I was for a little bit a Chris webber fan, as i checked in with the NBA sparodically over a decade and a half where i was doing other stuff and now as i am an even bigger fan than when i was a teenager i am sad to see a team go. It is big business and if you dont get the revenue then franchise's move on, its just he true fans i feel sorry for. The Sacremento Kings are dead, long live the Kings.
http://www.nba.com/kings/video/2011/04/14/GrantJerryEmotionalSignoff201011-1648170
Friday, April 15, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Nailing it in the Nagles
Or not getting nailed in the Nagles (mountain range that border Cork and Tipp)
I Was up in the north cork venue yesterday which is set to host the second round of the XC nps on sunday next and from the brief look i had at the track i think that this will be an excellent and true MOUNTAIN bike race and a complete change from the small loop in a forest format which is the norm at these things usually.
The area is vast (for ireland) and wild and the track is 100% natural, the climb is techy and will keep you 'distracted'! with the constant attention to your line, you then float along some narrow track at the top, on the plateau before hurtling down the rock strewn descent near the end of the lap, this descent is tricky and tiring as it goes on for a good bit, but it is very intuitive and kinda brilliant as it has multiple lines and combo's and is unique in XC NPs races, its much more Mealagh Valley than Tracton.
Also every time you ride it its different as the rocks move around son much when you ride it, so after 150 riders do it 3 or 4 times it should be interesting :)
I found my shoulders tired after one run on it, similar to a DH i suppose, but sure there is plenty time for tired arms to recover as you start the 10-15 minute tech climb again on your next lap.
I predict a record number of mechanicals. Maybe a Hospitalisation and i think that anyone on a full susser will do well. The length of the race will be at the upper limit of these races too so a steady approach will serve best.
All in All this is an All mountain NPS.
So if anyone is ever thinking of doing an NPS this is the one that will suit yee best and its only 85 mins up the road and i know MBCC have put in a load of effort so should be supported. I hear there is a load of food free after too !
I Was up in the north cork venue yesterday which is set to host the second round of the XC nps on sunday next and from the brief look i had at the track i think that this will be an excellent and true MOUNTAIN bike race and a complete change from the small loop in a forest format which is the norm at these things usually.
The area is vast (for ireland) and wild and the track is 100% natural, the climb is techy and will keep you 'distracted'! with the constant attention to your line, you then float along some narrow track at the top, on the plateau before hurtling down the rock strewn descent near the end of the lap, this descent is tricky and tiring as it goes on for a good bit, but it is very intuitive and kinda brilliant as it has multiple lines and combo's and is unique in XC NPs races, its much more Mealagh Valley than Tracton.
Also every time you ride it its different as the rocks move around son much when you ride it, so after 150 riders do it 3 or 4 times it should be interesting :)
I found my shoulders tired after one run on it, similar to a DH i suppose, but sure there is plenty time for tired arms to recover as you start the 10-15 minute tech climb again on your next lap.
I predict a record number of mechanicals. Maybe a Hospitalisation and i think that anyone on a full susser will do well. The length of the race will be at the upper limit of these races too so a steady approach will serve best.
All in All this is an All mountain NPS.
So if anyone is ever thinking of doing an NPS this is the one that will suit yee best and its only 85 mins up the road and i know MBCC have put in a load of effort so should be supported. I hear there is a load of food free after too !
Road
So was up in riverstick, near cork city staying with a cycling buddy to get a big day in on the bike, and we did. We did a lovely steady road spin with a a lovely bunch of people. It starts every sunday morning from the city hall in the city and heads on 60 mile ish route around the county, we headed to crookstown and onto Bandon where we all stopped for 20 mins in a coffee shop and sat down! and had a nice cup of coffee and a chat which was lovely. The weather was super and the chatting along the way with the lads was great, we averaged 18 miles an hour, which is not fast for a group spin but spot on for it to be enjoyable and the long drags we went up was very good training.
