Suddenly…sniff, sniff.  Sweet Jesus, what’s that smell?

No bike clothes in the backpack (at home in the dryer).  No post-shower towels (ditto).  Then what?  Somebody drop a bottle of vinegar?

Oooo, the helmet.

Time for a little wash.  I can’t remember the last time I gave it a shower.

Got new rims (EC 70’s) and tires (Schwalbe Racing Ralphs) orderd.  Made a last minute flip-flop after trading emails with John.  I haven’t heard if they’ve actually been ordered but I e-mailed my order in.  Should be there in time for Alpenrose.

As much as I’d like to, I don’t have the cash to run tubulars for every condition.  In an ideal world, I’d have a dry (I’m not sure yet) and super-mud (Dugast) setup.  But hey, I’m glad I finally have a cross bike so we’ll just leave it at that.

What else.  Workouts are going as planned.  2-3 days of 15-20 minute intervals, aiming for 45-60 min total.  1 day of running.  1-2 days of shorter, higher intensity intervals.  I double-up a couple days so rest days are becoming very, very important.

Pain on the peak this weekend.  It’ll be my first A/35+ race at the full 60 minutes.  Course map was released yesterday.  Looks similar to Rainier HS – about 80-100 feet of elevation gain, no run-ups (from what I saw), a few barriers.  If the weather holds, it’ll probably be fast.

Not much else for now.  Our apple tree in the backyard is shedding apples at a pretty fast rate.  We didn’t spray this year so some have worms.  But I still have a shitload of good apples left on the tree.  So…it’s applesauce time!  I’ll leave you with a great recipe I’ve used for years:

• 4# apples, unpeeled but quartered & cored.
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• Spices – I use 2 cinnamon sticks and 2-4 cloves per batch.

Add all ingredients in a saucepan.  Place uncovered on medium heat for 15-20 minutes until everything breaks down.  Stir occasionally, especially near the end when it can burn.  Process through a food mill and add water if needed.  It cans and freezes well.