How do you play this game?

Like this:

Week 2's wrapped up. Finished a day early so I get a rest day tomorrow, which I'm really looking forward to. I plan on sleeping a bunch, then reading some 'till I fall asleep again. I'll definitely put away plenty of calories in between these activities. This week was 18 hours. So far it hasn't been a problem. But I really cannot imagine doing almost twice as many hours in the same amount of time. Eh. Next week is 21 hours, and the key to getting through these weeks, I've found, is to avoid procrastination at all costs. I usually knock off a bunch of hours on monday and wednesday, and from there on, it's usually manageable...especially if you put the remaining hours in terms of "average hours left per day".

Hmm...got my camera back! NikonUSA=Great Warranty Service. I didn't have to pay for shipping or the repair, and they sent it back within a week. Good guys. I've been taking it with me on rides, and have seen some random things. The most random of which came today: A guy was setting up a full-on drumset about 1/4th of the way up Big T. Middle of nowhere, basically. Why? We won't ever know. Unfortunately, no photo of this discovery. Likely a hallucination. Some other things:

Free Tapes To Virgins? Dig it.

Riding Up Temescal. Pacific Palisades. SAECO

And another thing. I cook all the time. It's what I like to term "performance cooking". By that I mean my primary concern is nutrition -not taste, not appearance. So usually, what I put together might taste kinda bland, but it takes care of the body, and once in a while tastes pretty good. But...i'm on to something new. Tonight, for instance...for the first time in my cooking career, I licked a plate of my own making clean. The Dish?

Pad Thai! W/ chives, 2 eggs, beansprouts, chives, 1 boca patty, and some crushed thai peppers. Amaaazing. I've eaten this same thing after rides 3 days in a row. Hardly any fat, amazing taste, vegetable-based protein, and it's even nice to look at. If it's a long ride, I'll eat a nice and bland can of tuna a couple hours afterward. The tuna is reallllllll bland in contrast, gah...but bean sprouts don't win races. Tuna does. I've seen it. They're fast fish.

Lastly: I've really been loving my bike lately. It's the best. New cables, housings, shifters. The rear derailleur's Veloce....they say "oh, yeah bro, veloce and record are the same...the only difference is the weight". Nope. Not true. The linkages/pivots on the veloce get dirty faster, and it doesn't shift as well, and it sure as hell doesn't look as good. Ah well. My current SLR is perfectly broken in (real soft with lots of give)...which probably means it'll break soon. My rear wheel's at the shop, getting new bearings put in. Should be a daisy.

Note the sweet customization near the downtube/headtube junction...and the dip in the middle of the SLR. Yeahhh. Dig it. Gears. Lavender.