Pics from yesterday, Vid from today

I thought this pic was pretty cool. It shows that the wind was blowing so hard it was knocking the trees down all around me! Just kidding...only an illusion:)

Although I was able to ride a bunch of the trail, I did so some of this yesterday. It was actually really disorienting. I know this trails system like the back of my hand, and at times I had absolutely no idea where I was.

Yet some more "open" singletrack. It was awesome that the snow on the trail melted, giving it a "runway" effect. Kinda neat when I was riding it.

Just had to take a pic of the new rig on it's maiden voyage. Built it up this winter. It's the first time I've ever ridden carbon anything off road and I wasn't disappointed. This thing freakin' rocks! Lighter than my aluminum Trek 8000, and takes off like a rocket. I could go lighter if I was to swap my full xt gruppo from my Trek, but for the time being I'm happy with this bike the way it is. Sette Elite Carbon Frame, sturdy Mavic UST wheelset with WTB Hubs and WTB tubeless tires, RockShox Reba Team fork, Deore LX rapid rise rear derailliur, Deore LX front derailliur, XT Hollowtech crankset and bottom bracket, Cane Creek headset, Bontrager Alum. straight bars, Bontrager Carbon seat post, and AWESOME Fizik Tundra saddle-love it! After the ride I went over to the shop and my buddy Nelson, Uber-bike fitter and former Columbian pro track and road rider, hooked me up with a super fit. I didn't even ask him, but before I knew it he had me set up on a trainer and was taking measurements and changing things around to make me faster and more comfortable. In the end he spent over an hour dialing in my ride and didn't even charge me a dime! He basically made my position a little less aggressive, gave me a longer stem, and raised my saddle. It'll be a little awkward to get used to, but with my stale handling skills from a winter spent on the roads, it's not like it really matters-ANYTHING would feel new at this point!

This vid was from today's road ride. Nothing special, but it is one of the longer "descents" on Long Island. A whole 2 minutes and change! Actually, it's probably a little faster than that since I had to take it a little slow on account of the sandy roads.

This ends another solid week of training...the second in a row! It's funny how the consistency of good sessions makes a difference in your fitness and overall motivation. I've been able to dust off a lot of the cobwebs and put some solid miles and hours in. The only issue is a little niggle in my knee. Not sure exactly when it started, but after todays ride it's stiff as a board. Feels muscular, right at the point where the quad meets the knee. Fascia maybe? The bad part is I know exactly what the source is. I changed my pedals on my road bike mid week and didn't have my cleats adjusted properly. I've done it plenty of times before, but I guess my luck ran out. Serves me right for not being diligent with something rather important... Lesson learned!

Tomorrow is a rest day and I'm really looking forward to it. Not because I want to be lazy, but heavy rain is in the forcast and that should wipe away the rest of the snow. I'm hoping to be able to put in some serious time on the mtb in the near future! Provided, of course, that my knee is in good shape.

This is what NOT to do when you're wearing a helmet mounted camera. Wait for it...wait for it...

This was a pretty decent little run. A lot of the trail today was like this. Soft, but not too muddy. It's a little slow (and my handling skills are poop right now), but at least it's time in the dirt!

Today was a lot of fun. Most of the riding in the trails was good, though I had to hike a few times through snow that was too deep to ride though. It was cool to be out on my new ride with decently warm temps and off the road. In the end I got about 2 hours in the dirt, and an hour back on the road. Great day all in all!

Riding nowhere FAST!

Sorry for the "crotch shot" but I thought this was a cool shot. Kind of redemption from all the vids I shot yesterday with the crap camera mount. Anyway, it's a short vid, but it started with a short but steep little hill and then I'm going down the other side in the end...

Today was a great indoor workout. As much as I hate riding a bike to nowhere, I enjoy the specificity and control that you get from the trainer. It's so easy to control watts, and the factor of not having to stop for dumb drivers, lights, intersections, etc., makes things so much more focused. Anyway, worked at FTP for a couple intervals as per instructions from coach. This is where I'd really like to improve (well, in reality I'd like to improve EVERY aspect of my cycling-I'm just kinda competitive like that), so the workout, while painful, was very purposeful.

