From the Land of Fiesta
by Allerun on May.12, 2012, under Uncategorized
So I went to San Antonio recently, and while there, had to sample the local tourist fare. I think I walked that river a half dozen times at least. Had a great time and probably sampled a beer at just about every bar on the river walk. They have some great restaurants there too. Definitely recommend hitting the Esquire if in the area, great atmosphere and several local brews on tap. I also ate a huge burrito, my weight in meat and the best strawberry ice cream smoothie I have ever tasted in my life. Had a great time.
Room to Breathe
by Allerun on May.11, 2012, under Brain Drain
Finally, the semester is over and I can take some time to relax.
And post some pictures that I’ve been meaning to put up for almost a month.
I went to watch the Yankees play the Rangers in April (Yankees won, yay!) and took some pictures of a two foot plus hot dog. Yes, I ate a two foot long hot dog (helped, at least).
Plus the game was really good. Saw Sabathia pitch, Rivera close. Arod hit a long ball and Jeter made a bad throw. But he made up for it later.
Here’s some pics of an epic chili dog and the damage we did to it. Oh, and a pretzel, too.
If you view the slideshow, just click the picture to move it forward.
Adventures in Unconsciousness
by Allerun on Mar.25, 2012, under Fitness and Health
I’ve started a new workout program. It’s a popular one with X in the name.
The X stands for: oh my goodness I can’t get off the floor.
I started Tuesday, and got through half the first workout. It was a chest and back workout. I decided to stop when my arms stopped working.
The next day was plyometrics. That’s ancient Greek for “jumping torture.” About a little after the halfway point my legs decided they didn’t want to lift my weight any longer. They decided this midway through a squat jump and dumped me on my ass.
I swear I heard them laughing.
Day three was arms and shoulders. I actually finished this workout. I did almost pass out, though. Oh, and I was a little ill afterward. Again, I hadn’t eaten for a while before and was working out on an empty tank.
I do enjoy the fact that the last exercise was basically me flopping on the floor like a fish.
I’ve taken the last three days to recover. My legs were the worst. It seems the last few months have been a vacation for them and they have gotten sloppy and lazy. They wanted to let me know they didn’t appreciate the things I was putting them through by being incredibly sore and not wanting to work properly for two days. Chairs were a fun experience.
I’m feeling better now, and I’m going to get back to it tomorrow.
At least if my body decides to cooperate.
Accountability
by Allerun on Feb.26, 2012, under Fitness and Health
Wow, it’s been a month since my last post. Uhg, been so busy.
Anyway, on to the whole point of this post. I’ve been working on my general health and well-being for the past six or so months now. I’ve changed my diet and started exercising, and have gotten various results while tweaking things here and there.
By tweaking things I mean totally ignoring my healthier habits and going back to my old ways for several days. Then I work my way back to my healthier eating and exercising and do it all over again.
I had been eating well for a while, then the holidays hit and December was bad. Then January had New Year’s along with several birthday parties, but I didn’t do too badly. I got back to eating right again and then my schedule changed and I wasn’t exercising like I had been.
So I decided to do a (very non-scientific) experiment. I was feeling pretty good on my diet. I wanted to see just how much better I was feeling compared to my old diet.
So I went back to my old diet.
Holy crap. I’ve been on my old diet for two weeks now (and a few days), and I feel like hammered dog crap. I also haven’t exercised in almost a month (scheduling conflicts), and it shows. I’ve lost about three months of results in a little less than a month.
So, experiment done, I’m going back to my new eating habits. I’ve also gotten a home workout program that I’m starting today. It’s a popular one, runs in 90 day cycles and I’m sure you can figure out which one it is from there. I’ve talked with people who have gotten good results from it so I’m giving it a try.
This post is my accountability. I’m on notice now, so if I look the same in three months, call me out on it.
And then tell me to wipe the nacho cheese from my chin.
Harley and Me
by Allerun on Jan.21, 2012, under Uncategorized
I have a new ride.
