Rode at Isle du Bois today. Actually did better than I thought I would. Had the place to myself. No wrecks although I had my moments.

A kickass time was had.

Rode at Johnson Branch today. It was something like 103 when I was there. Had a blast.

Encountered a guy from Denton and his name was actually Jim. He was a teacher like me and was about the same age.

A kickass time was had.

Sounds like The Summer of Hoob is ramping back up!

Lifted this morning. Took a supplement. After church, I met some guys at Johnson Branch and rode. One of the other guys had a cool flip, skinning up his elbows on some rocks. Not Hoob.

A kickass time was had.

Went out to ride today. Didn't notice that it was about to rain. Had to wait an hour for the storm to pass, then got on the road.

Since my ass is out of shape, I only went six miles to prevent saddle soreness. Last went a week ago, went 19 miles that day. Since I'm pissed off at the world, I covered the hills today like a motherfucker. I probably could have gone 50 today. Had a protein shake when I was done.

Done with work for 10 days, so pissed off Hoob will ride again tomorrow, yelling at everybody he sees.

Went out earlier today, was a good move. It was raining about 30 miles away and not headed for me, so off I went. About 5 miles from home, it started sprinkling. At the 12 mile mark I got a pretty steady rain. Kinda scared of what kind of traction I can get with skinny road bike tires on the wet pavement.

And then there is the matter of dogs. Damn, they don't see bicycles much out in that part of the country. At one point, a Saint Bernard came lumbering out to bark at me, but he was tired out by the time he got to the road. I wasn't so lucky when a big old fucking Rottweiler came to see me. I was sorta concerned about that one. His 5 year old owner made him go into the trailer so I didn't have to deal with him on my way back.

At about the 14 mile mark, two mixed breed dogs came out for a chase and those bastards chased me for a long time. I wasn't scared of them, but I was afraid they'd get lost or something.

Went 20 miles total, all out in the country. A kickass time was had.

I picture a motorcycle cameraman following Hoob through the Texas countryside a la the Tour.

Ted's photo gave me smilemouf.

Rode 23 miles this morning. Lots of hills as usual, did ok on them. Probably could have gone more, but I'm trying to use the intelligent approach and get my old ass acclimated to that hard seat. At least it got my mind off of my troubles. Unlike my last ride, I wasn't chased by any dogs.

Went to the house yesterday and my soon-to-be ex remarked about how much weight I had lost. I attributed it to diet. She said she was eating differently, too. My unspoken thought was, "whatever you are eating, you need to stop it."

A kickass time was had.

Sorry to hear about the split, hoob. Just wondering, did you get caught? You don't have to answer if you don't wanna.

To my surprise, I never got caught. The thing is, if I had been asked, I would have admitted it.

The details of this thing are shocking, but to protect the "other woman" I've never posted them.

If there is anything we can do or say to make you open up and share in greater detail, please don't hesitate to let us know.

It's PG, isn't it?

Took the road bike on the same route today. The last time I rode, I noticed the speedometer reading at 0, then it would pick up again. As it turned out, I went 24 miles last time and not 23. Did the same ride today.

I live on a gravel road, about 50 yards from the pavement. This means I have to carry the bike up and down the hill to avoid flats. This is a difficult chore after a long, hot, ride. It was 95 when I finished today. Walked over to talk to my landlord for a minute, got dizzy twice. He never noticed.

Showered, drank a Propel and am ready for a roll in the hay. Oh, wait...

A kickass time was had.

I have lost quite a bit of weight this summer because of my eating habits. I live out in the sticks now, so I have to cook for myself. There is no Whataburger or Jack in the Crack around the corner, so Hoob has to fire up the stove and actually cook something for each meal.

Weighed myself Saturday at Mom's. I was full of soft drinks and water, and still I only weighed 137. Dayum.

I'm nearly an Ethopian.

This weather is preventing riding. I shouldn't gripe since we need the rain.

Last weekend I went to Bonham to get in a ride, my first trail ride since July. The wind was howling and cold. I figured if I could make it over the quarter mile road to get to the woods, I'd warm up quickly. Got to the edge of the trail, and the bike would not downshift to get to the road gears. Couldn't fix it. Rode back to the start point, was balls cold by the time I dismounted. Dressed, went home.

I rode the thing a couple of weeks ago in my driveway and used the lower gears and it did fine. I guess I must have messed it up transporting the poor thing.

Hoob.

I like how the trainer guy puts his clipboard down so gently as if it were made out of glass...priorities

Finally got around to taking the trusty Trek to the shop today. It appears that a shifter cable broke. So, I'll get those replaced. Also am getting brakes, grips, and a new kit for my computer/odometer. In other words, that poor bike was beaten all to hell.

The Trek is out of the shop, cost $101 to fix this time. All cables were replaced, as were the brakes, grips, and the sensor and wire to my computer/speedometer. The repairman said, "Man, that bike has a lot of miles on it."

To be honest, the poor thing looks like hell. It has so many scars on it from rocks and trees hitting it. I've had so many flips and fall-overs, and it shows. I see others with their nice Specialized bikes and feel like I'm riding a Wal-mart bike. The guy said that the chain and sprockets will need replacing soon. I'll probably get a different bike when that happens. I spent $429 for this bike in 2003, and I've spent about $1500 on it since then.

