12 Minutes

12 Minutes. That's about the longest period of time I have sat since I got home. Between the 3 year old and the wife still recovering from the C-section and needed many things done for her, I've been a little busy these last couple of nights. Not that I'm complaining, I can't do that. At least not out loud, which explains why I'll spend most of that 12 minutes typing.

See, normally I'm a pretty relaxed guy. OK, that's not really true. Normal and I don;t cross paths very often. I'm a relaxed guy between bouts of absurd anxiety thinking about idiotic scenarios that have built up in my mind. Anyone ever worry that....

I can't even finish that sentence. Most of the things I worry about are so far out there, that anyone reading this would think less of me for seeing it written down. Worrying sometimes catches me off guard, sometimes it sneaks up like a slowly moving fog. Getting pleasantly cloudy until I suddenly find myself blinded by anxiety from all directions.

God I need to workout. Bike. Run. Swim. Just move. Do something. That's my secret to sanity. And I haven't been able to enjoy that simple pleasure often enough the last few days.

And it's all their fault. That's not really fair. I don't blame my wife and kids, God knows I'm not complete without the joy and chaos they infuse into my life. But they are the reason. They don't do it on purpose. They just do it.

And it's frustrating. It's one thing when I can't drag my lazy ass out of bed. Then I have someone to blame. But when I'm up late helping with the baby and don't get up to ride, there is noone I can blame. When I offer to take my wife lunch and don;t get to run, I won't blame her.

But tomorrow I'm going to workout. Or at least get to the shop to pick up the TRP Euro X brakes that have been waiting patiently for me.

Holeshot!

So I started this whole thing to have some where to vent out all the bicycle related thoughts and activities that I don't think my wife particularlay cares about. So here it is. The first bike related post.

I just picked up my first cyclocross frame. OK, I picked it up like a month ago. Hey, I just had another kid, things have been a little hectic.

I had a great debate between several bikes from Jamis, Fuji and Van Dessel. For some reason I have an issue with using carbon fiber during a crash likely issue like cross. I know that it is a structurally sound material, just have some issue with it. Not too mention that budget was a consideration for this little endeavor.

Anyway, that eliminated the Jamis offering and the Van Dessel Gin and Trombones.

Leaving the Fuji Cross Pro and the Van Dessel Hole Shot. Forgive me but I'm going on a little tangent here. Anyone who has been around bikes for a while has probably heard mention of Bikes Direct. Basically they have resurrected older brand names, put them on new frames with good components and seel them at well below their claimed retail prices. I don't have any personal experience with the company, other than reading through many of the threads on Bike Forums on the company and their bikes. And there isn't a whole lot of negativity, at least with some basis in reason. So even though I have no plans to buy from them (I prefer to support my LBS), I don't have anything against them.

Anyway, back on point. As I researched and debated the merits of the cross pro versus the Holeshot, I for some reason found myself on BD's website. And I found their cross bike. With a description that matched, word for word, the Fuji Cross Pro. I had to pause for a second. I know that their are only so many factories in the world churning out bike frames, but I usually give the benefit of the doubt that a large, long existing company produces things in house. So seeing BD with a description matching that of Fuji gave me second thoughts.

I had no doubts about the quality of each, but given the price difference, I started to wonder about the value of the Fuji.

So my attention turned to the Holeshot. And I'm glad it did.

Kids, with an S

So we've gone from Kid to Kids. Caitlin Elizabeth was born on Wednesday at 10:33 am. Planned C-section, very uneventful, everything went well.

So I've moved on from worrying about my wife and the unborn child. I'm sure I'll start worrying about her soon. It doesn;t take me long. Zero to anxiety attack in 3.7 seconds. Just hasn't happened the last couple of days. But it will I'm usre it's coming.

Just have to try and get a workout in today. And trying to get started with the 2 a days this week. Going to ride in the mornings then run or swim at lunch time. Good luck to me.

Bikes

Believe it or not I did start this whole blog thing to have somewhere to spew all the bike related activites and thoughts that I have. I know looking at the posts so far, it seems I'm just here to whine, but I promise that's not the case.

I have a brand new Van Dessel Hole Shot frame sitting in my basement. In a box. Haven;t even had time to assemble the headset. When you're wife is about to give birth and you have a three year old to tame, some things have to take a back seat.

But there is bike related content coming. I owe myself at least that much.

Calm Before the Storm

Though at this point I don't think calm is part of the equation, storm seems about right.

My wife is scheduled for a C-Section on Wednesday for the birth of our second child. Being born at 37 weeks due to some minor complications. At this point calm is a very relative term. Calling my wife 3-4 times a day, in my opinion, is calm. Staying home at staring at her all day constantly asking, "Are you OK?", is, in her opinion, not calm.

Now this is our second child, which should make things less stressful. However, I don't have all the preparatory things that we did for the first child to occupy my mind and body and burn off some of this anxiety. So I have been working out as much as I can. Physically I'm drained, emotionally I'm running 90 miles an hour.

Hopefully things will calm down after Wednesday.

J