When in Laveen.....

Happy Fathers Day to all the Fathers out there.... I don't know how we do it.....but we do. Even a Happy Fathers day to Ricky Bobby.....Shake and Bake. Friday night, I treated myself to Performance Bike shop to pick up on some much needed supplies. I took Briggs and Reagan as they needed some "Dad" time...or at least mom needed some "Mom" time. I picked up some tubes..(having all kinds of flats this summer), a light set....(way too hot to ride during the day...going to try my luck on some night riding), some Hammer Gels....(its Hammer Time), some Lube....(White Lightning sounded really fast.....and that is what they called me in High School) a new Bib....(Needed something that was going to keep all my bits and pieces in place as well as protect my arse for STP), new gloves....(my old ones were...well...old).
So, since I had not been putting all the miles needed to train, I made Saturday an epic Century ride. I was to leave the house by 5am....but actually did not get out until around 6am due to a late night....ah-la...Euro 2008 cup. My Goal was to ride from my house to South Mountain and back. A total of about 98 miles. I made it to the base of South Mountain in no time. I had a slight tail wind and there was little traffic.... I decided to also add some miles by climbing all the way to the top....I thought "When in Rome"....or rather...."When in Laveen,AZ". South Mountain is about a 5 mile climb and is no Col de Hamilton...but in the middle of a century....it can be a deal breaker. I actually made it too the top and felt good. I did run dry on all my fluid but knew I had 6-7 free miles heading back down to the valley. I re-filled at Circle K, which is a local stop for many riders. Little did they know I had 50 on my Garmin already and was looking at another 50. I headed back the same way...opting not to take the shorter route and avoid the lights. It was a bit windy but not too bad...just started to get really HOT. I had enough fluids but my body started to cramp-up. I could not tell if it was the heat or just me. A couple of times I had to jump off the road and run behind the bushes.....all False Alarms. I was at about mile 85 when I took the phone out of my bag and looked at it. Do I call...or do I gut out the last 15 miles? I kept riding for a few more and every time I drank a tiny bit of water..it felt like somebody was playing jump rope w/ my intestines. So I called at mile 88....K came out and picked me up. Good thing she did. The minute I got in the door......it was airbrush time on the pot. Sorry to sound so gross...but it was the Philippino kind where you are sweating....shaking....and holding on..... Kristin had it the night before and I knew this was a bug we had had in the house. Thankfully I was able to get in all the miles I had.
After all that, we had a Fathers Day party with Kristin's family here at the house. It was BYOM..(meat) and we swam and B-B-Q. I have been doing some swimming lately after my rides. The pool is really nice right now..(I hired a new pool guy...I give up!!) and swimming really helps stretch me out after a ride.

Well that is about all that is happening. I have a few more weeks before the big day. We are still debating on Flying or Driving...$$$ both ways....Where are those DING fares>>>??

What the Hail!!!

What a change!! We were at the doctors and got in the car....I watched this storm roll in and the temp went from 80 to 49 in about 10 min and w got dumped on. The next few days we warped back into San Antonio as we got dumped on here in "Sunny" AZ. It really made us miss the buckets of rain that used to come down as we sat on the back porch in SA. The temp is beginning to come up again....but it has been VERY nice.





So here is the little one. Will Rudi Dunford. He is another "mini-me"....or Mini-Briggs. He and Mom are doing great. Eat-sleeps and poops.... Again....mini-me. I have been playing MR. Mom all week. It has been fun hanging more with the kids and trying to get some time with Will on my chest...my fav.

I have only been able to get in the miles this weekend. The weather has been nice but wet. The other day I sat in my truck w/ the bike in the back watching the rain dump down and lighting all around. It would have been easy for me to call it a "good atempt" but I jumped out....and hit the road. I figured if it did not hail and I could dodge the bolts I would be good. I am glad I got out....always nice to jump into the car after a good 50, wet to the bone and sweating underneath. I got out Saturday as well....but for whatever reason...my legs felt like crud...so I kept it under 30 miles. Today was much better after a day of rest and I put in a flat 50..... Not the miles I need to logging...but enough to ensure a balanced Mr. Mom attack.

Now comes the balance act of Rides, Mr. mom and back to work...