Looking to get out on the mtb tomorrow if it's possible. We got A LOT of rain all day today which washed away most of the snow, but has had a tendency to pool on spots of the frozen ground. I imagine the trails will be a muddy mess by midday/afternoon tomorrow, so I'll try to get out early...like FURLY (that's "f*cking early" to the uninitiated) and ride on some of the frozen trails that tonights low temps (in the 20's F) are likely to produce. A 4am wake up looks likely. Not sure how much I'll get done, so tomorrow's training may have to be split between whatever I can manage on the trails and the remainder on the road. Obviously I'm hoping to get more time on the dirt than on the tarmac...

Mt. Handlebar

Headed out again with the Epic HD Action cam, but this time with the specific bar mount I got via my super-cool UPS man yesterday-he brings treats for my dog:). Anyway, yesterday I'd mounted the cam with some zip ties and the mount that's meant to hold the camera to your helmet. That worked really well, but I was psyched to have the actual "handlebar mount", thinking that it would work better. In the end, I'm super disappointed with the mount. As you can see on the vid, it bounces around like Dolly Parton jumping rope, and produces a hole bunch of noise as well. I'm going to send it back and see if I can get a refund. As for mounting the cam on the bars, I'll just use the zip ties and helmet mount. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Epic HD Cam

I'm so cool I can take a pic of myself as I ride...superb handling skills:)

I'm also so cool that I can take a picture of myself and Dan while standing in a parking lot.

The fellas got a little bit away from me while I was goofin' with the camera, so I had to bring them back...

Bike Test-Continued...

Image of the graph from the test today....

Cool stuff and I'm happy with where I'm at right now. The 3 minute portion of the test (the first spike) is strong, but I need to get my aerobic watts (the 20 minute portion) up. Either way, I'm over 100 watts higher on the 3 minute test than I was this past summer, and over 30 watts higher on the 20 minute portion than I was at this past summer. Good stuff! Coach says we need to up my volume in order to get the 20 minute result up (and therefore make me faster-that's the goal right?). Anyway, not to make excuses, but the shit weather this winter hasn't lent itself to all that many 5 hour rides. With the weather changing soon, we'll have to correct that. Looking forward to see where the plan takes me next...

**not sure why the numbers didn't post on the graph, but 3 min average was 443, and 20 min average was 330. Hmm...

Bike Test

Wow. That. Hurt. Just about all I can mutter about that right now. Really worked hard. I'd been dreading this bike test since last night, but I just put my head down and went for broke. Besides, it's less than an hour of suffering, how bad is that really?

The numbers, I think, were good, though I haven't had a chance to even look at them myself, much less send them along to coach. I'm happy knowing that I gave it my all, but when I get a chance to crunch the numbers later I'll know for sure. I'm positive I've made some strides in the end.

No vids as of yet for the Epic Cam. As I mentioned yesterday, I'm still waiting on delivery of a handlebar clamp. I could 'rig' it to the bars using some zipties and another of the mounts it came with, but I might just wait 'till the proper mount arrives.

I'd like to get out for an easy spin this afternoon, but the temps are really low and I'm not sure I want to get out in the cold if I don't have to. I woke up with a sore throat, and after the effort in the bike test, it's not worth pushing my luck on adding another "unscheduled" session. Maybe just some yoga and core work inside might be more appropriate.

Epic HD Action Cam in the hizzy!

Just got my camera! Totally stoked, excited, geeked, happy, etc.... I'm pretty shocked at how small and streamlined it is. Gonna look good on my handlebars and helmet. Pretty snazzy if I do say so myself. The only gripe I have, other than the fact that the company didn't get back to me after I sent them an email last week, is that an additional mount I ordered didn't come in the same package as the camera. I'm assuming that the two items shipped seperately, but it would have been nice to have been notified of this. Just a small complaint, otherwise I'm really psyched to fire this thing up and get some cool vids. Unfortunately with the snow storm we got today, it might be a bit before I get anything mountain bike related, but for now I'll try out for some road shots and vids... Here are some pics and a little movie I recorded while goofing around with it-emphasis on the word "little".

Tiny...might actually mount it underneath the nose of the saddle, just have to watch out for "Thunder and Lightning" getting in the way:)

Pay no attention to the bike gear on the kitchen table...or the painting Anne made for me...need to hang that up!:)

Right...I'm not James Cameron, but I promise to have better content than this! It was only a 'test' shoot!!!

Aww F*ck...

