Frosty #34 / 752

755am

Though it's a shortened week it doesn't do me much good.

Too much is due.

This morning was the frostiest yet. All that cold air in the lungs slows one down a bit but it wakes one up.  I almost made the Bridge light in time but someone in a sports car made a mad dash for the entrance so I could not chance it.

I had a decent, abridged workout yesterday. It will prep me for the rest of the week.

My legs are pretty nimble.  There's some wind this morning but it's not stopping me.

I kept Slow Motion Reign for the end of the trip just to get some different blood in there. It will be nice to not think about work the entire ride.

Thank you for reading.

Playlist:
The Answer Raise A Little Hell  Raise A Little Hell 11/23/2015 7:59 AM
Foo Fighters A Matter Of Time   Wasting Light 11/23/2015 8:03 AM
Rollins Band Also Ran   Come In And Burn 11/23/2015 8:07 AM
Stratovarius Freedom   Infinite 11/23/2015 8:12 AM
Slow Motion Reign Twilight Skylight  Slow Motion Reign 11/23/2015 8:15 AM

An 'Accept'able Ride #33 / 751

After a day off on Thursday, b/c it poured in the afternoon/evening, my legs had rested well.

I don't recall much of the Friday morning ride other than it was pretty quick and 45 minutes earlier than my typical 'early' days.

The nighttime ride was to make the 642.  I looked down at my phone and saw it was 621. I helped a bald guy get his bike from the rack and then I put on a few tracks from Accept's Blind Rage and made a dash. Getting up Nassau was tough. I got to the Bridge and felt that runner's high. I got to work at 815am and was there literally all day and I was not missing out on Miri before bed.  That thought propelled me during the incline and I was unstoppable. By the time I got to ATL I saw that maybe 17 minutes had passed.  I had time to spare.

I certainly broke a sweat that night but it primed me for a necessary workout. Things are getting tougher at work and I'm always a little cynical of everything. Hard to shake these old feelings.  Even if you get a 99 out of 100, it's still sort of a fail.

Thank you for reading.


Playlist:

200 Years 4:31 Accept Blind Rage   6:25 PM
Bloodbath Mastermind 6:00 Accept Blind Rage   6:31 PM
From The Ashes We Rise 5:54 Accept Blind Rage   6:37 PM
The Curse 6:29 Accept Blind Rage   6:43 PM

Warm Rides - #31-32 / 749 & 750

In the mornings I fly.  Probably b/c it's light and in the case of today and yesterday, warm.  I'm not battling any winds, either.

Today's and yesterday's morning rides have been in under 19 minutes.  I've broken in The Sword's Warp Riders and it's pretty fantastic, actually.  They are downtuned to a COC level.   They're singing about space and time and the standout track is "Lawless Lands."

Last night I listened to tracks 2-5 of the new Queensryche album, which is more of a power metal thing and it sounds great.   LaTorre actually sounds more like Tate on this album than the last.

There's a ton of work I'm doing. I cannot even begin to chronicle it.  I'm handling it as well as I can but there's just an avalanche of stuff.

Tomorrow is parent-teacher night, so I better be out of here by 515.

People are not wearing helmets on the bikes and I cannot imagine why.

Thank you for reading.

The Nagging Feeling #30 / 748

835am

I've got a few things pending today that I need to get done.  I can catch my breath tomorrow.

I wrote the post or the lawyer yesterday and had it open acknowledging the Paris attacks with a brief allusion to Sept 11 but he was not too keen on it and made it clear not to do it again -- he seems to think I wanted to get SEO up by that but that was of course not my intention.

Made me feel a little crummy but I know in my heart that wasn't what I was going for so I can get past it.

I have to learn what to do about a QR code in order to complete my project today.

I also have to try to ascertain whether I can handle work from another lawyer or push to a contact depending on their referral program.

Tomorrow I will pick up a check.

I was pretty sick Friday night in to Saturday but cleared up on Sunday pretty well and had a nice day with Miri.

Gym sessions will return this week, maybe tomorrow.  I'm ready to destroy again.

All the coughing, nose-blowing and vomiting has kept my abs pretty tight in the times of desk jockeying.

Sonic Highways made me feel a little better during my almost-18-minute ride.

Something From Nothing
The Feast and the Famine
Congregation
Outside
In The Clear

Thank you for reading.

Three Days' Worth of Insight / 27-29 / 745-747

There isn't a whole lot to report this week as far as depth on the bike.

To recap this week:

I threw up 3x on Sunday due to a 24-hour virus I must have caught and it affected me awfully Mon and Tues.  Monday had me @ the office until 10pm.  I was able to complete the EA article amid all the professional chaos of producing a huge issue for SoCal and a sour stomach.

I rode Weds-Friday.  Today the return ride was to Penn to make the 520 home.  Today I've got a little drip.

Yesterday I listened to nearly all of Turbo's Fifth Element. I like it a lot. That and the new Accept album are basically the same thing.  No complaints.

I get down this time of year b/c of the work and also when there's a lack of daylight like I experienced on Weds and Thurs.  Sunday set a harsh tone for the week and it was exacerbated by seemingly endless gray.  Change of weather is also no help.  I can't change this part of me -- I can try but it's a physiological thing.  A fault, sure, but not anything I can eradicate.  You can't always have good days.
There was an awful feeling of repetition this week, especially Mon and Tues, that is also hard to shake.

I will be better next week.

My legs were shot Mon and Tues due to the vomiting so I was pretty happy that I could make the treks.

Thank you for reading.

