My adventures with a jackfruit

After listening to some hype about the magical jackfruit, I started to search.  The grocery manager told me that he stocks a couple of them every week but they go fast.  After a couple of weeks I finally saw one of these massive beasts hanging out next to a lot of other very insecure fruit.  If you ever want to have vegans approach and talk to you, just carry a jackfruit around.  I was asked "are you a vegan" multiple times.  Anyone that knows me, knows them there is fight'n words.

Little did I know jackfruit is expensive, however, the guy running the check out had no clue what it should cost.  After discussing it we finally agreed on $4.99, which after some research is stupid cheap for this thing.  The all powerful google tells me that in Texas a jackfruit can go from $2-$4 a pound, this thing weighed 10 lbs.  So I got a deal.

So when I got home I watched some videos about how to open it up and get to the goodies.  Every video I watched warned of the latex in the fruit.  I didn't quite understand this until I opened it up.

When I finally had the time to open it up, I grabbed a sharp chefs knife and started cutting.  It was pretty easy to cut in half but I immediately saw the liquid latex coming out of the ALL the pulp in the fruit.  It was sticky and messy.  It didn't take long to get it all over my hands.  I eventually had to spray Goo Gone on my hands (which you're not suppose to do according to the label) to get that shit off my hands and knife.

The first thing I noticed when I opened up the fruit was the smell.  It was sickeningly sweet and very strong.  I knew at this point that if it tasted like it smelled it would be too much for me.  One of the fruit pods came out pretty easily and the entire family tasted it.  It's very dense and chewy.  I didn't hate it but it's not something I would crave either.  The kids and Karie said it was "okay" but not a favorite either.  At this point, I'm glad I only paid $5 bucks for it.

I continued to work on it and I must not know the trick because getting the fruit out is a pain in the ass.  After 30 minutes I had only a handful of the fruit out.  Karie thinks it wasn't completely ripe and that might explain why it was so chewy.  I eventually got enough of the fruit out to try to make pulled "pork" with it later and got the rest out of my kitchen.  It doesn't take long before everything smells like jack fruit.  UGH!

What I learned:
1.  It's expensive, but you get a shit load of fruit if you can get it out (glad I got this for $5)

2.  It's very smelly (this can be good or bad depending on whether like the smell).

3.  It's messy and hard to cut up.  The latex coming out of it gets everywhere and is difficult to clean up without some sort of solvent.

For me, it's just not worth the effort and cost.  I still haven't made the pulled "pork" with it and that might change my mind, but I doubt it.  So next time I'll just leave the jackfruit to the vegans.

Busy and sick...

I kept meaning to get a post written up but shit just keeps popping up.

Last week sucked.  To make a long story short, I ended up getting an emergency root canal through one of my crowns.  There was a significant infection in the roots, so the dentist cleaned it out and packed it with meds.  I am on antibiotics right now and go back in about a week for them to drill it all back out and finish off the root canal.  Fun shit!!!  And did I mention that antibiotics give me crazy ass nightmares.  So with that and the nasty cold that is rolling though the house I haven't been sleeping much.

I was feeling crappy yesterday but decided to get out and put the new tires on my gravel bike.  Working on my bikes always makes me feel better.  Something therapeutic about it.  I removed the 700x32 city tires and put some 700x35 cx tires.  Those city tires were HEAVY!  The new tires are nice and light weight and have some better tread.  I got into some mud with the city tires a couple weeks ago and almost killed myself.

Because of all the crap happening lately my routine is completely screwed and I think it's going to stay that way until the new year.  The big holidays are coming up.  The end of the year can get really busy with work (especially as we try to wrap up this massive development project for Shell) and with all the family obligations, I am just going to get on the bike when I can and enjoy the ride.  

Memories...

I finally got around to cleaning up the kiddo's binders.

With each kiddo I kept a blog while Karie was pregnant with them.  Samantha and Becca's are pretty extensive but poor Henry's isn't but we were just so busy that a lot of those extra things fell through the cracks.  Today I separated my one huge binder into 3 separate binders and will try to be better about keeping them up to date.

With that I am also going to try to be better about blogging more about some of the family stuff happening around here and not just about my bikes and rides and races.  I know the one or two people that follow this blog might not be interested in that shit so this is a warning that it's coming.  Sorry but some of that stuff helps me stay sane.  If you're getting copies of this blog and you don't want it let me know and I will take you off.  Don't worry I won't be offended.

I put copies of it into the kiddos binders and I feel like it might help my kids to understand I wasn't always the grumpy old man that I will be when I finally give them these binders.  :)  That at one point there dad was cool and jumped him MTBs off shit. :)

One of the first things I need to do is to updated a couple stories for Henry's binder.  His birth story never made it into his binder and I really want to make sure that gets in there.  