Woke up today to 4 inches of snow. Damnit! Just when things seemed to be headed for an early spring, we had to go and get hit with another batch of white mess. I'm still optimistic about the warming temps later this week. I really thought that was it for winter, but I guess it'll still be a little while before getting out on the trails regularly.

The Epic HD cam is on the way and I should have it by tonight. I'm hopeful that I'll get a chance to use it tomorrow, provided the roads are decent enough to get a ride in. Time will tell...

Dirt!!!!!

There was dirt! Dirt I tell you! It was unreal!

Got my first ride on the dirt today since Christmas day. I guess it technically was the first time I've been on the mtb this year. There was still a lot of snow on the trail, and some mud, but most of the sections I rode were frozen enough to still ride fast. By the end of about 2 hours, I spent approximately 60 percent of the time riding, and 40 percent of the time hiking. Didn't matter though, because it was just AWEOME to get out and on the mountian bike again.

The forecast for tonight is some snow, followed by rain developing after tomorrow morning. It's gonna be a little sloppy, but after Tuesday, the temps rise again, and then rain will be on the way Friday, hopefully washing whatever accumulation we get away and finally getting the trails clean of snow. They'll still be quite muddy, but it's better than not riding at all!

It was super refreshing to get out there today, and it's really given my training mojo a good shot of 'get up and go'. This has really been the first week in a while I was able to put together what I feel was a solid week and one that I can be proud of as I drink a beer tonight.

I'm feeling stronger than I ever have on the bike. My fitness isn't quite there yet (and it shouldn't be), but as far as sheer strength and force applied to the pedals, I'm really hitting homeruns. I really think I can thank 'cross for this jump in strength. Surely I need to incorporate it every fall going forward.

Otherwise things are good. I'm missing Anne tremendously, but what else would you expect:). I should be getting delievery of my Epic HD Action Cam tomorrow (provided that the UPS tracking service is correct-I wasn't given a tracking number from Epic, so I had to use an "alternate" way to track the package), so I'm really looking forward to playing around with it and getting some cool biking footage. Apparently you can extract still shots from the video it records, so there should be a lot more "wallpaper" on this blog in the near future. Anyway, Spring is just around the corner and I have a feeling I'll be a much happier camper in the coming weeks. From then, who knows!? Maybe I might not be in New York for the Summer:)

Windy, windy, windy

Riding today, I was glad I had that extra bit of winter weight left over from eating too much around the holidays. I don't think I've ever seen wind this bad on Long Island before. I'm not exactly sure of the actual speeds, but it was the kind of "blow you across the road" wind out there today. I managed to stay upright though, and get in some good miles, although my face and any other exposed skin is still red and burned. All in a good days work!

Not much else on the day. Just training and now relaxing. Time to take a shower and take my mom to the movies. Tomorrow is more training and with the change to slightly warmer temps and no snow, I'm SUPER motivated right now. The temps are suppossed to go below freezing tonight and warm up later tomorrow morning...which means...hopefully the mud on the trails will freeze and I can get a FURLY ride in on the dirt for a couple hours before it all thaws out. That would be the icing on the cake! I haven't been on my mtb since Christmas day!

So close...

Spring is in the air! Today we hit temps in the 65 degree F range! Only went out for a short ride though, but it was super refreshing to wear only long sleeves and kneewarmers. Nothing on the hands; nothing on the feet; nothing on the head (except my helmet of course). It's not quite "tan line" weather, but definitely close to getting warm and nice enough to ride that way all the time.

Temps are suppossed to dip in the next few days, but still stay above freezing for a while. Maybe an early spring? I'll take anything as long as it's above freezing and it doesn't snow anymore.

I drove by the mtb trails this afternoon and it'll still be a few more days (provided good weather) before they're ridable. I mean, technically, you could ride on them, but the mud and slop wouldn't have you getting very far. An unbelievable amount of water has saturated the ground with the melting of the snow, so it'll just take some time to dry up. Can't wait!