We then ended up in the Nagle Mountains for a lap of the Nps track which is on next sunday. In a word its hard both up and down, techy climbing and rock strewn descents. There will be mechanicals a plenty and no doubt a bad fall or 2 ,i just hope its not me! I will be competing in the S1 cat ,and doing 5 laps so basically it will be a survival fest and if its a hot day? well o god. I honestly think finishing this one is a good goal!
We then ended up in the Nagle Mountains for a lap of the Nps track which is on next sunday. In a word its hard both up and down, techy climbing and rock strewn descents. There will be mechanicals a plenty and no doubt a bad fall or 2 ,i just hope its not me! I will be competing in the S1 cat ,and doing 5 laps so basically it will be a survival fest and if its a hot day? well o god. I honestly think finishing this one is a good goal!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Facedeath!
One or two noticed 10 days later, i thought as much,i slipped away and my numerous 'friends' did'nt even notice.
Kinda justified so.
So no more face book for now at least. i spend to much time online anyway and i looked at what draws me on and its FB.
Not good for my marriage, Grainne thinks that because we have no real jobs that we can get loads done and it frustrates her
like hell to see me online at half eight in the morning, and yeah she is right, but you should only ask a busy person to do something for you right?
yeah i am a bit institutionalized from da dole, and naturally sparodic in my intensity for life. Basically all or nothing. YOu know.
So i am trying to better myself, did i take up yoga for its mental stillness, no, did i join a book club, no, no i did nothing they (how do you do italics) would do,
but as sad as it sounds its been hard! i miss the very sad voyeur'istic (i looked that word up, did not know it referenced sex so exclusively, thought it was just
observing secretly, anyway i digress :) ) aspect of the whole thing, i do not miss the updates from people who i 'friended' cause i was to weak not too, but who i may never in my
entire life ever actually think off or talk too. Sure yee know all this. It is proving a little hard to untangle myself from the dependency it created, namely how the hell do i contact
anyone who is not on my phone, or send them 'the written word' (cause i prefer that sometimes) when everyone seems to only use there email for registering on various websites and booking hotels, flights etc
Anyway i am fighting the good fight and so will persevere.
Will not poke ya later or be 'like' ing any of your random nonsense,
Yours in the wilderness!
Donncha
P.s Please email me, as i will be checking my email religiously at half eight every morning :)
Kinda justified so.
So no more face book for now at least. i spend to much time online anyway and i looked at what draws me on and its FB.
Not good for my marriage, Grainne thinks that because we have no real jobs that we can get loads done and it frustrates her
like hell to see me online at half eight in the morning, and yeah she is right, but you should only ask a busy person to do something for you right?
yeah i am a bit institutionalized from da dole, and naturally sparodic in my intensity for life. Basically all or nothing. YOu know.
So i am trying to better myself, did i take up yoga for its mental stillness, no, did i join a book club, no, no i did nothing they (how do you do italics) would do,
but as sad as it sounds its been hard! i miss the very sad voyeur'istic (i looked that word up, did not know it referenced sex so exclusively, thought it was just
observing secretly, anyway i digress :) ) aspect of the whole thing, i do not miss the updates from people who i 'friended' cause i was to weak not too, but who i may never in my
entire life ever actually think off or talk too. Sure yee know all this. It is proving a little hard to untangle myself from the dependency it created, namely how the hell do i contact
anyone who is not on my phone, or send them 'the written word' (cause i prefer that sometimes) when everyone seems to only use there email for registering on various websites and booking hotels, flights etc
Anyway i am fighting the good fight and so will persevere.
Will not poke ya later or be 'like' ing any of your random nonsense,
Yours in the wilderness!
Donncha
P.s Please email me, as i will be checking my email religiously at half eight every morning :)
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
MTB LOVE FOREVER
So its pouring rain and all i wanta do is get out on the mountain bike! i have sold all my bikes and thanks to Rory Mc i can borrow one of his steeds and i am off, its driving a gale as well and the rain is stinging my face, i am cold from hanging around in the car park trying to fix the big hunk of metal for that big hunk, full stop, gordon Monagahan, who is down on a riding trip and just wants to keep riding, he looks worn and tired as we start but is as keen as always. We head along the old westcork railway line (tracks long since gone!) and its greasy but fun, i am on a full susser and expect some hardtail slips but none happen, the shock is working and i am gripping, we hit a small climb and my buddy is dieing, he has done nothing in a month and seems somehow 'drained'
The suffering starts early, i decide to head back down a sweet trail that gets progressively harder to see if that wakes him up.
