Went again today, only took the 8.75 trail. Didn't get lost but I did have fun.

There were a large amount of badass riders in the parking lot. They had already finished their ride and were talking about things. They saw my Trek bike and turned their noses up at me.

No matter how in shape I am or how cool I think I am, there are riders that are better. And I am fine with that.

Fuck those guys!

Started vacation today, the goal is to spend a bunch of time on the bike. There are obstacles.

1. I'm old.
2. It's hot.
3. Co-workers don't care about my vacation and are determined fuck with things.
4. I have a leaking tire on the front and a broken spoke on the back. Shifting is iffy. My bike (only a year old) really needs to go to the shop but I don't want to take it now.

Went to the local trail today, was on the bike 1:45. Rode the advanced trail and enjoyed a little bit of success for a change. Made it up the steep hill that I fell down a few weeks ago. Also rode a tricky rock garden that has bucked my old ass off a couple of times. Was unable to climb any of the heart attack hills, unfortunately. Had fun.

Figured out why I got lost the last time, called myself a dumbass when I figured it out. Also decided to scope out a random jeep trail for no reason at all just to see where it ended up.

The highlight of the ride was two oil field workers that were sitting under a tree in the parking lot when I got off of the trail. They were fat and not the exercising type. I chatted with them for a minute and rode over to my car to pack things away. My teacher hearing picked up up this gem: "I don't think I'd ever exercise enough to walk this place, and I'm sure not doing it on a fuckin' bicycle."

I was about 20 yards away. I looked over at them and laughed out loud. Neither guy cracked a smile. Oh well.

Got up Saturday morning and the front tire on the bike was tee-totally flat. Fortunately, my shipment of Stan's Tire Sealant arrived on Saturday. Used a tube on the front tire and it was good as new.

Went to the same trail Sunday, decided to go for exercise and not adventure. Rode the intermediate part twice, 17.5 miles, was on the bike 1:53. Even though the time on the bike was barely more than Friday's ride, I exercised a lot more and I enjoyed today's ride more as well.

Encountered a nice woman riding by herself, I've seen her before. She is roughly my age. Passed her twice, the second time she was on the phone with a male, probably her spouse. I rode off thinking I missed a golden opportunity to screw with the poor guy.

I always get songs stuck in my head during a ride. "Take the Highway" by Marshall Tucker was a big player in the Hoob noggin today and I enjoyed it. Downloaded it tonight for my collection. Also stuck in my brain was the Simon and Simon theme. I did NOT download that one.

Same trail this evening, only went one lap. Saw a small snake on the trail. I have read that there are diamond back rattlers out and about, no idea if this was one.

Temps were lower today, but humidity was bad. Sweated more today than yesterday. Went 8.75 miles, was on the bike 55 minutes. My tail is sore.

Ride, Sally, Ride!

As a result of the extreme dumbshit stupidity of co-workers, my vacation was canceled after two days and I've worked 9 out of the last 10 days. My bike has been sitting on the porch and was covered with cobwebs.

Finally got to ride again today, went a lap in the heat and enjoyed myself. Wasn't that strong but that's ok. I was just happy to get on my bike.

Went late Sunday afternoon and had fun. Rode the advanced trail, had an odd close call where I nearly warped my rear wheel. I got stuck between two rocks and then my weight was pulling me sideways. Fortunately, I was able to get my foot down before anything bad happened.

I saw the biggest coyote I've ever laid eyes on during my ride today. It scurried off when it saw a human.

I also got lost AGAIN and went an extra mile or so. I didn't care, but I don't see how I keep doing this.

Was on the bike 90 minutes and rode 12.5 miles. I am an old weakling but it was still a bunch of fun.

That's the Alzheimer's.

You're probably right, Craig.

Rode today after work and was quickly consumed by seeing how much stuff I could go flying off of. I do this occasionally, but I was really over the top today and I don't know why. I'm not that good of a rider.

At one point, there are two large rocks that serve as ramps and I always veer off the trail and hit them even though the area around them is kinda rough. Today I took them faster than usual, hit a rock that sent me way off to the left, got me out of shape, and down went Hoob. Lying on the ground, my face was about 6 inches away from a damned cactus.

