Check This Out!

I got a kick out of this. I'm studying for my midterms that are tomorrow and I come to a page in my English text that immediately catches my eye. It might be too blurry fo you all to read but the title of this particular example is Portrait of a Bike Fanatic. Just thought it was funny.

Internet Pirates

My dad got a call today from Cablevision (our internet provider). Somehow somebody's been tapping into our IP address and using it as their internet connection too. This apparently has been going on since November or so. I'm curious to know how they did this. My dad is of course paranoid that his information he keeps on this computer has been compromised. Needless to say, I will be backing up my files to my flash drive as will he and we will format the hard drive and start from scratch. Gee, this gives me an idea (insert light bulb). What a great topic for my next speech in English class. Don't mind me, I think out loud sometimes.

Miscellaneous Jabber

There's really been nothing to blog about the past couple of days. I have been putting together some videos from last year and from this past holiday season. I found some interesting ones on my camera's flash card from when we were moving into my current house. I don't think I'll post the ones from the holidays because it's already February and the nostalgia value has worn thin. However, if you want to see videos of me clowning around my uncles house during Christmas, I'll be more than happy to send it to you. Well that's about it for now. I must go study I have midterms on Friday for English and Math.

T minus Two Months and Counting

Well it's official. I am now a member of the CRCA. And I am apparently one of the youngest to be so. I met with one of the directors of the junior development team to discuss goals and find out about their program. He was impressed that a boy my age is into cycling as much as I am. The youngest member is around 15. That's not bad, I was concerned that there wouldn't be kids my age and there are. But still not 13 or 14.

If there's one thing I have to mention, then it would be this club is HUGE! There's literally hundreds of racers. They basically own Central Park when it's race time. Race season officially begins for me on March 29th in Central Park. I am so psyched to get rolling I can't sit still. Oh and one other thing. As members we get discounts at bike shops in NYC, something my dad is looking to take advantage of. I'll follow up with more information, this post is getting too big.

Nothing New

Another school week gone by and nothing really new to talk about. Tomorrow I'll be meeting with Doug from Century Road in the city. I guess I'm kind of anxious but I'm still in kind of a somber mood from last week. My family is making a day out of tomorrow so hopefully it will be nice outside. I haven't been to the city since September so I'm looking forward to that too. Well I guess that's it, peace!

Clean Bill of Health...Sort of

I went to the orthopedist after school today for my follow up appointment. It's hard to believe it's been a month already. I went into that same room again with that skeleton that shows all the ligaments. I'm so fascinated by that I can't understand why.

The doc says I'm healing nicely but I'm not 100%. More like 80%. Naturally I asked him if I will be ready by spring and he nodded. So that's a plus. I no longer have to take anti-inflammatories but still must use the heating pad and now I have exercises to do every night. It looks like I'm doing yoga. I may have to live with a little soreness for awhile until I'm fully grown into myself. As long as I can ride my bike and play baseball I'm happy.

For all you future painters...

Don't follow my example. This is what happens when Jeff has a paint roller in his hand.

Blogger is confusing me

There's two things I don't understand:

1) Why is it when I click on a picture I uploaded it doesn't open up fully in a new window? It used to do it.

2) Why does the text bunch up when I include a picture in a post?

Exercising

Being that I don't have a bike to throw on the trainer, I have found alternative ways to keep myself in shape for the spring. Since it barely gets over 20 degrees outside, I am limited to indoor activities. I have been using my parents' elliptical machine to work my legs and my dads bowflex dumbbells for the rest of my body. My dad bought these things two years ago and I think they've been used twice by him. So I decided to put them in my room and start using them. My dad makes fun of me when I use them because I imitate the commercial.

Ooooooooooooooohhhh Yeahhhhh!

If you missed this game then you must live in an igloo in Siberia. I can't believe the Giants are going to the Super Bowl. What a great way to end a lousy day. I will probably be waking up tomorrow with no voice as I spent all night shouting at the television.

I find it ironic how Tynes misses two 36 yard field goals, then blasts one 47 yards to win the game in OT. Congrats Big Blue...see ya in Arizona.

Thank You!

I just wanted to thank everyone who contacted me via phone, email, and blogger for their kind words. You guys are awesome thank you.

Sad News

I am sad to announce the passing of my Grandpa Jack this afternoon. It has been a rough week and I'm glad he finally has a chance to rest. He will be greatly missed.

Stage Fright?

Do I get nervous when confronting a class of 20 kids my age? When I don't know everybody too well I guess I do. Today I performed my 5 minute speech for English class. I decided to pass on discussing steroids in sports and stuck with my original plan to talk about bike racing. Pictures and videos were easier to come by when creating the powerpoint presentation.

I started off fine but as my speech progressed I grew uncomfortable. I don't know why. I didn't shake or turn red, but my mouth turned dryer than the Sahara. That's such a bad feeling and there's really nothing you can do about it. But get this, I had the girls in the class actually interested when I was showing video clips of cyclocross. I couldn't believe it. There was also this one kid who kept asking me about "BMXing." I kept trying to tell him it was not part of my presentation. I received a b+ and am very content with that.

WOW!

What a game! Not bad for a team held together with elmer's glue and band-aids. See ya next week Favre.

Free dinner

Something has to lure me to school for me to be there on a Saturday night. Not only was it a meeting with the coaches for baseball, but it was the sight of free pizza and salad. Jackpot! I managed to sucker my friend Dan Williams into trying out for baseball with me and between the two of us, I think we cleared a whole pie and a bowl of salad. Funny how food does crazy things to people.

