Ridden twice since my last post, was on the bike about 90 minutes on Christmas day, same thing today.

Today I encountered a guy that I've seen numerous times on this trail, he alerted me to a new bit of trail in the process of being cut. Went back and found that section and rode it. I'm guessing the trail steward is doing this and not the original builder of the trail.

The trail steward has put in little embankments on some of the corners and I do not like these. It's like a NASCAR-type banking for a turn, and I'd say there are half a dozen of these things. This guy has done a great job of keeping this trail in shape but I don't like this improvement.

There are also two or three jumps added to the trail. For some reason I'm ok with the jumps being there.

Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow and I guess the rest of the holiday will be a washout. The good news is, I got to go four times and had a blast even though I'm an old goat.

This new trail got any sweet loop de loops?

A couple of times this week I have stood up on a chair and reached up over my head to tinker with various electronic devices. When I did this, my legs were wobbly and I had to fight the desire to fall over. This made me think my old legs were getting weak. It also annoyed the everloving daylights out of me.

I did a light workout this morning and then dragged out the bike trainer rig. This thing turns a regular bicycle into a stationary bike. It's the most boring exercise in the world, but I had music going and was able to pedal for 40 minutes and I wasn't expecting that.

I think I'm ok physically. I just need to go get a damn ladder the next time.

Watch yourself, Humpty Dumpty.

My last ride on a trail was on December 27. It's been a while.

Went to the local trail today. Usually on a fine Sunday in April, there might be a dozen vehicles in the lot. I was the 25th sumbitch to pull in, and I had to park in a grassy area because all of the spots were taken. I imagine the combination of recent rain and the closing of parks has caused people to scramble for a place to ride.

I've been on the trainer gizmo twice in the past week, the last one was Monday when I rode it an hour. Didn't seem to matter much today, I was pretty darn tired at the end of the 8.75 mile trek and couldn't have gone more. I am old.

The trail was in good shape and I had fun.

I kind of hate to admit my gym rat tendencies and the panic of not being able to get my fix, but it's rolling up on a month of no gym access and i miss it. My pre-covid health club i was using is a relic from the past, a real dump and a meathead's wet dream. It's been around since the 70's and doesn't appear to have had much in the way of improvements since the 80's. In addition to a gigantic weight room it also boasts an upstairs step aerobics/jazzercize area for the well past their prime cardio bunnies. Downstairs also boasts multiple racquetball courts with members that still play on them. It even has an olympic swimming pool. You don't see those much anymore either. It has a full size basketball court as well but it is not in use and the floor is all ripped up.

Anyhoo, I would have never dreamed something like this would happen and shut everything down or I would have accumulated more of a home gym. As it stands, my current inventory is one set of 15lb dumb bells, 1 15lb kettlebell, 1 set of the perfect push ups, 1 door frame chin up bar with 4 different grip positions, a pilates reformer, a water rower, and a treadmill. As an aside, before this pandemic I was enjoying the YouTube rabbit hole of ex cons whose bids are up telling their tales of their stretch in the big house. There's a lot of these to choose from and for the most part it's 100% garbage entertainment and i used to feel kind of guilty if I watched too many of them, but in a roundabout way it trained me for an uncertain training time such as this. What do you know, I've managed to piece together a pretty good little prison workout that would be sure to gas even the swolest of peckerwoods working the iron pile on the yard, yo.

We bought a decent elliptical a few years ago. We barely use it. The ones at the gym are better and I feel like I'm getting a lesser workout at home. My work has an on-site gym that's only $10/month and I was using it regularly before Obama tried to kill us all. I'm not doing shit right now.

I'd love to play racquetball again. It's one of the few sports I was kinda good at back in the day. I was pretty good at tennis too. I never played squash.

Took the trusty Trek to work today with the intention of riding after work. With my former employer, my success rate for this sort of thing was kinda low because those fuckers would fuck with my plans. I really hate those stinking sonsofbitches.

This was my first try since changing jobs and I had no problem getting away on time.

Rode a normal lap of 8.75 miles and should have gone more. Felt much better than I did on Sunday.

A kickass time was had.

Went to the local trail today and took the advanced section. Really enjoyed myself and rode several rocky areas with great success. Decided to chance chickenshit pass and I was going too slow. When I got knocked into a rock that I wasn't expecting, I stopped pedaling, and this caused me to go over the handlebars and I landed on a couple of rocks the size of car tires.

I ended up laying on my back with my leg draped over a sharp rock, and the bike laying on top of me. I said out loud, "Fuck! I could have broken my leg!" And then two seconds later, "Fuck! I landed in poison ivy!" I looked at the section and I gave some thought to trying it again, but I got on the bike and rode off. And regretted not trying it.