New frame, finally got to ride it.

So I finally was able to get out onto my new frame.  I got geared bike back on the 12th but didn't get a chance to ride it before I went out to Dayton for a friends wedding.  But last Thursday I was finally able to get out for a ride on it.

I charged up my lights and headed out to Frisco.  I'm still not ready to go back out to Erwin (if you want to know why read.  4 Hours of Erwin).

I had the trail to myself.  Once the sun goes down everyone goes home, not everyone enjoys night riding.  I trail was in good shape and the bike felt great.  The geometry of the frame felt a little different but was very smooth and fast.  I could tell it was a little lighter and rigid.  It was very responsive.  It was a great ride.  I'm sure if it has been a day ride there would have been some PRs set.

4 Hours of Erwin

When I signed up for this race, I had intended to ride my Cannondale (geared) bike.  I hadn't been on my single speed but a couple times since February and I am not really in SS race shape.  But since I broke the frame on my Cannondale I went decided to race on my SS with very low expectations.

Leading up to this race the weather forecast was troubling.  There was a call for ran the morning of the race.  It wasn't a huge deal because the trail needed some rain but if it got too much the trail would close.  The race director setup an alternate race route on the park roads and gravel roads surrounding the park so the race would happen on way or another.

Still now knowing whether we were racing on dirt or gravel, I decided to setup for dirt and bring my tools to change my gearing if they decide to run gravel.   Luckily, the trail ended up in pretty good shape for the race and the "cold" front that brought the rains dropped the temps into the mid-80s.

This was a 4 hour race and slightly different than some of the previous endurance races I have done.  This race ended at 4 hours.  Any lap completed after the 4 hour mark would not count in the standings.  That will be important later.

I got out to Erwin park around 3:45pm, checked in, and found a nice spot to setup my little pit area.  I got there early enough to snag a picnic table.

I ended up setup my SS with 32x21 gearing.  I would be slow and would be completely screwed on an downhill sections but it would be a lot more knee friendly.  What I didn't anticipate was the initial roll out would be on pavement and I would be immediately dropped by the entire field.  It was just me, a couple other single speeds and the fat bikes in the back.  By the time I got to the trail, some slower riders ended up in front of me and for a little while I had to play follow the leader but eventually worked my way around.

• Lap 1 - "why the fuck do I sign up for these races"
  I went out too fast and almost blew up (and threw up).  I was chasing another single speeder with the thought that if I pass him at least I won't be DFL.  Pretty stupid.
  Lap Time - 45:22
  Pit Time - 2:35
• Lap 2 - "everything hurts and I want to die"
  By this time I was hurting from Lap 1 and was in a bad place mentally.  I struggled with heart burn and almost threw up a couple times.  I really wanted off my fucking bike at this point but I was able to control my pace better and recover some.
  Lap Time - 58:23
  Pit Time - 6:48
• Lap 3 - "hey, I might actually finish this"
  I forced myself out for lap 3.  I kept telling myself there wasn't any good reason to quit other than being a pussy so I pushed out.  I had to put my lights on for this lap and the temps started to drop and as the sun went down dew started to form on the grass and roots.  The trail was getting a little slick.  On this lap, my triceps were on fire.  My rigid SS beats the shit out of you on rough courses and Erwin as a shit load (I mean a shitload) of roots.
  Lap Time - 1:01:31
  Pit Time - 3:09
• Lap 4 - "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..."
  I knew I barely had enough time to get another lap in and my goal was three laps but I had to try.  I had used up my legs and my entire upper body was on fire so I was creeping along. I was all over the trail at this point, my control was shit.  A couple riders passed me and I would try to jump on their wheel and would get dropped within a couple minutes.  I just couldn't hold the pace I needed.  About a mile from the finish line I could hear them warning about the cut off and then could hear them counting down but I was too far out. I missed the cut off on my last lap by 2 minutes.  :(
  Lap Time - 1:04:16

So my official time was 3 laps in 2:53:39.  My Garmin time was 4:02:04.  I ended up 23rd overall and 3rd Single Speed.  The only did the overall SS winner so no podium today.

The group that put on this race (The Spinstry) are awesome.  The races are well run and always have free food after.  Not many MTB events have food or drinks available.  After the race I grabbed a burger and a mountain dew and watched the podium awards.  By the time I go how I was exhausted and really, really sore.  But pretty happy with my performance and cool t-shirt too.

I forgot to wipe my legs off before I came home and sat on the couch.  Oops.

UPDATE:

The official results were released and they included my 4th lap.  WOOHOO!

I moved up from 23rd to 22nd overall. 

12 Hours of Erwin Park, uh only 4 for me.

Of course, as the race day gets closer everyone has been watching the rain chances.  Can you tell what day the race is on?