I thought I would never say this...."Go Lakers"

Highs and Lows

I guess since the last time I posted...I have experienced some highs and lows. An obvious low was the Suns laying down during the playoffs. What a Buzz-kill. Not sure what next year will bring. The west seems to get better and better. It will be fun to watch. I am now watching the Hornet/Spurs series. Chis Paul seems light years ahead of Steve Nash. He totally controls the game and makes the Spurs look like they don't belong. It hurts even more to know the Suns lost to these guys.

The baptism w/ Reagan went great. She is a special girl and I love her. She always gives the biggest hugs and cares about everybody. Thanks to the Beecher boyz for lending the Beecher girlz for the weekend as well....they really helped out. Even made it possible for me to sneak out and get in a couple of rides.

Riding has been steady. I love watching Cycling Sundays. Gets me pumped for the week. I have been getting out at least 3x a week and putting in close to 100 miles. Still need to up the mileage according to the charts if I want to be ready for STP. I feel stronger each time I ride. It is getting really hot right now. I have never seen AZ so windy before. Maybe its because I ride now and the wind is always noticed. I went for a ride today during lunch. It was my new 22 mile loop. The last few weeks, the wind is in my face all the way out...but once I make the turns I am movin. Today...it was nutz. I was coming down hunt highway and I looked out into no-mans land and saw the largest dust devil.."tornado" I have ever seen. Looked just like one of those "Storm Chasers" scenes. The thing was moving and on my tail. Cars were honking at me cause they were trying to get out of the way. I felt the wind begin to go calm...then it whipped up al around me...I actually jumped out of my seat and smashed the pedals. It looked like I was past it but then it turned right for me. I got off the main road and a cop was heading the opposite direction...he looked at me...then the blob behind me...and just shook his head. I call it my sprinting power that out ran that thing...step aside Chippolini....JD hogg can sprint. I know....it sounds like the "big fish" story that nobody saw me catch.....but this was category 5 of dust devils. It was black.

Anyway......just waiting for this baby to come....will keep you posted.....

Heartbreak Hotel

On the road: Last week I was able to get in 3 days of riding. My first 100+ week. Beecher has put in 7 or 8 of them. I got my work cut out still if I want to hang for 200. I got out today for another 25 and it felt nice. Saturday, I found a new route that was behind my house in the flat lands. I found a nice road hwy 87 with a "kinda" bike lane that took me to Coolidge. It was not that bad except for the wind. Also, they had 'Country thunder' in the area so there was a ton of traffic. I got in about 55 miles. Not too bad.

The real reason I am bloggin today is to dump my frustration out after game one. It was really a great game....but to lose the way they did......MAMA SITA. I was in agony...totally depressed that night as we went to the D-Backs game....which they won....take that all you Padre Fans. I knew their total domination of the game could not last... Typical Suns fashion. Coach Mike D'Antoni can't seem to put a team away. Great regular season coach. It's play-offs baby. Coach Pop or even Sloan would go Ape-Poop if their team allowed for this. So many chances....too many to name.......Dingo dung. I still have faith. Suns actually played well for most of the game. This series will go 6 games. Suns will prevail. If they don't...I am taking my son out to the court and teaching him how to fall down when somebody sneezes on you. Might be the only way to win championships by the time he gets to that age. The least it will get you is a 6th man of the year award :) It's too bad. I can see why people don't like soccer at times....all the acting. Now it is beginning to spill onto the B-Ball court. Darn you Vladi Divac for introducing the flop. Now even Kurt "Denzel" Thomas is doing it. (Notice he never did it last year while he was w/ the Suns). OK....no more bashing the Spurs. I tried to like them for all the years that we lived there...but the crying after each "no-call" and the flops convinced me otherwise. I will be at my sons Baseball game tommrw night......My hope is to get back in the car and hear Al McCoy say..."Suns tied up the series and they are coming back to Phx". We will see.......

Anyway...more to come....

On the road again...kinda

Well,

I thought I would let all know that I am officially back on the road. I have put in three weeks of consistent rides so I feel like I am on the right track....and can say I honestly "ride".

