Ride and Step Brother Interview
Great Ride in the heat yesterday followed by and encore ride this morning before work which was filled with monster hills up and down. This is my favorite time of year in phoenix where it is nice and cool in the am and hot in the afternoon. I had the pleasure of seeing a tortoise.
I am finally down below 170lbs. It has been a little challenge eating healthy and being on the road 4 days a week but I bring 4-5 meals with me as well as healthy snacks. I am defiantly going to be cruise ready. My goal is 165 or less before the cruise which is at the end of may. Time to enjoy a cup of Japanese green tea and get ready for work.
Nice Ride in Scottsdale AZ in the Snow
So I went out to explore a new area in Scottsdale called Brown’s Ranch. It was a muddy sandy mess. First off there are quite a few trails and I was not sure which to ride. I ended up on a lot of dirt bike trails which are normally not exactly what you want to mountain bike on. Basically there was a lot of deep sand. There were however some fun downhills with nice banked corners you could rail. It was a muddy mess but the highlight was that I got to actually ride in the snow for about 15 minutes.
Now that I finally got all the squeaks and creeks out of my bike I am loving it. The suspension is very efficient is doesn’t bounce like a lot of the other bikes I test rode. Also the RockShox Revelation is great. It is so nice to be able change from 120mm to 140 with the flip of a switch.
Back to work tomorrow but going to lift and possibly hit a little swim before I going.
Tom’s Thumb Ride.
2 days ago I went to try to conquer Tom’s Thumb trail again. I was not actually feeling amazing but I wanted to finally climb that mountain. Things were going well and then only about 30 minutes in, my brand new SRAM X9 derailleur came off. I couldn’t believe it the bolt was still screwed on, the derailleur just separated from the casing that the bolt goes into. I was so pissed! first I called my brother to vent and he assured me that SRAM was a good company and would replace it. I was just worried that I would have to carry the bike back to the car. I couldn’t figure out how it went on because now it was all bent up and didn’t fit on correctly. finally I got it on but it obviously wasn’t tight because i just slipped it on over the casing that it separated from. I was able to ride down cautiously. I went to Swiss American Bike shop where they helped me out and said they have never seen this problem before. I really love this shop. They are straight forward with you and honest. They called SRAM and got the part under warranty. What a day and I forgot to take pictures because I was mad. Got to work on this if I am going to be a good blogger.
Niner Rip 9 Review and Drew’s first Phoenix Ride
This bike is amazing. This is a true MAN bike. You can do everything. It climbs and descends. With some full suspension bikes you pay big dividends in climbing but not with the Niner. Niner only makes 29er bike so they have the geometry dialed in. No it’s not carbon but it won’t crack like carbon either. I am so happy I didn’t get the Specialized Stumpjumper. Don’t get me wrong that was a good bike but this is amazing.
It was awesome getting to ride again with my bro. Who would have known he would turn into a great technical rider. Can’t wait to take him to S. mountain. That should be a great welcome to phoenix MF. Actually he will probably be able to teach me a thing or two there.
Stress! and Fotoshop the Perfect Body
This week has been awesome. I am finally based where I live. I used to have to work out of Denver. I used to have to leave my house about 6 hours before work and then when I was finished try to fly home. Now I am based in Phoenix and drive 30 minutes. Even better I was on reserve 4 days this week and didn’t get called so I got paid to workout and have fun. This will all be great until I get my first check and it is much lower that before.
It is really hard to have a job where you are not on salary. Each month is different. In general my job is fairly consistent but others are not. I used to be a Personal Trainer and the fluctuation in pay was huge. The more the fluctuation the more stress. This was a big reason my wife got out of Personal Training too. Of coarse commission based jobs tend to make you work harder but the stress is a lot more.
I know I could never have another commission based job. I would rather make slightly less and have consistency. These jobs also create a lot of stress at home with the family. You can plan for bad months once in a while but what about bad economies? Reducing stress will improve your life. Money is great but at what cost. I would take less money and less stress any day. High stress jobs will make you sick and then you will spend your money and free time in the hospital anyway.
What I am getting at is this year is a great time to lower your stress levels. Sometimes we have to make sacrifices to move up and get ahead but always remember to take care of yourself and try to make each day better and have less stress. I know much easier said than done!
Exercise is a great way to relieve stress and fight depression. When I was at one of the lowest points in my life I decided to train for Ironman Canada and what an amazing difference it made in the way I felt. Get outside and get your Vitamin D. Sunshine not only helps with depression but also prevents illness due to low vitamin D levels. I have also included a video to help you look your best fast and relieve the stress from weight issues. Enjoy
Fotoshop by Adobé from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.
What a Weekend
Saturday was awesome. My friend Danny and I went to Sunrise Ski Resort. It started off with a stop in Payson,AZ at McDonalds. Let me tell you that the prices there are out of control. I ordered a Sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit meal with a small OJ and it cost $8.50. Are they crazy! This is McDonalds. After that stop we proceeded to Show Low where google maps instructed us to go 50 miles out of our way.
So after that we made our way to Sunrise and had a wonderful Day of Skiing. We had some great runs, great yard sales, and sore legs.
Yesterday we went looking for some new Coral for our reef tanks. Didn’t get anything. There is a place called The Ocean Floor in Phoenix. STAY AWAY. They put a coupon out for 50% off coral and didn’t even bother to clean the tanks. WTF. If you put out a coupon you are trying to bring in a large number of customers and your tank better look damn good. I will never go back. We then headed over to a great store Aquatouch where I looked for things to buy after Christmas. This store is clean and the people are friendly. It is pricey but you will get high quality items.
I was very disappointed last night with the Baltimore Ravens performance. It was not even a game. It was a good thing that I had bread pudding, ice cream and a White Russian to balance out my anger toward the poor performance.
P.S. SO NICE GETTING A WEEKEND OFF FROM WORK!
Awesome Day for a Mountain Bike Ride
Great ride today in the Phoenix Mountain Preserve. I started at a different trailhead (Shea and 40th St.) and got on a bunch of trails I have not been on. Well I don’t think I have been on. I can never remember. If I saw a trail I knew I turned the other way, sometimes that meant turning back. I did have a great ride although climbing a lot more than planed.
The Man Pub 