I see that my favorite trail, Johnson Branch, is closed due to mud. Isle du Bois, (Hoob Ballbreaker) is open. However, I have funeral and death duties on Sunday, so I might not get to ride until the next weekend.

Finally, a ride. Went to Johnson Branch today, took the entire trail, maybe a bad idea since I have lost all of the muscle tone in my legs. I last rode an advanced trail on July 13. It's amazing how depression can cause one to stop doing things. It's so easy to say, get off your ass and get on with life, but it's not so easy to do. Having never encountered this before, I didn't understand it. Oh, well. Sometimes you just gotta say, what the fuck.

Encountered a family that was hiking with a dog. They got off to the side, out of the way. Unfortunately, it was on a section that had flipped me before and I was scared of it today. No way I could dismount in front of them, could I? Fortunately, I made it.

Of course I had a wreck. Took a rocky section too slowly, flew over the handlebars, skinning up my knee, elbow, and my shin. Jumped up and yelled, "yeah, motherfuckers!" to no one in particular. After that, I wasn't scared of any of the other places that have busted my old ass. Amazing how that happens.

A kickass time was had.

Dear Hoob,

Please buy a GoPro camera and mount it to your helmet. Start a YouTube account and post Johnson Branch vids.

Thank you,

gam

Also wear it while banging your lady friend.

I brought a camera once to do that, then chickened out. Maybe I will soon.

Still sore all over from being so out of shape. My legs, ass, and even my arms were sore from Friday's ride.

Decided today to work out the soreness, so I went to Isle du Bois. However, I only rode loops A, B, and C.

Loops D and E are advanced sumbitches and should be avoided by fat, tubby little guys named Hoob.

Had fun, actually dealt with the harder climbs in pretty decent fashion. I still don't have leg muscles, but I still didn't feel like dying this time. Made it pretty far up the sand hill before I was forced to dismount. No wrecks.

A kickass time was had.

[quote="jim jack"]Still sore all over from being so out of shape. My legs, ass, and even my arms were sore from Friday's [quote]

I got this far and wasn't sure if you were talking about your mountain bike or your lady friend.

She doesn't play rough. Actually, I am too old for that sort of grex, anyway.

Took the bike to work today, decided against riding. Need to take this slowly. That is how fucked up my body is from doing nothing except eating bad food and drinking for 8 months.

It has been 12 days since I rode, went to Johnson Branch, expecting the worst because I'm not in bike shape at all.

Didn't wreck, but I did touch my foot down nine times, kinda pissing me off. Was able to make some difficult climbs, didn't flip on the section that got me the last time. I really enjoyed the dangerous parts today.

For about the last 6 miles, I noticed that I was able to ride fast and felt pretty good. Kinda surprising. Called the Hoobstress afterward and asked her to meet me for a roll in the hay. She said yes, but I have to wait until tomorrow.

A kickass time was had.

I didn't realize it had been three weeks since I attempted to ride. Went to Isle du Bois today and thought I would do the entire 11 mile mamabear. What a gross miscalculation by me.

Got really tired at the end, took several hills in the lowest gear possible, 1.1. Shameful.

Encountered two guys in their twenties who were good riders and not scared of anything. One thing I noticed was, their bikes were ONE speeds. I had no idea there was a mountain bike like that. They were expensive-looking bikes, too.

They rode up on me as I was looking down at a rocky range that I never attempt any more, mainly because it has flipped my old ass twice and I'm scared shitless of it. They both rode it while I watched. One guy rode over the exact rock that flipped me the first time I tried it. Not sure what I did wrong. Well, maybe letting go of the handlebars and covering my eyes like Toonses the Driving Cat might have done it. Anyway, they tried to get me to try it next and I refused. I'm not going to let peer pressure cause me to get my teeth knocked out.

Later on I encountered them fooling around with this horrible climb. I have never made it, not even when I was in tip-top condition. They were trying to get me to try this one, and I also refused. They were nice guys, though.

I am unbelievably tired now, Chuck. A kickass time was had.

Yesterday I woke up sore as a mutha and could barely function all day. Walked with the Hoobstress yesterday after work, went three miles. I told her I would rather ride the soreness out, but there wasn't time for that.

A kickass time was had. I feel much better today.

define "ride"

I think he's talking about fucking.

And people like me who talk about it all the time, rarely do it.

I do it a lot...to myself.

go on...

Well, first I recline and then I...OH FUCK!!
*contorted face*
Well, that was quick.

Where are you going?

On a whim, I threw the bike in the back of my SUV this morning, and I'm glad I did.

Went to Johnson Branch after work, did the entire 9 mile trail. The part that flipped my old ass a few weeks ago was no match, and all the parts where I have spilled blood in the past were conquered, too. Attempted everything including Dead Man's Curve. Wasn't able to do some of the climbs because my legs are pathetic and weak. Had to touch the ground with my foot 13 times, which is really not good. A good rider doesn't touch the ground at all, on a good day I only do it five times.

After I passed by the dangerous parts on the red trail, I rode at a faster pace than usual, and that worked out well.

Had a lot of fun, didn't wreck, really didn't come close. I wish I could bottle confidence.

A kickass time was had.

Good job Hoob. I bought a new pump as I ran over my old one and fired up the ol two-wheeler. Even with padded shorts my butt is still sore.

You bought new pumps?