On Top of Old Smoky

I'll be away for a while. Unplugged and enjoying nature. In the meantime:

My Odd Family

A new teen in the house:

Matilda's Birthday from Gary O'Brien on Vimeo.

Hey, We're Being Watched!

Hip Hop Handjive from Gary O'Brien on Vimeo.

Toward the Peacock

Toward the Peacock from Gary O'Brien on Vimeo.

Gert's Jersey

Rest Stop Gert from Gary O'Brien on Vimeo.

Junior Directeur Sportif

Little Gert has suddenly become the most demanding directeur sportif in all of cycling. After every ride I have the following conversation:

Gert: How far did you ride?

Me: 25 miles.

Gert: That's it? That's not even 30 miles!

No matter how far, how fast or how far I ride it's never far enough, fast enough, hard enough. She's a demanding trainer.

With that attitude, and the way it makes me want to try harder to please her, I think she may be the first female DS to ever lead a team to win Le Tour. Maybe?

Mmmm Porky

I could use some ribs right now. I mean, in a really bad way.

Someone hook me up.

Holy fu...

Ow. I started a new core training program to mix in with my usual riding today. It's et outside, I needed a rest day and I figured, why not? Good day, right?

How can I describe the pain and humiliation of the first day of this workout? By the end I was talking to dead relatives I never met. What's amazing is that this workout was just three circuits lasting 7 minutes each with rest periods in between, a five minute warm-up on the bike and a stretching cool down. All in all, it was under 35 minutes of actual work. But in my head it was seven hours of trudging through the desert wearing a suit of bricks.

I can say this though: I may finally drop the ten pounds that won't seem to go away. I'll also be stronger and it will really help with much of the riding, both in strength and endurance.

Now I'm going to go cry in the corner. I know eventually this won't hurt as much.