I have a scrape on my leg about 3 inches long and that's all the damage it did. As I was driving home, I got to thinking about my age and how unathletic I am and some of the dumb stuff I do. I might need to tone it down.

Tune in tomorrow for more adventures of Hoob.

Went again today and just did the normal 8.75 mile trail. Was very strong at first, ran out of gas near the end. I had fun and am glad I went.

There was a young couple in the parking lot who were resting after their ride. They were from Fort Worth and had never been here before. He was a body builder looking guy, she was fairly cute with prominent knockers. We had a discussion about how easy it is to get lost on that trail.

The place was pretty busy again. The trail is in really good shape. I wish I was.

I am tired.

Rode the local trail twice this weekend, did an hour ride yesterday and a 90 minute ride today. I did ok both times and had fun.

Yesterday I encountered an old guy who said he was 72. This made me totally forget that stupid crap I said about taking it easy because I'm getting older. He wasn't a good rider at all, but he was still riding. So I've got 11 more years of this at least.

It was 90 degrees today and I'm kinda worn down now. I do need to get acclimated to the heat so today was a good day to do that. Ideally I would go again on Tuesday but having a job may throw a kink in those plans.

Stopped and looked at the spot where I crash landed last Saturday. There were poison ivy plants on each side of where I ended up, and there were some just above where my noggin hit the ground. Talk about a near miss.

Gonna be in the 90s all week, hoob. Stay hydrated!

Yep, water is a must, especially for old goats.

Today I decided that since State parks are open, I'm going to see if I can get into Johnson Branch at Lake Ray Roberts. Went online and got a pass. They have a system where if you bought a yearly pass, you can use it to print out a permit to put on your vee-hickle. I hadn't been there since August of 2018? Dang.

The trail was in decent shape and to my surprise, the death section was open. Right off the bat I barely avoided two catastrophic wrecks and thought about turning around and just skipping the advanced part. But I didn't. Gained some confidence and even though I walked several (ok, a bunch of) sections, I did make some climbs that made me happy.

At some point I was thinking, "Man, I've been on this bike a long time." But I didn't get sore. But I had another encounter with poison ivy and I might not be so lucky with it this time.

Was on the bike 1:40. Let's see if I can walk tomorrow.

Rain is on the way, so I decided to get out of the office a little early, pick up the Trek and go for a ride at the local trail. The goal was to do a longer ride which usually takes 90 minutes.

At some point I made a corner and there was a snake stretched across the trail. I was going too fast to stop, so I wheelied over it, ran over it with my back tire, and went on my way. I think it was a common kingsnake.

Right after that I heard something hitting the ground every second or so. Dismounted and found a large thorn stuck in the front tire. Didn't hear any hissing, so I decided to keep going but miss the advanced loop. I was at a spot where I could have quit right there, but I decided to chance it and go 4 more miles. The tire stayed up.

Compared to yesterday's bumpfest at Johnson Branch, this felt like riding on a sidewalk. Was on the bike 55 minutes, went 8.75 miles.

I have a ton of stuff to do today but I did the best possible thing I could do. I said eff it, I'm taking the bike to the trail. Why in the world can't I always make this decision? If the weather is good on a day off, I should go do that every time.

Went to the local trail and took the advanced loop. Was on the bike 1:25 and enjoyed it. My knee hurt badly to start with and it slowly got better. I'm a little worried about this, forum. Had a little bit of overall soreness left over from Thursday's ride but it went away.

Just left the giant thorn in the front tire. Didn't even add air to it today.

Encountered some former co-workers on the trail: a husband, wife, and their two kids. They were hiking and said they encountered a stubborn copperhead. Saw on Facebook where some different friends encountered a rattlesnake today. Yikes.

Celebrated the end of my ride with a yummy Little Debbie Zebra Cake.

I was always a Nutty Buddy man myself. The Star Crunch, Oatmeal Cream Pie and Fudge Rounds are all a close second.

I will throw out love for the Swiss Cake Roll, though Nutty Buddies are #1.

Left work a little bit early, picked up the Trek and went to the trail. Rode the 8.75 loop at a leisurely pace. It's a little bit grown up in places and really, it's snake city.

Encountered a young mother with her son who was about 10 years old. She held her phone up like she was recording me. Odd.

My work decided that we can take tomorrow off. Hopefully I can ride again.

Went again today, did the advanced trail this time. Went something like 12 miles. Noticed I was a little bit worn down at the end, but that's ok. I drove away happy.

The plan is to go again on Sunday, but rain is about to happen. So I don't know.

