If anyone wants a copy, let me know and I'll burn ya one.

Send a loved one an e-card from this site. They're hilarious.

Work was not cool the last 2 days.

Rain is also not cool.

Who's going to win cyclocross worlds?

Any opinions on Tune hubs?

Anyone ever considered paying for coach, like CTS, Cycle-Smart, or the like?

I miss the Hub Special.

Stupid Me

Hello to all in the bloggosphere. The rains let up today, and the sun was actually shining for a few hours. I took advantage of it with a 50 mile ride. Mary joined me for the last 30 miles, and we froze our hands off together. The winter weather here is very unmotivating for training. The rain alone wouldn't be so bad, but the accompanying wind makes it miseralbe.

Friday night I got an interesting phone call. Some dude from AMR in Colorado Springs called and asked if I was still interested in a job. I said yes, and he said he'd send some info on their local protocols, and that there'd be a test, and a new employee academy in March. He asked if I had any questions, and being the retard that I am, I said I had no questions. I talked to some people I used as references, and they said they recieved calls asking about me. So I might have a new job.

I think the hiring process entails me studying the local protocols and taking a test, both written and practical. If I pass the test, they offer me a job, and then I have to go through the academy, which is a month long orientation. A girl who used to work with me got a job with AMR, and that was the procedure.

Finally!

I finally have an awesome work-related story to tell!

My partner and I were dispatched for an unknown with CHP on scene with a guy. On the way to the call we get more information, and the guy apparently had a cut lip. I'm thinking its going to be lame, like the guy got beat up or something. So we get there, and there is a textbook mullets galore dude lying prone with a cop's knee in his back. The guy is not wearing a shirt, and he's drunk as a skunk. There is a really sweet Bronco II with neon graphics and checkered flags and stuff burried up to the frame in a watery ditch. The guy has some serious mulletude and is trying to fight the cops. So we put him in the ambulance and I can't understand a word this guy is saying. We're driving down the road, and this drunk guy is blabbering about something, and I'm able to make out the word "supertramp." I ask the guy if he likes the band Supertramp. This guy immediately starts singing the Supertramp classic "Breakfast in America" in the back of the ambulance. It was hilarious. I asked him if he liked any other bands, and he started singing some Kansas, and later, Lynyrd Skynyrd. It was a very surreal thing, this drunk mullet man with no shirt and handcuffed to the gurney singing. I laughed the entire ride to the hospital.

Today I've been playing Florence Nightingale. Mary has the flu, so I don't think we're going to go anywhere or do anything fun. Probably just hang out at home. It's stormy here anyways.

Blow Wind Blow

It's been rainy and windy here again today. Big suprise. Too crappy to ride outside. I tried to go to run some errands today, but the Sentra wouldn't start. Unfortunately I think there is just some moisture in the distributor cap from all the rain lately, and not something serious. I have been looking at cars online though, just in case.

Here are some pictures. I've been slacking with the pictures, and it's bringing down the quality of my blog. The first picture is my goofy yellow lab Sampson. The second picture is a delicious treat.

This is from the Chimay website:

Chimay is an authentic Trappist beer that is brewed within a Trappist monastery, under the control and responsibility of the monastic community. Only 6 beers in Belgium can carry the appellation "Trappist": Chimay, Orval, Rochefort, Westmalle, Westvleteren and Achel.

It is noted for its coppery color which makes it particularly attractive. Topped with a creamy head, it gives off a light, fruity apricot aroma produced by the fermentation. The taste perceived in the mouth is a balance confirming the fruity nuances noticed in the fragrance. Its taste, which imparts a silky sensation to the tongue, is made refreshing by a light touch of bitterness. To the palate, the taster perceives a pleasant astringency which complements the flavor qualities of this beer very harmoniously. This top fermented Trappist beer, refermented in the bottle, is not pasteurized.

Chimay Red is ideally drunk at the ambient cellar temperature: from 10 to 12°C (50 to 53.6°F); a temperature which gives Chimay Red a great richness of body and soul.

Go buy some Chimay Red, and as with most delicious Belgian beers, drink it out of its intended glass. It blows away Fat Tire, or other amber beers. I highly recomend it.

