Last I wrote here, I still rode bicycles.  That has not been the case so much these last few weeks, much to my dismay.

Why?  Oh, well, I went ahead and set a date for my Master’s defense sometime in September (back when bicycles and riding of bicycles was still a feasible activity).  The date set for the defense happened to be five weeks away at the time.  My reaction:  %$$^%#$%#@ ME!!!!!!

So the bicycles went up on a hook and stayed there, collecting dust, in my office, where I had to look at them, hanging there, dejected.  Or maybe it was me who was dejected… I went into emergency response mode, glued my toosh to the office chair, and wrote, and wrote, and did not ride bikes.

Fast forward to today.  No, I have still not ridden bikes (ok, that is not entirely true, but mostly), but the important thing is that now I can!  I passed my defense!  I am a Master!  My reaction: #$&*^ YEA!  I realize that is not a very articulate reaction, but I am tired and can no longer be (or try to be) articulate.

I am currently wasting time on the Interwebs instead of riding bikes, because now, some small part of me feels like I should always be at the computer doing something.  I doubt that will last long.

And tomorrow, guess what?

Tailgating and a football game!  Oh, and you thought I was going to ride bikes.  Well, maybe that, too.

And yes, it is time to start prepping for 2010.  The 2009 season was mostly a wash for me, between surgery and eating pavement one too many times and oh, that school thing.  In fact, one year ago today, I could not even lift my left leg.  It’s pretty amazing how the body can recover.

Anyhow, I am pretty pumped for 2010 and ready to ride bikes.  A lot.  That, and Specialized D4W is shaping up to have quite the roster of accomplished ladies, who also happen to ride bicycles, fast.

Oh, and I’m going back to the dirt next year (part-time, anyhow).  And maybe I’ll finally ride that cyclocross bike…  The possibilities are endless!

In the meantime, here is a picture for you all to laugh at: me racing Expert MTB back in the day at the fresh, young age of 19.  That is a lot of orange and yellow.  Good times.

Um, possibly of use for that pro cyclist on the go…

This guy cooks better in a hotel room than I do at home.

In other news, I won the MTB race I mentioned a week or so ago up in Flag.  I got a super sweet trophy to boot!

Well, Hayduke likes it anyhow.

I was soooo much fun to race my mountain bike, and you can be sure that I will devote more time to mountain bike racing next year.  I’m even thinking of giving it a go to try to get into Leadville.

But at the moment, I’m pretty much all talk.  Like talking about writing my thesis and such.  I was writing it, up until a minute ago, when I stopped to write this post and watch videos about cooking in hotel rooms…50 pages down.  Ugh.

Up next, well the AZ State Team Time Trial is this weekend, and then, I’m done.  Yes, I am stopping…riding my bike that is.  Just for a month, so I can work on correcting my screwed up back, which is a product of the knee surgery I had last fall.  Apparently major muscle atrophy and subsequent road racing for 8-odd months isn’t so good for the pelvis and lower back on the previously non-injured side of the body.  But Hightower hooked me up with a new massage therapist who is supposedly working wonders for his SI issues, so with some time off and some hard work, I’ll be good as new.

So that’s all for now.  Enjoy your hotel-cooked meals.

I figured that since everyone else in the cycling-oriented blogosphere is posting this video, I should too.  As Bike Snob NYC said, it’s gone virile.  And this video deserves it; it’s too brilliant not to post.

Enjoy!

Wow, what’s this? Two posts in two days? Things are getting crazy!