The good news about this is that the trail can really use a little bit of rain.  But if we get too much it's going to be a mess and the race would be canceled.

Not anymore!  The race directors have put together a new race route that includes the paved loop inside the park and the gravel roads around it.

If it comes to this, I am not sure what gearing I would need to put on my SS.  And would they allow me to use my gravel bike for this race instead of my SS MTB?  That might actually be a lot of fun. The rain is suppose to come in early Saturday morning so we should know by the afternoon what will be happening. 

Cannondale said "Yes!"

I finally received a call from BikePlus and Cannondale has accepted my warranty request on my frame.  The warranty guy (evidently there is only one) at Cannondale was on vacation last week and that is the reason for the ridiculously long wait time.

Unfortunately, my Cannondale will not be ready for this weekends race.  I will still be on my single speed, my knee is already aching in joyous anticipation!

The frame will probably get to the bike shop early next week and I should have it back by next weekend.  Just in time for me to head out of town for the weekend.  Oh well, I'll ride it when I get back.

When you do a warranty replacement you never really know what you are going to get.  Of course you will get the equivalent or better. But you never know what color it might be.  I was lucky on my last frame because Trek called me and asked what custom colors I would like on my frame.  My twin brother wasn't so luck with his last replacement frame, he got a stark white frame with red accents.

Unfortunately they don't have any of the solid matte black carbon frames like I had previously.  The replacement will be the Cannondale team colors, black, while, and green.  I am really hoping I will get an upgrade to a 2015 F-Si frame (pictured below).  But a replacement with this color scheme would be okay too. Cannondale has some ugly as frames and I am keeping my fingers crossed one of those doesn't show up.

 Since it's a new frame it's like I'm getting a brand new bike!

BIKE! BIKE! BIKE!

Still no word on my broken frame

I dropped off my Cannondale on the 27th of August and still don't have a response from Cannondale about the warranty.  The guys at BikePlus submitted the warranty request on the 29th and expected a response within 72 hour but nothing.  It's really frustrating to be down a bike and having to do all my MTB rides on my SS right now.  My knee is hold up okay but I would be more ideal to work back onto my SS slowly.

I finally sent a note over to the organizer of the race I am doing Saturday to move me over to the SS group since it is very unlikely I will get my geared bike back.

I'm worried about this race but at this point there isn't much I can do.  I'll do what I can do.  The forecast isn't ideal either, there is a pretty high chance of rain on Saturday morning   If the trail gets hit hard they could cancel the race but it will probably just make it slick and messy for the race.  Which will be fun.  

Back on the single speed...

I figured I would get my blog rolling again since it was nice to get some thoughts out of my head. Even though no one really looks at it. :)

So I guess I will just jump right into it. Last week I registered for a 4 hours race at Erwin Park on Sept 11. I typically race on my single speed but I haven't really spent much time on it since I dislocated my kneecap back in late February. So I went ahead and registered for the 4 hour in the geared category.  Then two days later, while airing up the tires on my geared MTB is see something odd where the bottom carbon section of seatstay meets up with the aluminum sections.  I think I see a crack and it definitely looks like the seam is broken.  This could also be the cause of a mysterious creak I have not been able to identify.

So I take it over to BikePlus (where I bought it) and they look at it and decided to submit it to Cannondale for a warranty replacement.  If approved, I will just have to pay for them to move all the components to a new frame.  However, they have no clue when the new frame would arrive and I won't know if the replacement is approved until Tuesday (8/30).

This is probably going to leave me without my geared bike for the race on 9/11.

So I spent the weekend getting my SS back into riding shape and took it out to Erwin Park (race location) for a lap.  I geared the bike pretty knee friendly 32x20.  When I was in really good shape I was riding 32x18 and 32x17 out at Erwin and flying.

Riding the SS takes a different riding style and my legs are not in SS shape right now.  Most single speeders jokes that a SS has 3 speeds, sitting, standing, and walking.  The hills were kicking my ass and my legs were burning like crazy on the climbs.  Part of that was the 50 miles I road the day before, so the fact that I completely a lap makes me happy.  But it was a pretty slow lap.  56 minutes.

On the race, I get 4 hours to complete as many laps as possible.  So max laps I am going to get is 4. But to get 4 laps my pace can not slow too much over the course of the race.  If I can hold a 56 minute lap pace, that leaves me only 16 minutes of pit time for the entire race.  Assuming I will slow a minute per lap (being very optimistic here) I would end up with 10 minutes of pit time.

When I did the 6 hour at Erwin in 2015, I geared 32x21 and got 6 laps done.  My lap times were 55, 55, 56, 57, 1:02, 1:02.  I would be super happy with those first 4 lap times!!!   So will probably gear 32x21 at this race too. 