We went hiking yesterday at this state park close to the house. The Pearl River weaves through this park. Its banks are white and sandy looking. Its water, like a lot of rivers, is deeply dark and foreboding. The trail also traced around a couple of small lakes. At points the lakes and the river are joined by these cypress swamps with super muddy brown water. Spanish moss hangs from the trees. Really pretty, but there is also an underlying bit of trepidation. It was snaky AF. The trails were lush and covered in a canopy of trees. It was really jungle like. I paused at a point with a lake view and my eyes locked in on a suspicious looking stump. Yep, it was one big ass gator and when he realized he'd been spotted he turned and swam away. It was really cool seeing his scaled back appear and its tail thrash side to side-from a safe distance. Nearing the end of the trail, with the wife in the lead, was a big, long and ropy snake crossing within a few feet of us. What a thrill. Gave us the willies. It was solid grey. My natural urge is to always field identify snakes in this type of environment as a water moccasin. I did not see its head but I figure it was most likely just a water snake. I told the wife it was a cottonmouf tho.

Ended up getting around a 3.5 mile walk on a nice, balmy Memorial Day. Walked the dogs for another 2 before that. Later I did some pistol squats on the reformer and pieced together a good kettlebell routine with a 35 pounder. Feels much heavier than a 35lb dumb bell. Will probably stick with the kettlebells and body weight routine for a while. I'm enjoying them. Also, my gym announced they are permanently closed. Covids.

A kickass day was had.

I bet it felt pretty cool to scare that gator away. It's the kettlebell routine.

A gator? Aw hell no. I choose snakes.

The adventures of Hoob.

Went to the local trail today knowing that some parts were a bit muddy. There were several mudholes to navigate, and a couple were in places that usually didn't have water.

One small but steep creek had over a foot of water in it and I decided to walk it. I wondered why there were skid marks going up the other side and I soon found out why. After walking through the water, I attempted to climb out the other side and I slipped in the mud and fell down and then back down into the water I went. It was one of the funniest mishaps I have ever had.

Went the usual 8.75 miles and took quite a bit longer to do the trail. But that's ok. I had fun.

The people at the truck stop were eyeballing me closely when I came in to get my Zebra Cake. Took the bike to the car wash on my way home.

Decided to do a heat acclimation ride this afternoon. It was something like 95 when I took off, heat index was 108. It probably wasn't the best idea I've ever had, but I wasn't in any danger. The goal is to be prepared for when it gets into the 100s.

Rode the advanced part and was on the bike about 1:40. Nearly drank my Camelbak dry.

At some point I finished a rocky area and I thought to myself, that was pretty darn fun.

No wrecks, but I had a hard time with climbs today. I am not a good rider.

Checked my blood pressure Saturday morning and it was 109 over 70. I've been fighting it for months and suddenly it has dropped dramatically. The only thing I have done differently is no sugar for the past couple of weeks. I thought to myself, "that's all I had to do?"

Rode Saturday morning, and somewhere on the advanced part I broke a spoke on the back wheel but it was still rideable. This is disheartening because it means no riding while the thing is in the shop. Some mechanical issue happens every darn time I get some momentum, and I think a spare bike may be the answer here.

Rode up on newbs who were walking their bikes over the advanced section. A couple of minutes later it occurred to me that they didn't know their way around. Circled back and sure enough, they were about to start a worse section. Gave them directions and they thanked me.

I need a nap.

Took the broken spoke bike to my usual shop in Southlake on Friday. They were on reduced hours and were closed at the time. And their showroom was closed even if the shop was open. I had gone there with the intention of getting my bike fixed AND buying a new one. I cussed a blue streak and went home. I had driven an hour one way for nothing.

A friend suggested a shop in Weatherford. Called them and they said come on over.

Showed up Saturday morning and they were busy as all getout. The owner said that bike shops in general were really busy these days. I wanted to buy a 29 inch bike and they were hesitant to sell me one because I'm only 5' 6". A shop in Denton did me the same way. Did you know they make bikes that are S-M-L-XL? I didn't. I purchased a 29er with a small frame, was $1350 after tax. Included in that was the conversion to tubeless tires. Hopefully it will be ready sometime this week. I said several stupid things and the owner thought I was a total dumbass. The brand name I bought is called Giant.

Decided to ride ol' broken spoke today, only rode the easy part and went two laps. Was on the bike 1:40 and rode 14.88 miles. I feel great right now, tomorrow I won't be able to walk.

I'm on vacation, supposedly for two weeks. Let's see how many rides I can get in during that time.

Went again today, same trail. I learned that if you have the tires really aired up, your ass is more likely to be sore when you are done. No idea why it took me this long to figure that little detail out. This was ride 108 at this trail.