After realizing nothing was broken, I walked back up the hill and tried it again. This time the damned thing shot me off to the right and I nearly wrecked again. I swear I have taken this section the same way about 40 times, so I don't understand it.

I have a welt on my arm, my leg was slightly bloodied, and my left side is sore. The handlebars were knocked crooked but other than that, nothing was damaged that I could tell.

A super kickass time was had by an old dumbass.

After not riding for a couple of weeks, I went two days in a row. Rode yesterday and nothing much happened. Went at a more leisurely pace and enjoyed it. Encountered three women who were walking the trail, all were around 50. One screamed when I appeared and the others laughed. I think it was a bit that she does. We had a laugh and then I went on.

Today I drove out to Bonham State Park, which is 130 miles from Hoob Acres. Best I can tell, the last time I rode here was 10/12/2013. The place was really grown up and bumpy. Noticed early on there was a lot of poison ivy along the trail, thought about how awful it would be to have to walk through this in shorts.

About 30 minutes later, I had a flat and I had to walk through an even worse patch of it while wearing shorts. Had to walk a mile in all.

Was disappointed because I didn't bring an air canister, but I discovered later that the hole was in the sidewall. So it wouldn't have mattered. Can't say that I've ever had that happen before. It's disappointing because I was really enjoying myself at the time.

I did get five miles of riding in before this happened. There were some big climbs and I sweated like a mofo in the humidity. Oh well.

The sad tale of Hoob.

1. Went to the bike shop in Denton last week to get a tire to replace the one that was ruined. Was told they didn't have it, but let me see when we can get one. Then they proceeded to wait on a customer who wasn't buying anything, just asking question after question. I got frustrated and left.
2. Ordered a tire on Amazon, did a Prime trial to get it faster.
3. Couldn't get the tire bead to seat properly on the rim, so it wouldn't take air, really pissing me off.
4. Ordered a Presta valve converter so I could air the damned thing up with a big air compressor.
5. That didn't work. I even took it to the Hoob ISD maintenance department to use their bigass compressor. Fail.
6. Watched videos on how to do it. Nothing worked. Not soapy water, monkeying with the tire in various ways, nothing. Fucking nothing.

I can't explain why this bothers me so much.

Sigh. I am seeing there is a bike shop 18 miles away, but I've heard that it closed. There is one in Fort Worth, 35 miles away. Maybe I'll get a ride in before Christmas.

Maybe I'm meant to just stay on the couch. Found a shop in Southlake and they were happy to take care of me. They were open Sunday afternoon, so I left it there.

During the week I called the bike shop twice about my tire, the second time I was told there was a note on it saying it was due July 31. What in the damn crap hell. I convinced them to fix it quicker than that.

My July 4 ride was an expensive disaster, but finally I have my bike again.

Rode today for the first time in three weeks. Felt very good at first, got tired at the end. It was 95. Went 8.75 miles, was on the bike 55 minutes.

I enjoyed myself greatly. A kickass time was had.

too damn hot for that shit

I have a neighbor who is the same age as me and he is a runner. He told me that his poor wife has resigned herself to the fact that he will die one day from running out in the heat.

I went this evening on the same trail as usual, same distance. While riding happily along, I kicked around the idea of taking on the advanced trail. Right before the fork to go to the advanced part, I got behind two twenty-somethings that were riding with no helmets, having only backwards caps on their noggins. I decided I didn't want to deal with passing them and to just do the usual trail and that was probably a wise move.

I had fun.

Rode Friday and went the usual 8.75 miles and had fun. Nothing happened. Felt ok during the ride.

Went again on Sunday and decided to take the advanced trail. I did have one problem: I left my Camelbak in the office. Brought one water bottle with me and it was drained dry when I was finished. It was 97 degrees when I was done. Went 11.5 miles and absolutely loved it.

I wonder why I feel good one day and just awful the next. Today was a really good day. The next time I go, I'll be back to being nursing home Hoob again.

Work has prevented me from riding for three damn miserable weeks. Decided today that not only was I going to ride, but I was going to venture over to Johnson Branch. I last rode there in October.