Gritty Snitty

Gritty....That's the only word that comes to mind when thinking about my riding lately. The roads need a rain like Lindsey Lohan needs rehab. My poor drivetrain is screaming to be cleaned (which I just accomplished prior to sitting down to write this), and washing my bike after every ride is starting to get old. It's not that I'm complaing. On the contrary, I'll take riding outside over riding inside anyday, but it just gets to be a bit of a hassle when every time you ride, regardless of how long, you have to spend a half hour cleaning your bike-and that only gets it halfway clean!
This evening I spent easily another hour taking my drivetrain apart, cleaning my chain, cassette, and chainrings, and then putting it all back together. Then, because I had all the cleaning stuff out anyway, I decided to do a little more cleaning and did just about everything else. Satisfying, yes, but I know after the next ride it's only going to go back to being gritty and sandy all over again. Such is life...
I'm still looking forward to getting my Epic HD cam in the mail one of these days. I've been waiting anxiously for it and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it'll arrive tomorrow, though I know that by just having said that it'll be another two weeks before I see it. On that subject, I'm a little disappointed with the customer service they offer. Maybe I'm jumping the gun a bit, but I sent them an email asking for a tracking number for my order a week ago and haven't recieved any sort of response. It's a little thing, and again, maybe I'm being picky, but when you send a company a request, you expect some kind of response within a week, right?
Anyway, time is moving along and I'm looking forward to a weekend of good weather and maybe, just maybe, getting out on the trails by Sunday or Monday. Today was Spring-like and we're suppossed to get more of the same tomorrow before the temps settle in the low 40's/high 30's. Regardless of the temperature drop, it'll still be above freezing which means snowmelt...all good in my book! Hell, it could stay in the 40's for the next two months as long as it means no more snow and open trails!

Today was a good day...

Ice Cube said it, "Today was a good day/and I didn't even have to use my A.K." Well I don't have an A.K., but I'm sure I wouldn't need to have used it today if I did. I got a TON of sleep yesterday (somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 hours!) and it's all but gotten all of my illness under control. I'm feelin' so much better, and training on the bike today actually felt pleasant! Add that to some great weather with temps in the "warm enough to melt the f*cking snow" range, and you have all smiles from this guy!

In the end I got out for about 90 minutes on the road bike. Easy warm up with some quality intervals thrown in there for a nice, neat, and tidy little workout. I was tempted to do more and go harder, but being that I'm feeling better than I have in about a week, I don't want to tempt fate. Besides, I'm hoping to log some good time on the bike this weekend, and if the temps hold out and the snow melts I might get some muddy enjoyment out on the trails! Fingers crossed that Spring is finally here!

Have to say that one of the nicest parts of today envolved some fine beer brought to me by one of my favorite clients! She knows I'm a huge fan of all things beer, and particularly the Belgium style beers. Soooo, when she showed up for her appointment carrying this...

...I nearly jumped out of my skin! Five beautiful bottles of Belgian Beer all for me! Man, I wish I turned 30 every year! Honestly though, all my clients have been so generous with me, not only for my birthday, but in all the years I've been working with them all. I work with wonderful people every day. I imagine most people can't say that.

So that was it for today. Heading in the kitchen soon to cook up some tuna, rice and veggies, then off to another early bed time. Looking forward to the good weather and being healthy again!

Finally...

Finally the temps broke. As I've said countless times before, it's been a rough winter. Today the temps broke and the sun came out and I smiled for the first time on a bike ride in a LONG time. I actually rode WITHOUT gloves and nothing on my legs but knee warmers. Riding today really made me appreciate the good weather. I can't imagine how I've ever NOT felt like training in nice weather.

I got out for a couple hours this afternoon simply to enjoy the weather and pedal under the sun. I've been battling some sort of nasal thing, and I wasn't feeling the best, so I just kept things uber-simple. Easy pedaling, nothing hard, and just enjoyed the ride. In the end I was soaked with salty, sandy water and my hands ached from absorbing all the shock from our pot-holed roads (which, by the way, look like they've been bombed they're so bad), but I was happy nonetheless.

The forecast says the weather's going to be nice for the next 10 days and I plan on taking advantage of every one. Hopefully my Epic HD cam will come in the next couple days and I can start documenting the awesomeness:). It would also be nice if the trails were ridable by this weekend, but I don't want to push things. Riding on the road in the warm weather, even if it does involve terrible, Paris-Roubaix inspired roads and chemical saturated road-water, is fine by me for now. Give it a couple more weeks without seeing dirt and my mind might change, but that's where I'm at right now. Looking forward to that camera!

