Another day

After a rough weekend, I'm feeling better. My truck was broken into, dash ripped off, stereo, cd's, Ben's glasses....all gone. All this right in front of the house, now when I'm outside and I hear a noise on the street I'm ready with my gat in hand to avenge these cowards who broke into my truck. Worst part was that in the stereo was an awesome CD a buddy gave me, ("Me Without You", check em out) Also, a pair of sunglasses Ben left last time he was here was stolen along with other things.
But as I said, things are better. I mean, stuff happens right? I'm sure I have quite a bit of Karma credit built up waiting to be cashed, and a lil bit was cashed in this weekend...but I somehow managed to build more up. But, like I've always believed, even the worst things that may happen in life, it's all good as long as you learn from it, and act upon what you've learned. So in a sense, I feel that the negative events from this weekend, are exactly what I needed. (Although, I wish they never happened)
Alright, to those wondering what the good is...I'll get to that. I got my tax returns yesterday. Apparently while in the military I was paying CA taxes, but was exempt because I was in TX and FL. So all that money came back on top of the federal return. I bought a bike immediatley with the money. I shouldn't have, but as soon as I get it, it will be posted for sale and I will be able to ride it until it gets bought. (I have to test the waters to see if I can profit from Pro Deals) Yesterday, I sold the truck shell that has been collecting cobwebs for years. It went to a guy and his girlfriend with dogs and they seemed totally stoked to get it for the price.
On top of all that riveting news, I got a good ride in today, making up for my lack of training over the weekend. Yasser and I rode from the Rose Bowl to Red Box. 19 miles of climbing, and 19 miles of descent. On the way up I decided to just stay on his wheel for the first 8 miles of real climbing. It was great, I never felt strained and was able to ramble to him for an hour as he suffered up the climb struggling to find the air to respond. On the leg from Clear Creek to red Box I left him behind doing some sprint training. I was amazed that I was able to hold a speed up the climb of about 20mph for 45 seconds at a time. I thought back of the first time I had ridden it, on old MTB bikes with Eric, his untuned bike slowing him down, making me feel stronger than I was on my brand new bike.
Anyways, the descent was a rush. Yasser used to be a very good sprinter so when the downhill hit, we were cranking in the big chainring swapping pulls, wheel to wheel, at 35-40 mph for the whole descent. Not a car passed us, it felt good. From Foothill to the freeway, Yasser showed me some sprinting techniques and we did some mock sprints through La Canada. Best part of the ride was, 2.5+ hrs from when we started and we were back at our cars....I just wanted to do it again, and I think I had the strength to.
Basically, from this ride, I've seen improvement. I've seen that as I apply myself to something, I will better myself. Ultimatley this isn't just about biking, but life in general. If you really want something, if you're serious about it and can work hard for it, you will be rewarded. I hope to apply this to other aspects of my life, knowing that improvement will come.
Nobodys perfect, but it's never too late to work towards it.