Rode the entire thing of 9 miles, was on the bike an hour, 35 minutes.

It became really obvious during this ride that my legs are old, out of shape, and weak. Sure I can ride on my fun flat trail near my house, but the big boy trails are another story.

I really had a difficult time with climbs and this bothers me. My ass was kicked six ways to Sunday, but really I had a lot of fun.

Let's hope I can get out of bed to go to work Monday morning.

Since rain is in the forecast, I made a point to go ride today. Rode 12 miles, was on the bike 80 minutes. Did a little better climbing, but I can't make one hill because it gets my heart rate up too high.

I had the tire pressure as low as I dared let it get, something like 25 psi. It sure climbs better that way.

On the advanced part, there are a couple of dangerous rocky areas that are difficult to navigate without landing on my head. Because I don't have good sense, I kept walking my bike back on one of them until I successfully made it over it. It took three tries.

No wrecks today, and I had fun. I wish I was in better shape, cardio-wise. It was extremely humid and I sweated a bunch.

But a kickass time was had.

Geez Louise, it has been four damn weeks since I rode on a trail. Went to my neighborhood flat trail, went the usual 8.75 miles, was on the bike an hour. I clearly had lost muscle mass in my legs, decided to just ride at a steady, leisurely pace.

The only thing that happened was me thinking about my hatred of my boss, not paying attention to what I was doing, and hitting a tree with a handlebar and throwing me to the ground like a rag doll. The dirt was very soft and damp so it didn't hurt. Dusted myself off an rode on.

This was one of those days where I just wanted to sit on the couch, maybe even take a nice nap. If I had done that, I would have missed a kickass time.

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A few weeks ago I drank a sample of something called Protein2o at Sam's Club. The lass doing the samples were really cute and the drink tasted pretty good. I bought a case. Having run out of Propel, I brought a bottle of Protein2o to drink today while cooling down. It was liquid ass. Just awful.

way to go, james jack.

Went to the trail after work today, included the advanced part this time. Went 12.45 miles, was on the bike 1:26.

Did a little better on climbs this time. There are some sections where the rider has to climb over rocks the size of softballs while making sharp turns and it requires skill and strength, two things that I don't have. Still can't do the entire climb, but I'm getting better at it. Navigating that was pretty fun today.

At some point during the advanced part, I realized that I'm finally starting to enjoy this part of this trail.

Chickened out on one treacherous downhill stretch that I've navigated a couple of times. I don't know why I do that. I'm sorry, forum.

I have stuff to do every afternoon the rest of the week, then it's gonna rain.

While goofing off, uh, working today, I noticed that the local trail was open. How about that. After work, I went home, got the bike and off I went.

There was a guy in the parking lot who had driven from Fort Worth to Bridgeport because he saw on Facebook that this trail was open and it was the only choice in the area, really. He had never been here before, but he was desperate and it's supposed to rain tomorrow.

There were several water areas and I got wet and muddy. Because the trail was damp, I strained a lot more than usual. After about 3 miles I noticed I was getting a cramp in the back of my leg and I couldn't figure it out. Until I figured it out: my bad knee was hurting in an odd and scary way. Total knee replacement looms.

I'm not in any unusual pain now, thank goodness. Really happy that I got the chance to go today.

Brought the bike and riding clothes to work just in case the trail opened, and it did.

Noticed a woman in the parking lot getting ready to go ride, but she took off right before me and I was stuck behind her for about a mile. She was very thin, was wearing tights and a tank top and her body type reminded me of my previous fling gal. Her elbows were wrinkly and it made me think she might be a bit old.

When I finally got around the old gal, I looked her way and she was probably about 5 years older than me, which is pretty damned old.

About 20 minutes later I encountered her again, this time she was going the wrong way.

About 20 minutes later I ran into her again going the wrong way, and this time I stopped to make sure she was ok. The old gal had had a flat and just finished changing the damn tube herself. She turned out to be an experienced rider. We had a nice chat about things and off I went.

Was on the bike an hour, rode 8.75 miles. I had fun.