Sick Sucks

I had big big plans for this weekend. After weeks and weeks of snow and having to deal with cold winds and sub-motivating training weather, the forecast told that the weather was finally going to break and warm temps were on the way. Well, the warm temps came, and so did my coughing and weezing. Granted, I've had some kind of chesty, throaty, coughy thing since Anne was here, and I certainly didn't do my best in getting rid of it. I've slept 10 hours each of the last 3 nights, and I thought that would get rid of it, but trying to train through it didn't do me any good in the end.

I think my major frustration comes through the weather, and I try to push through sickness in order to get my head straight. I'm not happy when I'm not training, and training through the weather we've had this winter has been a test in mental fortitude. All in all, training through bad weather, being depressed because Anne's not here, and now getting sick has really f*cked with me in the last week. With the warm temps I'm happy to think that I'm surely going to be cured of at least some of the things that have been getting me down lately.

Anyway, I did the smart thing today and rode easy for an hour. Not exactly the workout I wanted to spend today doing, but I realize that it was probably best for my mind and body to get out only a little today. Being in the fresh air made my head right, and the small amount of physical exersion gave me enough endorphins to look forward to another day.

Now I've just got to wait until the warm temps melt the snow so I can ride my mtb again. Really looking forward to those first, long days on the mountain bike again!

Winter Woes

As I've mentioned before, this has been a terrible winter. Skiiers I'm sure love it, but not me. Winter is what you make of it, and I'm into all that positive thinking, but at the end of the day, I'm ready for warmer temps to start. Maybe I'm complaining a bit (I'm sure I am), but I really feel like my fitness is non existant, and it's going to take A LOT of hard work to get it back. Maybe I'm where I'm suppossed to be at right now, but mentally this is really hard.

Even though I didn't have my best season results-wise last summer, I'd have to say that I'd never been fitter. Finishing the season with a super strong showing at the 6 hour mountain bike race had me feeling like Superman heading into the offseason, only to be sacked by all the snow and freezing temps that have made training damn near impossible. There's making excuses and there's gritting your teeth and bearing it, and I've done plenty of both, but all in all I'm ready for Spring.

So.... There are some super warm temps on the way and perhaps an early, February thaw that will see me outside much much more, and perhaps even on the trails again by the end of next week. It'll be sloppy and muddy for sure, but I'd rather have that over snow and ice any day. Now all we need is some good rain to wash away all that salt and chemical crap they put all over the roads.

I'm also battling some sort of cold right now as well. Been coughing up a lung the last few days after having a terrible sore throat in the middle of the week. Going to wind down early tonight and hopefully get in a full nights sleep. I'm not one to resort quickly to medicine, but if this thing isn't getting better soon, I'm going to have to. Rest and nutrition will most likely do the trick though!

And still waiting on the camera! I'm sure it won't be here in the next couple days, but I can't wait!

New toy on the way!!!

Just ordered an Epic HD video camera to document my bike adventures!:) Ok, I know it's kinda cheesy, and who the hell wants to watch vids from my helmet and handlebars when I ride, but I have to admit that since I started mountain biking I've been really wanting one of these things. Watching vids of people ripping singletrack gets me every time, and what better way to be completely self indulgent than to get one of my own and put up vids on this here blog!!! I know, awesome right!?

I was really conflicted about not only getting the cam, but also which one to get. I couldn't justify buying one myself, but when someone insisted on buying me one for my bday, I pulled the trigger. As far as which one to get, I was down to the Epic HD and the GoPro HD. The one thing, in my opinion, that the Epic has over the GoPro is it's sleek design. The GoPro is probably a bit tougher and better known, but I really like the fact that the Epic is small and easily mounted. Also, the mounting options for the Epic seemed better. Time will tell!

I'm really looking forward to getting some cool shots, especially when the snow finally melts and I can get out on the trails again. The road is starting to get kinda boring, not to mention cold as....well, cold. Much of the snow has melted recently, and I'm guessing with this weekend's predicted warm temps, the trails might just be ridable by the end of next week! Muddy and mucky, but ridable nonetheless! If so, it'll be my first ride on the mtb in well over a month, and close to two! That's waaaay too much time between mtb rides!!!

Anyway, when the trails do become ridable, I'll be out there and I'll have some vids to put up! I'm hoping to be able to do some sweet editing and add some cool tunes. Can't promise anything though!

Had to pinch myself...