Last week I rode the Tour De Phx. It is a 75 mile course that winds in my old stomping grounds as well as close to where I work. So I was very familiar w/ the area. I met Dan, who once rode this course as a cat1-2 pro (when it was 100 miles he finished under 4:30) a few years back and he was pumped to be riding it again. All in, there were about 1000 riders. I knew the first 20-30 miles would be fast. We took off, and the next thing I knew, Dan dropped me in the first 2 miles. We were avg. about 26 mph for the first 20 miles. It was flat and intense. I was just gripping and holding on. I later discovered the disadvantage I had riding in a race like this using a compact crank. I felt like I needed 2-3 more bigger gears. I was spinning in my biggest gear pretty fast. I also discovered something a week later, riding in my biggest gear caused my chain to become stiff and there was no oil on these cogs. Enough excuses..? Did I mention I had a wooden leg?? Anyway, after about mile 25...we hit Shea blvd which is right by my work and I hit a wall. Yep...that freakin wall...at only mile 25??? I think going so fast hanging w/ a group that I really should not have been with...burnt me out. I know I had another 50 to go....so I regrouped w/ a slower paceline going up Shea hill. I actually did well going up hill and dropped the group I was in and caught up with the lady...I know...wheel sucking on a girl...but she was a beast there are no laws when the wind is in your face. (I actually did get out in front of her and let her hang on to the top)...but she did a ton of work. The next 20 or so miles were really uneventful. It was the last 10 that takes you up Ursury Hill. I thought I did ok here as well. We joined up with the 26 mile racers here so it was a big group of us movin up the hill. Down hill after that and into the finish line. My goal was to finish under 4 hours...where I actually came in +9 min of that. I will take that I guess considered my wooden leg and all. My neck of course acted up again and I need to see if the LBS can do anything about how I sit on the bike before the STP. All in I was ok with the ride. I will ride it again next year and have a goal to finish under 3:30.

I got out on a few lunch rides and also yesterday...where I tweaking w/my bike some and discovered my chain issues. Once I cleaned them and oiled them up...I felt really strong. Not sure if it was the chain, me or the cleaning acting like a placebo...but I felt really good on my 35 miler yesterday. I fear I need to put in more miles on Saturdays if I want to hang w/ the "Beast" Beecher come this summer. My goal is to ride at least three times a week from here on out. I will keep readers updated. Also, for those of you who don't know, I am signed up for the STP (Seattle to Portland) ride in the summer. 200 miles in one day. Freakin nutz I know....but that is my only goal this year. I will also ride the Tour de tucson at the end of the year to close it out...goal is to beat last years time by 45 min. (this means fewer stops and of course faster pace)

Well...that is about it. I look forward to watching Western Conf play-offs in the next week and the Sun is beginning to wram up the pool....perhaps some swimming to strengthen up my core.

Check-In

Just thought I would check in --

A new year and I have only been on my bike for 2-3 days. Not good at all. I have been sick for about 20 of the 23 days of the year. I never get sick. And now, I carry the "curse". I think some of it has to do with not riding....you don't ride...you get sick is my new rule of thumb. So once I kick this...I am back on the saddle.

I will be doing some travel to the motherland shortly which will also give the itch again....also it will add a few "Schnitzel" pounds on me as well.

Work has been really busy getting stuff set up for the new year. I think we have a pretty good plan. Meg Whitman announced her retirement today which should make things interesting this year. I think net/net it was a good move. Can't worry why the Chicken crossed the road.

We had a fun weekend of skiing. I guess I can call that a workout. It is amazing what muscles you use while you are on the slopes. Briggs went with me and we had a good Father/Son day. He struggled some at first but picked it up and we had a good day.....just a few too many folks on the hills.

We stayed the long weekend w/ the Brittons which was nice. They are our neighbors and have 5 girls. We played Schoutz and Farkle and the kids played in the snow all day. Eryn was sick....but she still had fun. She said..."Dad...I miss my toys at home...right?"...I said "yep"....then she asked...."do you miss your Black Refrigerator"? Not really sure what that means....perhaps this is my new "Golden Calf"...another reason I need to get back on the bike.

Anyway....hope you are all having a good year. I will update after my travel.

Happy Holidays from the Hogg

It has been too long once again. I thought I would at least drop a line. I am eating well right now for the holidays as a bear does before the long winter. Only I have hopes that this Bear gets out of the cave during the winter. Winter should not be that bad here....however..the other day I went for a bike ride where it was about 45 outside. The kind of cold where you get in the shower and your gums are still frozen.

Anyway, I hope everybody enjoys their holiday season with family and friends as will I. talk to you all next year....

JD