04 December 2010 Landmark Tour with friends

So for a second week, I rode the now "famous" 40 mile Landmark Tour...actually, it is more like 35 miles, but it is the holiday season, so why not add a few more miles!  We could not have asked for a better December day to ride.  Unseasonably high temperatures for December are so easy to take advantage of!  Best part of the ride...lunch with 9 of my cycling friends in the Bishop Arts District.  If you haven't checked out the ride, please do so!  If you want to ride the route (with or without me) please feel free to let me know...I'll supply you with the proper cue sheets.  If you are feeling daring, I have an alternate Landmark Tour, which takes you on a 70 mile ride from White Rock Lake to Joe Pool Lake and back.  An awesome day ride!

World AIDS Day

So, yesterday was World AIDS Day 30...I can not believe how quickly time has blown by!  30 years ago, millions of people around the world opened their newspapers and read


Rare cancer seen in 41 homosexuals
Outbreak occurs among men in New York and California; 8 have died  inside of two years.  The cause of the outbreak is unknown and there is yet no evidence of contagion, but the doctors who have made the diagnosis, mainly in the New York and San Francisco Bay area, are alerting other physicians who treat large numbers of homosexual men to the problem in an effort to help identify more cases and to reduce the delay in offering chemotherapy treatment.  The sudden appearance of the cancer, called kaposi sarcoma…

Today, they headlines have all but gone away...most people are no longer talking about HIV/AIDS like we did 30 years ago.  To most, especially teens and young adults, they no longer see AIDS as a death sentence, and yet they make up 34% of new infections each year, the largest of any age group.


Today the headlines have changed quite a bit...you no longer read about another AIDS related death of a celebrity.  You no longer read headlines that pontificate the deadly results of being a "queer."  No, today we read headlines of HOPE.  Headlines that are telling us that we have come a long way.  But sadly, we haven't moved that far...with new infections on the rise, I have to stop and think...we are on the verge of another crisis...one in which new HIV infection rates have surpassed any statistic thus far.  This is one of the many, many reasons in which I continue to fight back!  But, yesterday, for me, was a day of reflection on how far I have come these past 30 years.  A time to reflect on those whom have succumbed much too early in life.  A time to be thankful for the HEROS in my live who are fighting the fight...and winning!  It was also a time for me to curl up on the sofa, in my pajamas, a glass of wine, and box of tissues and watch Long Time Companion.  It has become sort of a tradition for me over the past decade or so...It reminds me of where we came from, where we are now, and what we have to look forward to in the future.  Can you imagine what it would be like when this ends? I can, and I just want to be there when it happens!

Phew...what a weekend!

Wow...what can I say?  One of the nice things about living in Texas is that you can never really count of the weather to act appropriate for the season!  Take this weekend for example, we are just a couple of days away from December, winter is nearly upon us, and in most states that see four actual seasons, they already have had snow fall.  Not Texas!  Now I will say, that riding in the morning when it is still 44F it a bit of a challenge, especially when the sun comes out in full force and warms the air up to the low 60s.  I'm learning that the key to surviving such weather changes on a ride is layering, layering, layering.  That being said, I spend Saturday in the saddle touring some of the most beautiful neighborhoods and landmarks Dallas has to offer.  So much so, that I don't mind the hour long lunch I had, nor do I mind the brief shopping that was had at the Farmers Market!  Now I didn't just saunter around town, this route has some pretty steep hills and consistently challenging head winds to deal with, but the sheer joy it brought me was worth it!  I am looking forward to another beautiful weekend so that I can take a group out and share my experience with them!


Today, however, was a real training day for me and let me just say that although the cyclometer reads just a little over 30 miles, the winds were so strong that I feel as if I rode twice that, no, take that back, it equates to climbing the Evil Twins AND Quadbuster Hill on the same day!  I know that today, my quads and calfs are swollen and sore, but by next week, I will FEEL the results in added strength and endurance...now, if I can just get my heart rate to come down I will be set!  Until next time....

Hit by a bus or just 150 miles in the saddle?

Neither one...11/21/2010 training ride was just 48 miles, but let me tell you...it was a killer ride!  The day started off beautiful.  I could not have asked for a better fall morning...that is, until the last 15 miles or so...the winds were out of the south and reported to be 30-42 miles per hour at times...and they were IN MY FACE!!

I was exhausted, I wanted to quit, I wanted a beer like nobody's business.  But, I persevered and finished, feeling like I had rode 150 miles up hill!  My quads were blown, I could barely walk, my back is aching, but you know what, I will have so few beautiful days in the coming weeks, that I will take the beating and gladly ask for another to have the sunshine for a few more rides before winter settles in for the next few months.  Besides, how many 40 year old men do you know who are accomplishing what I am these days?  Ok...I know A LOT, but we are all ride together, so they don't count!  

Well, just 195 days until AIDS/LifeCycle 10 rides out of San Francisco!  I better get on the fundraising!  My goal, $5,000.00 this year!  Find out how you can support me at www.tofighthiv.org/goto/Rider_5628

Back in the Saddle!

Wow...I can't believe that it has actually been 6 weeks since I was in the saddle!  I have really missed my bike, my lycra gear, and my cycling buddies.  So today I decided to change that.  With my fleece lined arm and leg warmers, Cliff Bars, Elite Water, and my new Garmin 705 GPS (happy birthday to me) I set out to brave the 43 F degree weather...and no...I did not account for the wind chill, but hey, this is Texas and the weather changes every 15 minutes...well, usually, but not today!

After the the first 20 miles, I was like, "really Michael, what were you thinking?"  So I needless to say, I didn't reach my goal of 75 miles in the saddle today, but you, I'm pretty ok with that.  I worked really hard this summer, raised a lot of money for AIDS/LifeCycle 9 and Lone Star Ride Against AIDS 10, so a simple 40ish mile ride in the cold, was satisfying and when it comes down to it, just what the doctor ordered.  You see, I abhor the winter months and as long as I can wear lycra and ride my bike, no matter how many miles, I feel like I am keeping Old Jack Frost at bay.   And as a bonus, I got to try out my new GPS for the first time...and let me tell you...it is freaking amazing technology!!