Here are the 4 scenarios in order of least likely to most likely.

1. I maintain my 56 minute lap and have awesome pits and get 4 laps in under 4 hours.
2. I slow slightly per lap but pit well but come in just over the 4 hour limit and the last lap doesn't count.
3. I slow significantly per lap and realize I can only get 3 laps and call it a day at 3.
4. I finish 2 laps and throw my SS in the woods and say a lot of cuss words.

I signed up for the race just to get out there and do it.  I know I'm probably going to be DFL but I don't really care.  If I roll up to the start on this one, it will be a win.  

Right now I am in a hold pattern until I hear back from the bike shop.  If the warranty replacement is approved I will email the race people and get moved to the SS category.  If not, then I will ride my cannondale and hopefully the seatstay won't break off and jam its self into any sensitive locations.  

Back in the saddle...

It is a gorgeous but windy day today so I got out on the bike this afternoon.  I did a road ride on my MTB (geared) to see how my knee would feel.

I wanted a nice and easy ride but the wind took care of that. Had a strong 20mph wind the entire time. My knee ached when I had trying to put a lot of power down while seated but it was fine other times.

The only time it hurt was when I jumped some curbs. I got some sharp pains from the impact.  All in all it was a good. I don't think I am ready for a trail ride yet. Maybe next weekend.

I wandered around and explored some new roads that have recently been put in.  I am hoping it will allow me to get to a hike and bike trail that I haven't had access to yet.  I can get so close but there is no way to get down under the bridge to get to the trail yet.  I noticed some trails in this new neighborhood, maybe they will connect to it.  If I can get to this trail it will give me an easy way to cross 121.

I am going to do some more road rides next week and hopefully the knee will feel good enough to get out on a trail next weekend!

Lateral subluxation of left patella, initial encounter Chondromalacia, left knee

To make a long story short, I went down on my bike last Saturday and twisted up my left knee.  I felt it "come apart" and I had to limp/coast on my bike back to the trail head.  Of course these thing always happen at the farthest point from the trail head.  Luckily (for me and not for him) my twin brother had flatted out and he was walking back to the trail head too.  So I had some company.

Initially, I was pretty damn worried.  My knee hurt A LOT and I couldn't put much weight on it at all.  I was able to get into see my ortho last Tuesday.  He pushed, pulled, twisted, and x-rayed the knee.  He was confident that I didn't do any additional damage to the knee but just aggravated existing injuries. The lovely feeling of my knee coming apart was my knee cap dislocating.  This is the 2nd time in my life I have done to my knee.  This time was not anywhere near like the first but it still wasn't pleasant.

So 3 years ago when I saw him about my knee (Chondromalacia, "runners knee") because of some pain while running.  At the time he said there were 2 small spurs on the knee cap and minor arthritis. Now, those spurs not small and I have been upgraded to moderate arthritis. Bottom line, at some point in the next 10-15 years my knee will degenerate and I will need a knee replacement.

So because of the inflammation he wanted me to stay off the bike for 1-2 weeks.  I'm bad, because I have been doing some light spinning but I actually think it is helping my knee feel better.   I tried walking but that seemed my anger my knee so I just did really light spinning on my exercise bike and then tried the trainer for the first time last night.

I don't think I will get on a bike outside until maybe later next week.  While the knee feels a lot better and doesn't hurt while spinning (at least with little resistance) it still doesn't feel 100% stable and one slip or fall might put me back to square one.

So at this point, progress is good.  Knee feels a ton better after a week.  For right now, I am stuck inside on the bike.  Looking forward to getting back out on those trails though.

However, this injury and other factors have lead me to drop the 12 hour race that I was going to do at the end of May from my schedule.  I probably won't be back on my bike until the first of March and that was when my 12 week training plan was going to start.  And I will be behind from day 1 of the plan.  UGH.  My knee stopped me at the 6 hour mark at this race last year and I'm just worried that I will be back in the same boat.  I might regret the decision later but right now I am okay with it.  I just want to get back on the bike and enjoy riding.  :)

Here is an x-ray of my knee caps for you to enjoy.

Only Overweight

Over the holidays, I put on a little bit of weight.  This is additional to the weight I had put on last Christmas that I never took back off.  Unfortunately, I saw my BMI (yes I know it's kind of a bullshit metric) jump back into the Obese zone.  Not, not, good.

However, this morning I was sitting at 231.8 with a BMI of 29.8.  Yeeeeaaaa, no longer obese, just over weight again.  So far I've dropped 8.2 lbs since 1/1/2016.  Most of that was water weight but still it makes me feel good when you see large numbers over a short period of time.

So far the new year is treating me well.  I've been eating healthy, hitting the weights, and getting some good workouts on the bike.  I just need to keep it up!!!