The trail opened yesterday but I decided to give it another day to dry out, went after work today. There were a lot of vehicles in the parking lot, which is very unusual. Desperate people are driving from the DFW area to get a ride in.

It was still pretty damp but rideable and the weather was perfect. A little voice told me to bring my light that clamps on the handlebars, and that turned out to be a good idea. Rode the last 20 minutes with the light on, and it was just about dark when I got done. A handlebar light has its limitations on curves but it's better than nothing.

There was a guy in the parking lot that had a light on his handlebars and one on his helmet, too. Not to be outdone by this jackwagon, I ordered a helmet light for myself just now.

He mentioned there was some guy on the trail who might be lost and pointed to a pickup that was parked in the lot. He encountered that guy riding the wrong way and convinced the lost guy to follow him in, but the poor bastard got separated from him and who knows where he ended up. After I drove off, I started to feel guilty for not going to look for him.

As for me, a kickass time was had.

Went to the trail on Sunday afternoon with the intention of doing a long ride. The highlights:

Had a hard time with the usual difficult and dangerous areas. Didn't wreck on them.

Slammed the right side shifter into my knee, breaking the gear display thingy. I found it in the leaves but I had snapped it in half.

On the advanced part, encountered some serious sloppy mud. Walked through it, which means it got on my shoes and made pedaling difficult for the rest of the day.

On a turn that also crests a hill, I took it too slowly and nearly kilt my fool self. Luckily, I landed on my feet when I fell.

Wore tights, a light compression shirt, and some new gloves that I bought. My fingers were still freezing for the first 30 minutes.

This was my first ride since turning 60. Was on the bike an hour, 25 minutes. I had fun.

too cold for dat shit

After the Cowboys game ended, I rode at the local trail. It was 39 degrees when I shoved off. There were two other vehicles in the lot, so I wasn't the only dummy out there.

Went the usual 8.75, was on the bike 55 minutes and rode at a decent clip. Nothing much happened except I got passed by some youngster at some point.

Wore tights, a compression shirt and another long sleeve shirt over it, gloves, and a thicker skull cap. My fingers were damned freezing and they didn't really warm up until the last mile. My face never did warm up. The rest of me was the perfect temp.

I enjoyed this ride and am glad I went. Every time I get in decent shape, something happens to fuck up my momentum. I wonder what it's going to be this time.

Went to the trail after work on Thursday, went the usual 8.75 miles. It was 58 degrees when I shoved off. Wore a thicker compression shirt, tights, skull cap, warm gloves. I nearly had too much clothing on this time, don't care. I'd rather sweat than freeze.

I had fun.

My bike really needs maintenance and is going to have to go to the shop soon. Dang it.

Exactly three weeks since my last ride.

Got to the trail and realized I had no way of carrying my phone, ID, or my car keys. Being desperate to ride, I took the key off of the keyring and tied it up in my shoelace, and off I went. If someone had broken into my vehicle, I would have been in some trouble. But they didn't.

Wore winter gear and it might have been a bit much. It was about 60 degrees when I started and I sweated up a storm.

My bike really needs maintenance. Looked at the chain and it is really stretched out. That bike really needs to the shop this weekend.

A kickass time was had by an old man.

The bike did go to the shop in Southlake, and $194 later, it was ready to ride. They replaced the chain, shifter cables, and both shifters. When I got the bike back, it looked new because they had cleaned the poor thing up. The mechanic said he got some touch-up paint for a scratch that I put on it.

He also said it was common for riders to replace the chain a few times each year. That is such crap. I replaced the chain once in 15 years on my old bike, also a Trek.

They did not straighten up the handlebars, however. I had knocked those out of kilter in one of my wrecks.

Went to the trail on Christmas day and rode about 12 miles, was on the bike 1:35. There were two other riders there and two couples walking. Nothing happened except I lost ANOTHER damned speedometer somewhere on the trail. Dammit Jim.

I had fun.

Since I last rode on Christmas day, I've had three good weather days get fucked over by others and preventing me from getting to go. In each case, the offender pissed me off to the nth degree because I had brought the trusty Trek to work and then took it home without riding it.