A roster went around the gym for attendance purposes and to write what position you'd like to play. Dan and I were so busy by the food table that we were the last to sign in. I was shocked to see that only one other kid was trying out for pitcher on the junior varsity team. I kept asking tonight why we were doing this in January and got no answer from everybody I asked. There's a nice bunch of other kids trying out so it looks like it'll be a good team.

Testing YouTube

Since I'm basically fed up with trying to post videos using blogger, I have taken Bike Boy's advice and will begin to post videos through YouTube. This post is just to make sure I know how to do it. Now I need to create a YouTube account. This song Humanity is from Scorpions lastest album Humanity Hour 1.

Writers Block

I have two topics I'm working on for my speech:

1) Bicycle racing - I figure I can discuss what time trials are, cyclocross, sprints, etc.. However, a lot of the kids in the class might not be interested in the topic.

2) Steroids in sports - This might actually interest the class because it's a current event. Well it probably won't interest the females but I can't please everyone. I'm leaning toward discussing this one. Does anyone have a copy of the Mitchell report?

Eventful Weekend Approaching

I will be keeping busy this weekend:

Tonight I have to complete a speech for English class that's due for Monday on a topic of my choice...hmm let me think. The catch is that the speech must last for 5 minutes. I think I'll throw in some powerpoint graphics to hog some of that time up.

Tomorrow I'm going bike shopping again with my Dad. Tomorrow may be the day so we'll see.

Tomorrow night I have a meeting at school at 7:30 for people who signed up for varsity and junior varsity baseball. Why they have to do it on a Saturday night is beyond my comprehension.

Sunday I have a bris (ouch!) to go to for a family friend. I won't even comment on that. The intention is to get home by 4 for the Giants/Cowboys game.

Sunday night I must practice my speech.

Have a nice weekend everyone!

Embarassing Moment

I'm one of the few kids in school who actually enjoys going to gym class. That may change after what happened today. Today we were playing indoor soccer (which stinks by the way..it's meant to be played on grass not on a wood floor). This is one of the few team sports I don't play because I tend to want to use my hands when you're not supposed to. Anyway, my competitive nature was in full swing today. Some kid on the opposite team kicks the ball to the other end of the gym and I go charging for it. I tried to pull this fancy maneuver so that I snag the ball with my foot and turn so that I don't hit the bleachers. Well I stop the ball just fine but the laws of physics don't and I go sliding into the corner of the gym. I did manage to avoid the bleachers but the right side of my body made friends with the floor. I landed directly on my healing shoulder and my rump. I guess that's what I get for trying to be cute. I was none to pleased having to sit out the remainder of gym class. Oh, but I did keep the ball in play.

Posting Videos

I've been trying to post videos from the holidays and blogger is not letting me. I'm pretty sure the files are under the cap. Maybe I should try trimming the videos and see if that works.

Meeting with Bike Clubs

I spoke to this guy Doug at Century Road Club today after school and we set up a meeting time. He seems really cool and adamant about taking on kids my age so hopefully thats a good sign. I have to meet him on January 26th in the city somewhere so I'm eager to get started. There are two more clubs for me to look into in the area so i'll try those later in the week.

Way to go Big Blue!

The last time I saw the Giants advance a round in the playoffs was when I was 7. It's been a long time coming. Eli for the first time in recent memory did not allow one turnover, and stifled Tampa Bay's defense. They'll be taking on the Cowboys (Jason's loser team) next week and will probably get slapped around. Anyway, I am enjoying this victory.

Nothing New

I've had nothing to blog about the past few days. School starts back up again tomorrow and I've been finishing up some assignments that were given to me. The nerve of those teachers giving homework over a holiday break.

Let the shopping begin!

I was given the nod tonight at dinner to start looking for a replacement for the Cannondale. I was given a budget and everything. I feel like the proverbial kid in a candy store. If you ask me the budget is very very fair. I have already looked online at frames and complete bikes. I may need help on this one, so any input from my cycling readers will definitely be appreciated.

All Good Things...

Yup, they must come to an end. Dad's picking me up tomorrow bright and early to go to the airport. I would like to thank everyone who made this vacation great. Especially Mr. and Mrs. Silverman for housing me since Friday. My apologies for spilling the bottle of coke on the kitchen floor. I hope to return soon, but man it's cold outside. My jaw locks up after spending 2 minutes out there. I'll catch you all when I get home. Stay warm.

Just a thought

It dawned on me today that I'm straying away from the purpose of my blog. I made this blog with the intention of expressing my opinions and experiences with being a junior cyclist. It somehow has branched into exploiting my goofyness as a 14 year old kid. I'm fine with that, I don't mind sharing my mishaps and adventures through adolesence. But I may decide to separate my cycling/baseball persona from my normal persona by creating a new blog. That's why my nickname is doppleganger just in case you were wondering. Then again, what is there to write about during the winter when I'm not racing my bike or striking out hitters. As the title says, just a thought.

Breakfast Obsession

After staying up till 3 last night, Jason and I didn't get up till about 11:30 this morning. So naturally the hunger pains were strangling our stomachs when we woke up. Now there's two things that I could probably eat morning, noon, and night. The first thing is pasta. Yes I can eat baked ziti in the morning. I am obsessed with Italian food. The second thing is IHOP. Breakfast food rules. We somehow convinced his parents to take us there. I haven't had a good stack of pancakes in a while and man was it good. Jason was kind enough to take a picture of my pancakes with his cell phone prior to me devouring them.