East Coast Powder? Yeah it exists....VERY occaisionally.

via: http://www.theadventurelife.org/2010/01/eastern-powder-is-not-a-myth/

Classic Vermont from Nathan Steinbauer on Vimeo.
http://vimeo.com/8545651

I enjoyed some (very limited) pow pow on Monday night (1/4/2010) at http://www.labradormtn.com/ but their grooming before hand left little to be desired. Not only that but by the time I arrived after work on Monday much of it had been skied off.

Diet - Grain Free month of January

 So due to a combination of health factors (difficulty with weight loss, digestion, questionable cholesterol levels) I have decided to take the month of January away from grains. Primarily I avoiding any foods containing gluten and corn syrup. The corn syrup has been a long time quest to avoid, the gluten free approach is new. So whole, unprocessed fruits and vegetables are my primary diet these days. With the occasional egg, meat, or dairy product thrown in. Who am I kidding, cheese is my downfall, I absolutely love cheese. Here is the book my wife bought me yesterday to help me along my journey this month:














The Eat Clean Diet: Fast Fat Loss That Lasts Forever

I'll let you know how it goes as the month goes on. The first few day's haven't been too bad. The only real trouble was last night I had some hot coco after skiing with my daughter. Corn syrup. Not going to beat myself up about it, just going to remember to avoid the cheap coco in the future.

Saturday night break down

So I open the box earlier this week but didn't have time to unpack it.

So tonight I had some time and this is how it began:

The bike arrived well packed (by an IBD it appears.)

So I set about removing everything from the box. The wheels were first out so I went ahead and removed the tubes and tires. Then I removed the axels and bearings. After removing the grease, thoroughly cleaning the hub/bearings/races/axel I repacked them with fresh white lithium grease.

Both front wheels seem to be smoother than the rears, oh well. Used parts cheap are cheap used parts....

Then I set about breaking down and cleaning the rest of the bike:

The chain, headset bearings and rear derailleur pulleys are soaking in citrus solvent over night (in the white bucket with the brush.) The only things not in the photo are the cables/housings and the seat/seatpost. They are just outside the frame (and the wheels of course are hanging up separately.)

I sure do love taking things apart. I just hope there is nothing left over when I put it all back together!

SPS Trifecta testing

Here is the breakdown of Day 1 (my testing day)

Sit-ups - 42 (my wife beat me here, no surprise!)
Squats - 150 (Had to stop when my low back began to tweak, this shouldn't be hard to reach 200)
Push-ups - a miserable 16 :(  my abs still hurt from the squats and sit-ups (Do this one first next time!)
(my least favorite exercise of the three and most worrisome)

Now I am heading out to cross-country ski at Bear Swamp State with CNYMike (http://tech.michaelerb.net). He is also doing the challenge, boy are we gluttons for punishment!

***I just realized that the Trifecta was for 100 squats, so I found a 200 squat website and added it to the challenge!***

The SPS Trifecta!

Well I may have bitten off more than I can chew, but I am going to give it a shot.
6 weeks to achieve the following:
100 push-ups http://www.hundredpushups.com/
200 squats http://www.twohundredsquats.com/
200 sit-ups http://www.twohundredsitups.com/

Starting tomorrow (January 1, 2010) I'll take the initial test for each of these and then I'll do the first work-out on Sunday. That is if I'm not too sore from the initial test!

There are ten of us signed up so far, you can see all of our progress here:

Trifecta Spreadsheet

I am going to work specifically on goal setting this year in all aspects of my life. Discipline has been something I have struggled with for a long time, so this blog was a goal for writing and the SPS Trifecta is my first exercise goal!

Wish me luck, even better JOIN ME!

P.s. as a bonus (when it begins):
25 pull-ups http://www.twentyfivepullups.com/

Dog Grab Jacket

Duluth Trading Company - 
These folks have some nice stuff, often more expensive than I am willing to spend. But when I started shopping for a coat for my dog (yes, my dog - she has short hair and gets cold in the snow) I couldn't find any at the local retailers I liked in a price range I found reasonable.

Duluth Trading Company Dog Grab Jacket

Via: http://www.duluthtrading.com/services/image.aspx?path=/media/images/products/96085_HTG.jpg&width=312&height=312

This coat comes in 3 sizes and is currently only available in 2 colors (Hunter green and Navy blue.)  When we bought ours it was also available in Red (which is the color we bought.) The coat is made of "weather resistant Supplex nylon shell and toasty fleece lining."  In the snow it stays dry and warm and in the rain it sheds nearly any level of precipitation except a hearty down pour, and even then the fleece keeps the dog warm despite being damp.

We were looking for a coat to keep the dog warm and dry, but also visible. We live in a rural area where there is hunting on some adjacent properties. Our dog is light brown to tan in color and during deer hunting season we are often concerned about her being outside and wandering off. So we wanted a bright color for her to be able to wear to help differentiate her from a deer for the less "experienced" hunters. With this in mind the red seemed the best choice. I would have liked to have seen an orange or a "safety" yellow-green. But I suppose these are not "fashionable" enough. Oh well.

Team Garmin-Transitions Announces 2010 Roster Christian Vande Velde, Dan Martin and David Zabriskie Extend Contracts (press release)

Team Garmin-Transitions Announces 2010 Roster Christian Vande Velde, Dan Martin and David Zabriskie Extend Contracts (press release)

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