Eatin' Man Food

Since I couldn't ride on the weekends, a few friends and I decided to go camping a couple weeks back. It was a true man's weekend. We cut down trees, made fire, ate dove, cooked over an open fire, killed and ate a frog and a snake, shot slingshots, slept under the stars, and never washed our hands.

Killing the snake on the edge of the pond with a kukri knife at midnight was a pretty awesome experience. It was followed with skinning and cleaning the snake only to watch it continue to writhe in our hands. No head, no skin, no guts and the snake was still swirling around against gravity. I was excited to eat it as I watched it cook over the fire. I had never eaten snake and always wanted to. It ended up tasting a lot better than the frog legs we ate earlier in the day too, not nearly as chewy.

Watch the video of the snake still moving: click here

Cleaned and ready for the fire.

The skin turned inside out. Of course we kept it.

Target practice with the slingshot was for fun, but also in preparation for hunting. Even though we didn't find any mammals to shoot, we still had fun with it. We were pretty good once we got the hang of it.

A few good shots left the balls stuck in the clay

We also found some really cool funnel web spiders. Pretty neat to see them sitting, waiting at the edge of their deep tunnel for some unfortunate insect to land in their web.

I told him we should stick our finger in there. 

 Relaxing in the hammock was nice too. Never knew exactly how my feet got so black in the night. I decided  to sleep here the second night which got a lot colder than the first. The first time I woke up shivering, I went back to the tent and got my sleeping bag. The next time I woke up in the night shivering, I went to my bag, dug out these corduroy pants and my fleece pullover. It was pretty nice for the rest of the night.

After packing up the site on Sunday, we spotted what we initially thought was a squirrel about 14 feet up a tree. Turned out to by a flying squirrel. After we scared it further up the tree, it jumped and glided 35 feet to another tree before latching onto the trunk. One of the coolest things I've ever seen. 

But, my friends, I have all the parts for my new bike now and it is coming along quickly. There will  be no more time for leisure camping. Time to get back on the road and back in shape. March will be here before we know it. Pictures of the new girl and report from the ride to come after the weekend. 

I like the head wind

Heat acclimatization put up a great fight today, and finally got me to cramp in the last 15 minutes of the 3 hour ride. I had run out of water at this point though. In the end, I made it my bitch.

After a relaxing morning, I settled into the saddle around 12:30 for some warm training. I need to be able to ride and race in the heat and this seemed like the best time. The winds and travelling over 19 mph really helped keep my body cool. By the end, it wasn't helping enough though. It was getting hot. But like I said earlier, "Today, I will get tan lines. If it doesn't hurt, it doesn't count. Should be fun" Well, it counted. My legs still feel weak and shaky. It's a great feeling I haven't had in a while. I also accomplished the tan line mission. It takes hard work to look that good. 


I also found out that the fire station is not the best place to stop and refill on water. They were pretty unwelcoming and never said a word to me, just stared. I think I'll stick to stopping by churches where they asked me to come inside and cool off and drink from the fountain. It was a nice break. 


A ride is never complete without some encounters with nature. I love when bright, blue finches fly in front of me. It's fun to follow their colors through the trees. I also saw a large hawk gliding and blue bird. The snake was most fun though. Doing a second lap on a road, I noticed something black laying across my pathway. After entertaining me for a bit, he finally dashed off into the shrubs before I could take his picture. 

Just another "Day Off"

Tuesdays are the one day of the week I don't have school or work. Work that I get paid for at least. On today's day off I managed to track down my Mavic shoe order, track down my Sram order, track down my Niner order to the point of it's in port and waiting to go through customs (so I probably won't get it in time to race on it next weekend), cut the grass, weed-eat around the garden, water my seedlings, replace a board in the fence, and mountain bike 30 miles. Great rest from school and work.

The mountain bike ride was a little different. It is definitely Spring time now here in West Tennessee. The trails are starting to get overgrown and reach out and grab you. My arms were all cut up and itching 4 miles into the ride. The mosquitoes are out and so are the snakes. I saw three snakes today on the trail. I took a picture of all three. The first one was stretched out across the trail and I rode past it. Of course I stopped and turned around to go mess with it. Its head was off the trail and in the undergrowth. When I grabbed his tail he shook his tail at me like he was a rattle snake. After hissing a bit, I decided to leave him alone and get moving again so the mosquitoes would stop biting. The second time I saw a snake, they came in a pair. I rode past a blob that looked like a snake that had gotten hit and was curled up nursing his wound. As I walked up to it I could see two different colors of scales. I figured maybe his tail was just another color. However, when I started poking him with a stick he uncoiled and revealed another smaller brown snake inside. The larger black snake quickly left the trail while the smaller one started to come at me with his mouth open. He snapped at the stick a few times. I want to say he was a cottonmouth, but my friend Brandon isn't sure. I almost rode over a big one in Arkansas a few years back while we were on a biking/camping trip together. After I skidded to a stop and somehow avoided being bitten out in the middle of nowhere Mountain View Arkansas, we began messing with it and ended up picking it up. We are very bright children.

After I finished my ride and cleaned up so I would stop itching so much, I headed out to do some yard work. Taking notes from a wise friend of mine named Burt Colbert, I decided to walk around barefoot and rejuvenate my energy. I ended up cutting the grass barefoot. I know, Mom, that we were always told we have to wear shoes when we use the mower, but how much protection is that mesh and synthetic leather upper really going to give me when those blades are spinning so fast it mulches pine cones and sticks? You weren't home and I did it. The fresh cut grass under my bare feet felt great.

I'm growing up. My days off are full of all the chores and "to do" lists. Welcome to the world I guess. Now I need to write a final paper and get ready for another hard day of training tomorrow.