It does not.
Then its up and up for 20 mins, he is crawling but i know from experience will make it, i think he would make it no matter what the climb.
Determined unfit fucker.
I sprint off and do the first of 3 one minute intervals all out, not to follow some sad plan but to stay warm, its cold as hell?!
Finally we hit DNR, (how appropriate!) its a swamp, from the days rain, i think of the men who carved this sinuous path in pre famine Ireland and the complete functionality that it served for them, saving the turf was by extension saving themselves from the bitter,damp winters. no Irish man of the 18th century or indeed most centuries, in his right mind would head out on a day like today for fear of the consumption or just the sheer misery of it.
I am in pure delight, despite the water spray penetrating every stitch i have on, so,
we plough on, floating over the soggy bits and slgidin in unision round the natural and made berms at the bottom.
Gordon is awake and flying on the hard descent.
We power up a single track climb fighting for traction, then we hit the same trail as before, its steep and hard in the very slippy conditions, my friend is feeling it as he is stuck to me as wee swoop along over giant roots and ruts, not touching the breaks on the off camber slop and 'pinning it' all the ways to the end. He flew down that better than i have ever seen him ride in 4 years.
I was there with him and delighted he got on so well but mostly i was alone inn my own little world, enthralled by the fact that i felt like an excited observer of a delightful game that was being played out before me, between Body, Bike and Trail. Carving a line down through the woods like a stroke on canvas, the subtle movements, the unweighting of my body as dictated by the feed back it was receiving from the bike and ground beneath it. Ordered, served and tasted by my senses even though i had only just glanced at the menu.
Such intense moments of 3 way chemistry.
Its been a while, the best part of 6 months since the accident and in some ways it felt like my first time, so new and powerful the feelings as i thrust myself up and down. It really must be,
MTB LOVE FOREVER :)
The suffering starts early, i decide to head back down a sweet trail that gets progressively harder to see if that wakes him up.
It does not.
Then its up and up for 20 mins, he is crawling but i know from experience will make it, i think he would make it no matter what the climb.
Determined unfit fucker.
I sprint off and do the first of 3 one minute intervals all out, not to follow some sad plan but to stay warm, its cold as hell?!
Finally we hit DNR, (how appropriate!) its a swamp, from the days rain, i think of the men who carved this sinuous path in pre famine Ireland and the complete functionality that it served for them, saving the turf was by extension saving themselves from the bitter,damp winters. no Irish man of the 18th century or indeed most centuries, in his right mind would head out on a day like today for fear of the consumption or just the sheer misery of it.
I am in pure delight, despite the water spray penetrating every stitch i have on, so,
we plough on, floating over the soggy bits and slgidin in unision round the natural and made berms at the bottom.
Gordon is awake and flying on the hard descent.
We power up a single track climb fighting for traction, then we hit the same trail as before, its steep and hard in the very slippy conditions, my friend is feeling it as he is stuck to me as wee swoop along over giant roots and ruts, not touching the breaks on the off camber slop and 'pinning it' all the ways to the end. He flew down that better than i have ever seen him ride in 4 years.
I was there with him and delighted he got on so well but mostly i was alone inn my own little world, enthralled by the fact that i felt like an excited observer of a delightful game that was being played out before me, between Body, Bike and Trail. Carving a line down through the woods like a stroke on canvas, the subtle movements, the unweighting of my body as dictated by the feed back it was receiving from the bike and ground beneath it. Ordered, served and tasted by my senses even though i had only just glanced at the menu.
Such intense moments of 3 way chemistry.
Its been a while, the best part of 6 months since the accident and in some ways it felt like my first time, so new and powerful the feelings as i thrust myself up and down. It really must be,
MTB LOVE FOREVER :)
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