I can't Hear Ya BK Broiler

Hello once again everyone. I have all sorts of fun stuff to blog about today. I'll start off with my glorious weekend of work. We were slow, and I only went on 3 calls all 3 days. I did eat 15 tacos last night though. Seriously 15. We had a little taco eatathon, and my coworkers underestimated my ablility. Next closest was 11 tacos. I went on nice long trainer rides everyday, but I think the tacos were slightly detrimental to my training. Today I felt like a pro. I came home from work, went on a long-ass bike ride, came home, took a shower, had lunch, and took a nap. The only thing missing was a massage. I rode for 52 miles today. The tacos were fueling me nicely, as I only needed one Powerbar while riding.

As first reported on Brian<>Abraham Scotty Johnson has a new blog. There is a link to it in my "Other Blogs" section. If anyone wants to debate sports, WWII, or the homosexual undertones of Top Gun, they should visit his blog and post numerous comments.

Click here if you want a little taste of vanilla courtesy of cyclingnews. Shannon's blog is pretty funny. You can check it out in my "Other Blogs" section after you enjoy Scotty's blog. Thats about all I know. My blog is getting boring, so I'll post some pictures or something tomorrow.

Lunatic Fringe

Hello blogland. I have to go into work tonight. I told a guy I'd come in early so he could drive home and see his family this weekend. So I'm stuck at work the next 90 hours or so (until monday afternoon.) Fun times. I went for a nice long ride again today. Its been really nice here lately, and I was able to get in 45 miles. I have the grossest story about the ride though. You know how there is a big blood stain on the highway after a car hits a deer? Well I rode through one of those today, but it wasn't from a deer. It was from a human. Some lady got smoked by a truck Tuesday. She died, and by the size of the blood stain, it was grusome.

Big Robb Lunak is in Blogland. Check out his blog in my "Other Blogs" section. There is a nice picture of Peter on there.

iPods Galore

Howdy ho everyone. I had my AMR interview yesterday for a paramedic position in Boulder, CO. The interview was going really well, and I was bullshitting like a politician. The interviewer asked a bunch of technical questions about phramacology and cardiology. These were my strong suits during paramedic school, but the questions were so obscure that I was unable to answer one of them. The question was way out there, and in the 2.5 years I've been a paramedic, I have never seen what he was talking about (sort of like bigfoot.) I'll find out the week of January 16th if I get the job or not. Vegas oddsmakers are putting it at 2-5 odds that I'll get it.

The cycling is good. I did 1.5 hours on the trainer yesterday, and 2 hours in the sunshine on the open roads today. I wanted to go longer today, but I had other things I needed to get done. The weather was really nice today. 60 degrees and sunny. It was pretty windy, but I'm not complaining.

So what do iPods have to do with this, you ask?

We've had a Mini forever, but we got a Nano as a Christmas present, and I bought a 20GB iPod from a half-tard I work with for $38 worth of booze. So now we have 3 iPods in all shapes and sizes. I've been busy updating music on all them the last few days.

Sore Calves

Happy New Year everybody! I started training again yesterday. I had taken about 6 weeks off, so it felt pretty nice to be back on the bike. I did 2 hours on the trainer at work yesterday, and rode for another 2.5 hours this afternoon. It was a beautiful sunny day here today. No wind and around 55 degrees. Cardiovascularly I feel pretty good, but my legs are weak. After about 1.5 hours I can really feel them. My poor calves are mad at me. Hopefully my strengh comes back quickly.

Now on to my New Year's resolutions...

1. I'm not going to shop at Wal-Mart. There are other giant corporations that treat their employees well, and support the local community. Buying TP and light bulbs from Safeway won't kill me.

2. I'm going to train consistently all year long. I seem to train pretty decently for a couple months, and then I start to slack off. This year I'm going to stay focused hopefully I'll see improved results. I plan on averaging at least 200 miles and 12 hours per week.

Here is a cool link to cyclocross videos. A lot of Oregon guys are in Belgium now for the Euro Cross Camp. The videos are in Dutch, but the racing is awesome. You can listen to some excellent Thin Lizzy instead of the Dutch announcers, and if you don't have any Thin Lizzy, you should get some. Sven Nys is superhuman. The GP De Ster Sint-Niklaas was today, and the Americans did pretty good. Page, Trebon, and Wicks all in the top 20.

I got Mary one of those body composition scales for Christmas. I'm currently 156 lbs and 7.9% body fat. It will be interesting to see the changes as the season progresses. I'd like to be around 155 lbs with 5% body fat when cross season rolls around. I'll post my progress once a month or so.