It’s beeeen such a loooong time….

Yeah, that’s definitely one of my favorite Boston songs, and also should be the subtitle for this blog. Some people on the Adventure Rider forum started saying that my silence must indicate that I realized that the Australian Property Center Rally was more than I could handle, and I must have taken up crochet instead.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

With the holidays and a brutal end-of-year work schedule, I have not been riding in the dirt nearly as much as hoped I would be. Nor have I written much of late. Regardless of that, I can guarantee I haven’t picked up the crochet needles, or hooks, or whatever the fuck those things people use to crochet are called.

What I have been doing is trying to get my cardio, strength and overall fitness to improve. Which, aside from running up to twenty miles a week, means a lot of this:

And this:

While it didn’t involve motors, my first actual race was quite a success. My friend Pat and I signed up for a Warrior Dash on December 4th. Part of he reason for my lack of progress updates was I was learning how to use all the miscellaneous software involved in editing the video I shot of the race. How real video editors do their jobs without cracking up I will never know. It’s a stupid amount of tedious work.

Anyway…

Finally, after WAAAY too much ado (about nothing, really…) here is the World Premiere of my first ever feature length video – the Warrior Dash 2011!

Since that epic adventure, I’ve run a 10K race, finishing 32nd out of 141 runners, and coming in second in my age group (full disclosure: there were only two people in my age group, but whatever… it counts!)

This past Sunday I participated in the LA Half Marathon, finishing 13.1 miles in one hour and fifty three minutes:

So just what exactly does all this running around have to do with preparing for a motorcycle rally in Australia? Well, in my opinion, a lot. The cardio and stamina benefits are already apparent. The day I signed up for the APC Rally, I weighed in at a portly 210 pounds. The most exercise I got, in between shoveling food into my gut was opening a bottle of The Macallan. Now, some five months later I tip the scale at a more respectable 175, and opening those bottles is no trouble at all anymore! While I wouldn’t exactly say I was lazy back then, most other people probably would say I was.

To be completely honest, I hate running. Despise it in fact. Despite the despising, I do it. The reason is simple. I figure during the APC Rally there will come a morning when I simply do not want to get back on that motorcycle and continue. But, just like I feel every morning before I run, I will suck it up and get on with it. I’ve learned the easiest, and hardest part of the game, be it running or dirt biking, is the mental part. The body will do whatever the mind tells it to do. I’m working on that mind over body part every single day.

The so-called ‘experts’ at this point always say, “That’s great, but all this fitness shit isn’t enough to improve on a dirt bike, Dumbo. You really need to ride that dirt bike.”

“Yup,” I say. “I know.” Since I really need a concrete goal to get anywhere, I’ve also decided to challenge myself by entering Round 1 of the US Desert Racing series on February 5th.

502 S! ‘S’ is for… SENIOR! UGH!

My goal is simple. Finish the race. For me a finish = a win, since I’ve never attempted anything like a desert race before.  Am I ready for it? No. Does that matter to me? It probably should, but it doesn’t. I must have Senior-itis!

I spent some time getting my old red sled nicknamed Mid-Wife Crisis ready for the complete thrashing in store on February 5th and all the practice leading up to it.

There will be a report of some sort after the race. It more than likely will not be one of those reports where the dude says, “I entered my first ever race, passed every single bike, and I won it! Dirt racing is sooo easy!” I hate reports like that. Mostly because I know I will never write one.

Now, off to celebrate my birthday with my lovely fiancee and the old red sled in the desert!

More to come….

Author: frenchy