Saturday, January 18, 2014

#TINAR1000 State of the Union


In case you didn't hear, or read, or see on Instagram or Twitter, I have
embarked on a simple challenge for the month of January.
It's not a resolution, I hate that word. I believe gyms and the diet industry
have taken it over and made it their own. To them the word resolution = $$$
Do I get a little too riled up about it, yes, but you should see me 
when I get going on the greeting card business and all their pseudo holidays.
Okay, so I devised a simple goal for the month of January. A way to kick off the year,
a way to give my sad little legs some much needed miles and 
some much needed muscle tone. Let's just say last year was less than stellar for them.


Here's a brief rundown of what I've put in 
since January 16:

Kilometers: 392.0
Miles: 243.6
Elevation gain: 19,399 feet


As you can tell, I may have gotten myself into a pretty big hole.
(that's what he said)
It's the 18th as I write this and I still have a long way to ride. 
Once a procrastinator, always a procrastinator. 
Let's just say, I'm going to be doing some rides that may 
end with me in a fetal position crying for my mommy 
sucking on an empty salted caramel GU packet.


My legs are doing work and I want to treat them right,
so I'm making sure they know how much I appreciate them.
As you can see in the picture above I've succumb to the sweet smell 
only Rapha can create. Yes I'm using summer embro,
it's January in the Northern Hemisphere but Southern California has been averaging 
80 degrees F the whole month of January. Using this embro gives me a chance to 
warm up my legs before leaving the house. It also gives them a nice sheen, 
gives me some added color, and makes them smell like I've been romping through a 
Mediterranean forest. I've also been using Rapha's shave and post shave lotion. 
I don't know if it helps my legs any. It's supposed to smell like Mont Ventoux.
I like to imagine I'm channeling all the great riders over 
the years that have conquered that climb.
I basically have a seance in my bathroom every time I shave my legs.


So there you have it, I'm not exactly killing it, but I'm not epically failing either.
The last couple weeks are going to have some fun with me, let's hope the weather holds up,
or more importantly, let's hope my legs hold up. I like a bit of challenge in my challenges.
If you're doing your own challenge I hope you're doing as well or better than me. 
Let's see some more photos. 
Remember, share your Instagram and Twitter pics with the hashtag 

#tinar1000 

All decent submissions will get a TINAR sticker or something useful.







Thursday, January 2, 2014

Happy New Year! Now here's a Monkey.



It's a new year and with that brings new hope that I can
publish (at least) more than three blog entries a month.
As usual, I was sick during the month of December so my
riding slagged off, much like the rest of my year.
To counterbalance the lackluster year that was 2013
I've decided to start off 2014 in brilliant fashion.

I give to you:


THIS IS NOT A RESOLUTION 
1000KM CHALLENGE
(Not to be confused with the Festivus 500 Gumball Rally)
That's right folks, for the month of January rack up 1000km 
post pictures of your glorious (and not so glorious rides) on Instagram or Twitter 
using the hashtag:

#tinar1000

at the end of the month I will peruse the entries and then send out 
special limited edition TINAR 1000 stickers. Patches are too friggin expensive.



I was going to do this challenge on my own but I like the idea of having a way to share
my rides with others and have them share theirs. My theory is that hopefully I'll
get some motivation from you guys, if it's needed, who am I kidding? of course I need motivation! 
I just don't want any show-offs who ride the entire thing in one weekend. 
This challenge is for those who don't usually partake in Gentleman's
races and such. You know who you are.