But I went today and it was fun. Didn't do anything unusual, went the usual 8.75 miles. Used a new speedometer, wonder how long it'll be before I lose this one. I noticed I was carrying a lot of speed at first, not sure if it was because I was stronger or if I had aired the tires up so much.

At work I was having massive foot problems during the day and I was afraid this would be a problem when I rode. It wasn't, thank goodness.

Encountered a woman with a sweet doggie that came to me for some ear scratching. Not sure that the owner was all that "in" to men, though. She was wearing a Metallica shirt and was about 50.

Went again today, same distance. Was sore at first but got over it at some point.

There is rain and cold in the near forecast, so I might not be able to do this for a while.

I had fun today, but I'm failing at getting into shape. I should make a blog about that.

Drove to the trail yesterday without my bike, spoke with a rider who said it was too wet to be open. But it was open.

Figuring he was just riding the advanced part that was always muddier, I went today. What a damned dumbass mistake that was.

1. Early on, I encountered a creek with 6 inch deep water, about 10 feet long. There is the possibility of wrecking out on it because of how the submerged rocks are arranged. Decided to carry the bike through it and just get my feet wet. And cold.
2. Came to a stretch that was about 20 feet long, water was about 4 inches deep. Rode through it.
3. Near the end, rode through a wet ditch. This sprayed mud all over me and the bike. The mud smelled a little bit like poop.

Decided to bail out because of the conditions, was only on the bike 32 minutes, 4.7 miles. For the first time ever, I stopped off at a car wash and cleaned off the bike. It was that nasty.

However, a kickass time was had. I miss riding.

I had a similar experience. We went to Port A and drove on the beach. My car was pretty dirty inside and out after the trip so we had it detailed. A kickass time was had.

Decided I was going to stay on the bike 90 minutes today, went to the usual trail. Went 13.7 miles. Some areas were really muddy and there were a number of water holes to ride through. Some wise guy made a cut through to avoid a creek that had water in it; I used it twice.

While jumping a puddle at the last quarter mile, I thought that maybe my front tire was going soft and then forgot about it.

Stopped at a car wash and cleaned off the trusty Trek and went home.

Yes, the front tire is flat. It has six damned thorns in it. The plan is to put some Stan's sealant in it and see if it holds.

It took two tries with Stan's sealant, but the front tire is fixed. Rode the bike up the road to make sure it was ok, got chased by some bigass dog named Skeeter. I was going up a steep hill, so I had to kick at him a couple of times to make him stop. When I came back down the hill he was waiting for me. I taunted him and flew on by.

Isle du Bois was open, so I drove up there with the intention of riding the entire 11 miles. At the 5.5 mile mark (halfway), I realized that my ass was already kicked six ways to Sunday. At the 8.5 mile mark, I passed by a road and bailed out and rode back to the parking lot. This was as tired as I have ever been after a ride. I seriously had to fight the urge to fall asleep at the wheel on the way home.

I last rode the advanced part of this trail five years ago, and my last ride of any kind was March 24. I shouldn't have done this much today.

Was on the bike one hour, 40 minutes and went 9.5 miles.

Thanks for the suggestion, Craig. I'm thinking about it. I had to do some research on how much it weighed. It's a half pound.

Today was one of those days that made me just want to say "fuck it" and go home. Forever. Dealing with dumbasses gets really old. Dumbasses who lie are even worse.

After work, I spent about 30 minutes on the bike while watching the college baseball playoffs. This turned out to be a good move and I feel better now.

J.T. Snow was one of the ESPN analysts. He started off making good points, then quickly exposed himself as a dumbass.

I am changing jobs at the end of the month. I have an ambitious goal for losing weight.

staying in the school business?

Yep, changing schools, going to a smaller one.

Went to the local trail today. That thing has been mostly closed for the past two months. I noticed on a Facebook post in early April they announced they were open, and a rider posted that it shouldn't have been.

It was mostly dry today and I enjoyed the ride. However, I am not in good shape and I took it slow.

Interestingly, there were a lot of areas where moss had grown on the trail because nobody had been on it. There was also a couple of areas where the trail is nearly lost because of growth.

Rode 8.75 miles, was on the bike 65 minutes. Probably went through about 50 spider webs.