What A Sleep! #26 / 744

858am

I realized that this was the one morning trip in which I didn't transfer.

There is a ton of work to be done today.  Thankfully I put some photo retouches in motion last night and I'm not waiting on them.

I'm sweating b/c it's warm.  This is this day's highest temp on record, I believe.  It's pretty humid, too.
There's not much to report other than I also have a new topic for the blog.

My body/nervous system forced itself to sleep last night but I admit I woke up really refreshed.

Thank you for reading.


Playlist:
Queensryche: Arrow of Time
Lord Volture: Omerta
Stratovarius: A Million Years Away
Lord Volture: Badajoz (1812)

Crunch Wrap/Time #25 / 743

908am

I stopped for a Taco Bell Crunch Wrap today b/c of the stolen base during the Series.  The timing wasn't great for me today but whatever, let's just get on with it.  I actually enjoyed my breakfast sandwich, I just wish I could have savored it a bit more.  540 calories so I shouldn't be very hungry for most of the day.

My ride was uneventful and I kinda went out of my way to avoid Jay Street again. I went up to Tillary from Ashland and realized it's not worth it.  As I waited at Tillary and Flatbush, Queensryche - "My Global Mind" played and it was all I can do to realize that no one's doing enough to stop Isis.  I hope those people die.

I was able to dash on to the entrance and the ramp and realized though it's quite warm, it's pretty gray and it was only at the top of the Bridge that I stopped to look up.  My thoughts are elsewhere.  A lot of work to accomplish in very little time.

I'll be ok.  Would have liked to hit the gym last night but we both crashed. Dreamt I met Henry again.

Thank you for reading.


Playlist:
Union - "Do Your Own Thing"
WAMI - "The Rider," "Get Out Of My Way"
Dark Moor - "Lovers"

The Mess #24 / 742

835am

Yesterday's worries were for good reason but are mostly quelled.

It's still mid-60s and work begins on our driveway.

I was able to dash across to the ramp, piggybacking on the RHS.

I must admit that upon my ascent I momentarily marveled at the cloudless horizon and the warmth of the daylight.

I have this 'Unicorn' post that is stumping me a bit I have to see to it.

The guy with the wide headphones just cut off the woman ahead of me on the descent -- right before the narrow High St. entrance.  Effing rude.  Equally rude is the woman in the SUV who ran the red just to turn left on to the Bridge as myself and the pedestrians were about to cross.

Thank you for reading.


Playlist:
Enforcer - "Hungry They Will Come"
Scheepers - "Cyberfreak"
Judas Priest - "All Guns Blazing"
Armored Saint - "Mess"
The Sword - "Arcane Montane"

The Heart of the Unicorn #23 / 741

835am

Trying to block out the fact that I may have let something slip by at work.  I also have a 9-930 call with lawyer J for his blog. I read about Unicorns in Fortune and how start-ups can be overextended.  People will want their ROI.

I tried something a little bit different on the route. Rather than wait at Flatbush, I made the right down Fleet (?) and took it to its end and made a right and took that down to Tillary.  Waited a short bit at the corner there but that was ok b/c shoelace came undone.

There are odd words that are reappearing lately -- unicorn (b/c of Gamma Ray) and Tillary (working with a firm with Tillery in its name).  Maybe a lottery ticket is in order?

It was a bit of an uphill trek but I was able to piggyback on the right turn-only and made it on to the ramp pretty fast.

I got a free, legitimate download of Queensryche's new song last night, "Arrow of Time." It's almost power metal.  Totally rocks.

Mornings are great but last night's ride was the first time in 10 months I had a dark ride and it does put me on edge a bit.  Need to leave myself a couple of extra minutes tonight.

It bothers me a bit when the rider before me on the decline is too slow. I don't mind them not pedaling as long as they can "not pedal" as fast as me.

I can feel my legs getting tight.  I really want to hit the gym this week.  A lot of work to do today.

Thank you for reading.

Playlist:
Eleven - "Crash Today," "Why?"
Accept - "Fall of the Empire"
CIV - "Can't Wait One Minute More"

November Riding #22 / 740

835am

It's November 2, the Mets lost the World Series last night in Game 5, and I don't need a sweatshirt.  I have a tiny drip in my throat that will likely go away.

Audioslave's "Original Fire" is on and I always believed it wasn't just about the people who inspired the band, but also that Cornell's 'original fire' was sort of out -- he was not an angry young man any longer at that point but he had to figure out a way to carry the fire.

More bad drivers and pedestrians abound. I thankfully made the FB light and did fine for the most part but my timing was off a bit on Tillary and it held me up from making the light.  Another bad driver cut over from the Bridge lane to the off ramp lane. Dangerous.  The Cult - "American Gothic"

I saved Helloween - "Heroes" for my entrance on to the ramp b/c it reminds me of the Triathlon. This was the song I had in my head most of the race. Particularly "they're all fighting through their lives" -- at that time (Sept 12) I wasn't positive I'd be back at ALM and I still had some bad vibes to purge.

I was not pedaling on the decline b/c of two people in front of me. One guy with a helmet and a woman without one.  I knew they had to have been in cohoots b/c he should have passed her several times over.  I can't understand why anyone would do this without a helmet and why he didn't give her his.  So that was doubly frustrating -- having to see this couple slow me down while they were unsafe.

I did the ride in under 20.  I worked out pretty hard yesterday morning and squatted but my legs have acclimated.

Thank you for reading.


Also at end of the playlist:
Metallica - "Of Wolf and Man" (S&M version)
Blind Guardian - "The Soulforged" (live)