Don’t go to an Engineering School

Q.E.D

Deer, Blood, and Manliness

Unable to cope with my girlfriend problems with Lindsey, I decided to take the easy way out and commit suicide. I forgot the basic advice though, up the stream not across the river

 The results  .

I’m just kidding of course!  Suicide is messed up no one should do it, except those who fall into that oregon assisted suicide law… standard disclaimer, yadda yadda IANAL  blah blah.

Anyway, that is just one of many scares I will have after hitting  a deer going 25 MPH on my road bike @ 1:00 AM on the W & OD.

I was riding down the trail thinking and though awwwh dear so I play roared at it.  It being a deer bolted off in the same direction my bike was traveling.  I was going fast and picking up speed so it wasn’t getting away…

Anyway, I was coming to a bridge shortly before Hunter Mill (yeah, there are deer in vienna imagine that) when i noticed oh there’s fence around the bridge. Deer was still running along side trying to get away. Then it cross in front of me & WHAM it tries to jump the fence and fails.  It freaks out and bolts back across to the other side… OH SHIT!

The last image burned into my eyes are a dear’s head with it’s eyes staring right into mine illuminated in the blinking LED glow from headlights.  I remember a dull thud seeing it fly forward and fall over, myself detaching from my bicycle and flipping over the deer, my bicycle flying back.  I was on the floor and immediately on my feet, blood pumping and then I did something stupid again.. I roared at the deer.  A deep guttural roar. Then I noticed it was one of those deer with antlers and I was like oh shit… it’s gonna charge me and I’m going to get skewered by a buck on the W & OD at 1 AM, coming home from work.  What a way to go.

Then it turned around and ran away and I collapsed back on the floor.  I hadn’t felt so tired and out of breath in a long time. I just lay there for about 5 minutes and then everything started hurting.  Especially my severely bruise left side on which I had landed on.  My left wrist is still oozing blood and it’s been like 2 hours.  My entire left side is turning several shades of purple and yellow.  Hell yeah!

THEN I GET TO FUCKING MCDONALDS AND IT’S FUCKING CLOSED! SO IS TACO BELL! WHAT THE FUCK?

I just had a near death experience and I wanted a 10 piece chicken nugget with sweet and sour sauce and my suburban McTacoHut (Wiehle & 267) is closed? At 1 AM? 24 HOUR DRIVE THRUS PLEASE.  I swear I saw like 5 cars pull in only to find out it was closed while I was there. 

So I dejectedly rode home, took pictures, cleaned myself up and made a blog entry.

No more biking to work, both my bikes are now in the shop. How unfortunate. Alas, though I think I’m taking this whole manliness thing to far.  Observe this conversation:

 (2:49:38 AM) schuldi*: Is it all your blood?
(2:49:40 AM) Matt *: It’s my blood
(2:49:44 AM) schuldi*: Oh.
(2:49:59 AM) schuldi*: Uh, maybe you should have stopped by the ER instead?
(2:55:27 AM) Matt *: boo
(2:55:31 AM) Matt *: real men don’t go to the ER
(2:55:35 AM) Matt *: they bleed to death

RAWR! I do feel good though. I faced down a deer. Now for a water buffalo or a hippo.

Bicycle Maintenance

I checked my cyclocomputer today and I was shocked to see 700 miles.  I started biking in July so that’s average of around 20 miles / day.  Then I remembered that I was using my triathlon racing bike to commute to work.  So, I inspected the back tire.  I am so glad I did. There’s is an 1/2 inch long piece of inner tire exposed. So now I get to go and buy a new tire today. Otherwise, I’m absolutely certain I’m going to flat.

I’m amazed what todays new fancy Kevlar tires can take.

Breaking [Personal] Records

I finally broke my record for commuting to work.  I am now 40 minutes 8 seconds for 12.1 miles @ an average of 18.1 MPH.

My goal for the end of this summer is 36 minutes 20 seconds, which means I will have to maintain an average speed of 20 MPH for the entire trip.  This weekend I will probably take a trip out to the blue ridge mountains to try and get some better climbing legs.  I simply can’t maintain the power output on the uphill stretches.  On good flat ground I can maintain 23-26 MPH, but I’m just too big and not strong enough to climb those hills. 

I have finally managed to put up 225 with proper form clean and jerk two times in a row. 

I’m up to 10 one arm push ups per arm and am slowly gaining the ability to perform a planche. I can hold the two arm elbow lever for about 30 seconds, but the one arm is only good for 3-5. 

 I’m having some real issues with balance.

For example, I can do 5+ to the floor handstand pushups, 10+ second l-sits, 30 second elbow levers, but I can’t hold a handstand for more than few seconds for the life of me. 

I’ve gone through all the suggestions on form and the tutorials on beast skillz and from all my friend’s that did gymnastics.  Maybe, I’m just being impatient with my speed of improvement.