The last two weeks were awesome. Anne and I got to have a ton of fun and spend some great time together. I realize I'm just a much happier dude when she's around. I'm more motivated, have a better attitude, and generally she just brings out the best in me! (OK, enough of the mushy stuff!) :)

Anne left yesterday and for now we'll be away from one another for a bit. There are some real cool potential plans for the future, but no matter what, it won't be long before we're together again.

For me it's back to the normal grind of work and training for the rest of this week. Back to hermit mode... On the positive side of things, the weather looks like it's starting to break a bit. We've had a few warm days and after the next few colder ones, it looks like we're gonna stay above freezing for the next week. The temp change combined with some rain we got last week melted A LOT of the snow that's been dumped on us all winter. Looks like it might be time to get back in the dirt on the mtb soon! I can't believe it's been nearly 2 and a half months since my last ride on the trails. Quite depressing!

Also looks like I'm going to have a new toy to play with during training as a gift for my 30th birthday! A friend of the family wanted to do something nice for my birthday and totally insisted on getting me something I wanted. I've really wanted a helmet cam to have during my rides, but could never justify buying it for myself. Anyway, it was in the price-range she wanted to spend, so POOF!, looks like I'm getting my wish!

Vids to follow.....

Big Thirty!

Here we go... Turning 30 today. Seems like I would never get here. As a matter of fact, I never thought I WOULD get here when I was a kid. It's funny how through the eyes of a 10 year old 30 seems "old", but now that I'm here, I honestly feel like I'm still 10 years old (and probably still have the same mindset!).

Anyway, after a couple nights in Vermont, Anne and I headed back to good 'ole Long Island to celebrate my birthday last night with a few friends and fam. It was a SUPER late night (we didn't get home until after midnight!-can't remember the last time that happened!), and I'm feeling like a bloated, soggy mess today. Not really because I had too many drinks, but just from the sheer amount of food that went down my trap last night. Must have easily had well over 2000 cals between 5 and 7pm... not to mention the drinks that followed. Ugh....

Vermont was a blast, especially watching Anne kick my ass in XC skiing-a sport that I know have a huge amount of respect for. I had no idea how freakin' hard it is! From a fitness standpoint it was easy, but the amount of technique (like anything else I guess) involved was off the charts. It's easy to "go", but to "go fast" is a different story. Either way I had a blast and wouldn't mind owning a pair of my own since this snow looks like it's never going to end.

On the training side of things it's been sporadic. Managed to get in a few runs here and there, and of course there was the XC skiing, but no bike time and nothing really all that formal. That's ok, though, because once Anne leaves :( I'm sure I'll go back into training-monk mode. For now all I want to do is enjoy the time I've got with her and forget about bikes, training, and everything else....unless she want's to ride or run:).

I'll post some pics of Vermont whenever I get them...

One more week of the 20's

Basically I suck at blogging when Anne's around. Really it's not because I have nothing to say, it's just that I'd rather devote a ton of time to spending with her rather than putting down all my crap here:). Also, I have her to share all the cool things that happen in my day with, so I don't need to do it here so much.

Anyway, the past week has been full of fun, from snowshoeing, to ice skating, to walks around the neighborhood with the dog. All things I really really miss out on when she's not here. It's no shocker to realize I'm a much happier person when I'm around her.

Structured training has taken a backseat for the time she's here and been replaced with more improptu sessions of walks, rides (if the weather makes it happen), and gym sessions. Again, the focus is to spend time together being together, not necessarrily spending it training.

Otherwise it's my 30th birthday Saturday and I'm pretty excited about the new decade. It's a little odd not being in my 20's anymore, and I guess this means I have to "grow up" (whatever that means), but I still feel like the same kid I've always been. I hope I can say the same at 80!-provided I get there!

Tomorrow we'll be heading up to Vermont, unless this sudden "worst storm in 40 years" prevents us. We were meant to be traveling as I write this, but the weather forced us to postpone the trip for about 15 hours. Funny thing is, it hasn't even started to rain/snow/sleet/fart from the sky at all. I'm hoping that the worst isn't ahead and that this whole thing will just blow over! Even better, if the temps would warm up and we'd get some torrential rain to wash away all this snow I'd be forever greatful!

Anyway, that's it for now. More fun up ahead for the next few days! Can't wait!