My "America's Freaking Fat!!" Rant

Alright, I apologize. This concludes another, "I suck at consistent blogging", phase. I'm gonna blame it on a sputtering, intermittently failing internet modem that had me questioning whether I would lose any narrative I might put here. Lately, it's been pretty consistent so I'm going forward with this. We also got a new one in the mail so I should be styling soon.

As the days and then weeks passed without word one finding it's way onto these pages I was feeling guilty. I mean, I'm gonna lose what few readers I have. That would suck. I want to write a big piece on off-season ski mountaineering race training but getting started has been daunting. I want to put some fancy photos and video in so getting all that together is slow. I will probably get that knocked out about the time we put on skis for the season. Nice timing. Still, I think it's worthwhile for the future so I will persist. Stay tuned for that.

So, I still needed a little ditty just to get something out there to let you know I'm still breathing...and thinking. I traveled by plane to New York to the in-laws this past weekend for a few days of eating, sleeping, talking and not much else. I made one pathetic attempt at a work out on day 3 but pretty much resigned myself to a short rest cycle before leaping back into training full-on after the holiday. I feel fat. Even more annoying was having to navigate the sea of human blubber while moving through various airports to connecting flights. It probably would have been better if we were going west to L.A. or some other epicenter of overwhelming narcissism but we were going east. Let's face it, the fewer number of days during the year where one is compelled to take their shirt off because the weather is so nice, the less people give a shit how they eat and, thus, look. Holy crap! America is FAT!

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Data Overload

Following the last article on cardiac arrhythmias, a reader wrote in with a question which I think many recreational athletes may also harbor. I thought it would be helpful to answer it as a mini topic.

"...do you think a weekend warrior like me should invest the $150 or so to have a LT and fuel efficiency test? I don't really compete, but am curious about training heart rates. I just use general guidelines and a monitor. I am also not worried at all that I am overdoing it! Your opinion is respected and appreciated." - Ralph

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(Ectopic) Rhythm Nation

Okay all you horny Janet Jackson fans. Just sit the hell down. I’m trying to be clever here. Yes, Rhythm Nation was the name of her album back in 1989 (tell me you didn’t watch MTV at some point in the last two decades) and her naked midriff set the standard for abs everywhere for some time after those videos. But the rhythm I really want to talk about is the cardiac kind. And not just the normal rhythm kind. I’m more interested in, as the title suggests, ectopy. This is the term cardiologists give to heart beats that are generated outside of the normal electrical pathways in our hearts.

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Bjorn Dahle Days

Training on a bike outside this time of year can be an adventure, particularly if you live in the mountains like I do. When the weather turns bad like it often does around here this time of year, suiting up and getting after it requires dedication and a certain amount of masochistic pleasure in being uncomfortable while training. Today was one of those days.

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Different Muscles...WTF?!

Thought I would go off on a little rant here regarding a topic that has bugged me for years. The final straw was drawn following my one climbing outing this summer. Although I now consider myself a full-time recreational bike racer, it was not long ago that I was a climber, Exum guide, all that stuff. I gave that up to maximize my performance in cycling. However, I have a couple of nephews that are kind of crazy about climbing, enthusiasm I am guilty, at least in part, of fostering. These two teenaged go-getters wanted uncle Brian to take them up the Grand Teton this summer. Timing and scheduling issues lead to a two-day window of opportunity two weeks before LOTOJA. I knew I was going to be seriously wrecked after walking downhill for 7,000 vertical feet but I could not resist the pleasure of getting those two guys up on top of the Grand. I figured I could recover in time for the big race.

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