Getting behind

Finally I'm doing enough riding that I feel like I'm getting behind on here!

Saturday I returned to the scene of my crash and rode Sherman Branch.  It was a good ride, a fun ride.  I did, however, notice that my heart rate was up.  I was pushing it, and haven't been riding so much with all the rain and whatnot... but I never felt like I was going to explode, so that is good.  Other than that, I honestly can't remember too much about the ride.  I didn't crash - so there is a plus!

So, you know how I "fixed" my chain line the other day?  Nope.  I was dropping chains like my name was Snoop Dogg.

Snoop Dogg - Drop It Like It's Hot from April Roomet on Vimeo.

Yesterday I decided to haul my ass up to Lake Norman State Park and get some miles in.  The strangest thing happened yesterday, I got to work from home.  Which, at this point, pretty much meant I was getting paid to hang out and answer any emails that came through.  Part of my wanted to "work from the trail" but being a new job I was a good boy and stayed home all day.  

Finally I got up to LKNSP and got riding.  The trails were AMAZING.  A couple "soft" spots, but overall things were fast.  Feeling good as the Glow Worm was just eating up trail... until the first effort climb.  As I crested the climb POP!  Chain blew off.  I stopped, put it back on thinking that was VERY strange and continued my ride without incident.  

Now that I think about it, I don't think I have ever ridden the Glow Worm out there before... makes sense, because it's been a loooong time since I've been out there.  Anyway, 32x18 is pretty much perfect for the trails there.  Loved it.  I absolutely love SS.  Love climbing.  Love my noisy ass hub.  THAT is something I never thought I would like.  Previously I thought noisy hubs were annoying and destroyed the peace that I enjoyed while solo riding.  But it doesn't bother me.  If anything, it's helpful as it alerts other trail users that I'm coming up before I have to apply breaks or announce myself (of course I still do both things!).

I finished up the Laurel side of things and stopped at the car to refill water bottles and make a decision.  Finish up the other half of the trail system, or drive back to Charlotte for the group ride?  I checked with  the garmins in the pterodactyl and it said I could make it by the start time... I hemmed and hawed and decided being social might be nice.  So I quickly loaded my gear and hopped on the road.

Things looked good... for a minute.  Then 77 was a parking lot so I detoured myself - adding another 20 minutes to my drive time... I figured I'd be able to catch the group on the trail by cutting out the first black diamond section at good old Col FB.  I put the hammer down and took off into the trails.  First thing I noticed was my seat was low.  I had thought it was a little loose while I was riding LKNSP and now I know it certainly was.  I was only getting a little over 3/4 extension while seated... felt like I was on a little kids BMX bike... but I figured I'd just adjust it when I caught up with everyone.  POP!  My chain blew off again, so I put it back on and fixed my seat height.

As I predicted I ran into The Mutt by the side of the trail working on his headset.  Looks like it was going to be one of those days...  We rejoined the group and got going.  Shortly we passed one of our group members with a mechanical, and I dropped my chain one more time!  Looks like I should have left my chain line well enough alone!  The Mutt took a look at it after the ride and helped me identify how much/little to move it back towards the original position to hopefully cure that issue.  The EBB seemed to be sticking in place, which was the one positive of the situation - too bad that didn't help the chain stay on!

Even though I've had more "issues" running the Glow Worm so far over the HiFi it doesn't change a thing... singlespeed is where it's at. 

road riding insomniac

Monday the "vacation" was over and it was time to get down to the business at hand - finding a jobby job.

I got the ball rolling on getting my licensure down here in NC - oh the rigmarole of bureaucracy.  Request a duplicate copy of my Massachusetts certification, request official test results from the Praxis(which I took down in Georgia years ago), fill out some paperwork and send it all in nicely packaged with a wad of money.  In 10ish business days that should be complete... at least on my end.  Who knows how long it will take the state of NC to process everything - MA was STUPID slow with that stuff.

I decided that I'd branch out and start applying for Dean of Students positions at Middle and Elementary schools.  In grad school I did intern as a counselor at two elementary schools on top of my HS duties so I could conceivebly apply for a counselor position at an elementary school but there is NO WAY I want to step into a middle school as a counselor... we won't even go there.  What would a Dean do at an elementary school you ask?  I ask as well.  It appears to be new, so that will be my first question if I'm contacted about any of those positions - what do YOU see this role being at your school?

Every now and again I don't sleep for a night.  Monday night was one of those nights... I'm feeling it was mostly brought by the job search... so of course through the night I searched some more after exhausting my opportunities with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system.  I found a couple agencies that mirrored some of my past experiences, so having those in my back pocket as back ups should ease the mind.

Eventually I fell asleep a bit after 7am and got a nice little nap until about 11am.  Got up, drank some coffee (which I NEVER do due to the fact that that much caffeine makes me go MENTAL) to ensure that I wouldn't sleep during the day and hopefully get back on a normal sleep pattern.  I was also preparing for a road ride when Sean got off work.

We went out for a nondescript ride of unknown length - tbd en route.  We opted for the 30ish mile option which was nice.  Pace was great... hot of course - with some random magical cool "breezes" thrown in.

There is a group ride tonight put on by the LBS here that I may join in on to get some experience riding the roads in a group.  I'll likely start with the slow group - which may end up being frustrating but I figure it will be easier to ease into riding in a line with a bunch of other riders that way. But I say MAY because of course I'd rather be hitting the dirt... so we'll see what wins out.