Went 13.9 miles, was on the bike 90 minutes. A kickass time was had.

My first mountain bike was a Giant. I got it around '95 when full suspension bikes were a new thing. It was a great bike and really cool looking. It was yellow and purple. I should have bought a hardtail instead, but at the time I thought the purple coil spring under the seat was bad ass. Giant used to be the largest bike manufacturer in the world. Maybe they still are.

My last bike was a 29er. It was a Marin. I loved those big wheels. It was a hybrid tho, not a mountain bike.

I had no idea they were that popular, but you are right. I see them occasionally on the trail. Here's the top 10 as of last year:

1. Giant
2. GT
3. Santa Cruz
4. Trek (down from #2)
5. Specialized (I see these on the trail the most)
6. Cannondale
7. Marin
8. Yeti
9. Kona
10. Merida

----------------------------

I rode 2 laps again today. My tail is getting sore. But I've lost 7 pounds.

Same routine today. Rode slower because there were walkers out there. Ended up enjoying it more.

I was racking my brain all day yesterday trying to remember the Giant. When i woke up this morning ATX 970 popped in my head out of nowhere. What a beauty.



I had a Specialized after the Giant got all ragged out and dated. It was either a Stumpjumper or Rockhopper but i forget. I was always curious about the Cannondales. A riding buddy of mine had one and raved about it.

Woah. I Googled ATX 970 and learned that there is such a thing as a Bicycle Blue Book? I had no idea.

The Private Party Range for this bike is $168-$173. Trade-in is $88-$91.

My old 2002 Trek is worth $80 according to them.

Went again, was on the bike 1:55. Vacation is going swimmingly.

But my ass is telling me to stop.

What's up rodeo?

After my ride on Thursday the bike shop called and said my new one was ready. Picked it up and rode it around for a few minutes. Dang I was sore.

Went to the trail today and I wasn't bothered by soreness, which was surprising. Today was day six in a row, my previous record was three. That streak will end at six.

This bike is a little bit taller but not a problem to easily get a foot on the ground if something goes wrong. If I was an inch shorter or was an inexperienced rider, then yes it would have been too tall.

I had two issues to deal with:

1) the handlebars are wider than I'm used to. Right off the bat I caught one on a tree and narrowly avoided being flung to the ground.

2) gearing is way different. Every bike I've had ran with multiple chain rings on the front sprocket. This one just has one chain ring on the front and 12 on the back. It took some guesswork to figure out cruising gears but it got done.

This is the most I've sweated in a long time. I guess humidity was worse.

But I had fun.

Last night I got a hand mirror out and aimed it at really gross areas of my body. I have the beginnings of blisters on my rear.

But I've plenty of time to heal. This rain has taken care of that.

Today a thought popped into my old brain: it might not have rained this much out west. Next thing I knew, I was driving out to Jacksboro to ride at Fort Richardson State Park.

Rode the entire 18 mile trail plus two extra miles because I missed a turn somehow. Rode 21 in all, was on the bike 2 hours.

Noticed four middle-aged women stretching out by the camp headquarters. No idea what they were doing and I was too sweaty to join them anyway. One was carrying a yoga mat. Having had a terrible experience with a yoga teacher a few years ago, I got the hell out of there.

Capped it off with a trip to Herd's Hamburgers in Jacksboro. It was awesome and it changed the trip from good to goodest.

The local trail opened today and I rode it. Sweated a bunch because of the humidity. This was ride 8 of vacation.

Rode chickenshit pass for the first time in a long time, just ran it over the biggest rocks and easily made it. If I had ridden it that way with my old 26 inch bike, I would have been shot over the handlebars like I was on a catapult.

Lots of wind damage had occurred and I was the first to ride it, I guess. Picked up a bunch of fallen limbs.

As I finished, I saw two younger guys getting ready to go for a ride. I think they were firemen somewhere. It reminded me of how frail and weak I am.

But that's ok.

No matter what we are interested in, we will encounter douches. They are at work, and they are involved in recreation as well.

Today I was in the parking lot at the trail, getting ready to go ride and some guys had just finished and were packing up next to me. They were discussing places where they fell and what parts were the most difficult. At some point, one of the guys said, "what about you, Bobby?"

Bobby's answer was, "oh man, that trail was so slow I never did get my heartrate up on any of it." This guy was pretty doughy and there was no damn way he was THAT good of a rider. I looked down and shook my head and really didn't care if anybody said anything to me. But they didn't.

I had fun. And yes, my heartrate did get really high a couple of times. Stupidass Bobby.

Did "Ants Marching" start up in your head when he said that?

LOL. If he had started talking about making six figs and banging chicks, I probably would have started humming it really loudly.