I’ve been obsessing over the H-D Night Rod for the past few weeks now, and yesterday I finally decided to tempt fate and go looking for one.
Fate won.
I’ve been looking at dealerships in the panhandle area for a while now to see if they had any in stock. I had seen numerous photos and reviews online, and I wanted to get a look for myself. Nobody had any new Night Rods listed. Ever. I dropped by the local dealer once and they were fresh out. They had one on order, but it was already spoken for. That was about a month or two ago.
Yesterday I decide to head back to Tripp’s and see if they had anything similar that I could look at. The Night Rod is one of the H-D V-Rod series that includes the V-Rod (anniversary edition this year), V-Rod Muscle, and the Night Rod Special. I was hoping they would have one of the other models in, and while it wouldn’t be a direct comparison, it would be close.
I head in and was greeted soon by Rick, a nice guy that I had actually spoken with the last time I was there. I told him what I wanted and he ushered me to the back where, to my surprise, they had just gotten one in. It hadn’t even been on the showroom floor yet, he said, and they had just prepped and checked it.
I was thinking, surely it’s not the color I want. The Night Rod Special comes in three colors, Sedona Orange (it’s actually not bad, I saw one of those on the showroom floor later), Vivid Black and Black Denim.
I wanted the Black Denim.
They had the Black Denim.
There is only so much you can draw from pictures and videos. Seeing the real thing sealed the deal. I sat on it – it fit. Visions of me riding it flashed in my head. I was hooked.
Rick offered to let me take it out for a spin. I declined. Momentarily. If I had taken it out, I would have been all in. At this point I wanted an illusion of free will to decide if I really wanted to make this deal. I asked about how much I could get for my trade-in. We went to his office so we could talk numbers.
The numbers he came back with were good.
Fate was kicking my ass.
At this point, I needed to gather my thoughts and run through everything once more in my head. I told Rick I wanted to get my Shadow and bring it up, and then I would take the Night Rod out for a test run. I made plans to be back up there after lunch.
Over Thai food with a friend, I mulled everything over in my head. I was getting a great price for my trade in, it fit in the budget, it was the bike I wanted and ready to go. I had gotten the Shadow for this express purpose, to get me to the point where I could ride a motorcycle like this. After a talk with my wife and her endorsement in my pocket, I grabbed the Shadow and headed north.
It was windy yesterday. The Shadow is a light bike. Wind and the Shadow and a highway are not fun. Add to that the Shadow only has a 600cc engine and four gears, it’s not a highway bike.
This was probably the final nail in the coffin.
I get to Tripp’s and find Rick. He checks over the bike, verifies the VIN and we head inside. He takes me to the back and starts the engine on the Night Rod. He gives me the basics on the controls (still getting accustomed to Harley turn signals) and says “Have fun.”
I take it out for a ride. It’s phenomenal. I have ridden only one other Harley, that being my father-in-law’s anniversary edition softail deuce. If I’m not mistaken, it has the same engine (the Revolution). That was an incredible ride.
This was much the same.
The power I had when I wanted it was a welcome change. The ride was smooth, the saddle kept me in place well. I never had the feeling of slipping back when I hit the throttle. I suspect this is from the model’s dragging roots.
The ride bought me a Harley. I got back and we did all the paperwork and Rick handed me the keys. Everyone at Tripp’s was exceptional, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them. The ride home was great. The wind was still blowing, but it wasn’t shoving me around. This is a solid bike.
I rode it more that day, and it was great. I’m going to enjoy riding it, especially to work, which I wasn’t able to do with my Shadow. It was just too far.
Of course, I don’t believe in fate, it was just fortuitous that I happened into Tripp’s when they had the ride I wanted. I was pretty much decided on my course of action before that, having obsessed over it for the past few weeks proves that.
Oh, and now I’m a HOG member. I have no idea what that means, but they made me one. Suckers.
Here are the requested pictures. I’m sure there will be more posted in the future.
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