18OCT07

Ever notice how just a simple telephone call can make the world seem different? Well, in the midst of severe thunderstorms and a tornado here in Pensacola today, one phone call made things seem a lot less cloudy. Sorry, but that's all I'm going to say about it right now except that I'm really excited about what that one call meant.

24SEP07
Dauset Quick Brief

I met up with Dean and some other friends in Jackson, GA on Saturday for the 12 Hours of Dauset race. The weather was perfect (mid 80's with no rain). The comraderie was excellant! And well, it was simply a great day to ride a bike. I got to catch up with old friends like Steve J and Gary H while making new ones like Charlie from Elba, AL (down near Dothan). This guy shows up for his first ever enduro with a rigid single speed......God bless his lil' heart! I don't think Charlie will be making that mistake again anytime soon! He did a great job completing 6 laps (I believe). As for myself, I got in the same 6 laps and a whole bunch of friendship time. My parents stopped by so I hung with them for a bit while also chatting it up with Duckman, Bruce D, and Tucker. Given that I've not done much mountain biking this year and this was my first solo attempt on the year, I'm happy with how the day went. And hey, with a picture like this, who can complain?! Thanks to Carl for this sweet jump shot.





This 2nd photo taken by Al. pretty much sums up the feeling of the day....

18SEP07

Another boring day at work. We finally got out office set up on the jobsite and well, apparently we'll be getting weekly airshows from these guys. What a way to start the day! Enjoy!

23AUG07

Dean recommended that I come to the 13 Hours of Santos on Labor Day weekend….well Dean, you’ve got a race my man! I’d already planned to come over for it and I’ve been planning a few races for September. Since I missed the Granny Gear race at Conyers in May due to my deployment, I was really hoping to catch the Dirty Spokes Productions 6 hour race on 08SEP since I won’t support Stu-Rat. Well, I found out today that the Dirty Spokes gang is only running the Steeplechase side of the Conyers course so I’m reevaluating my attendance there. I’m not interested in racing Conyers unless I can race the full course. Right now, it’s looking like my coming month looks like this:

02SEP: 13 Hours of Santos
22SEP: 12 Hours of Dausset
29SEP: Double Dare in Pisgah (tentative)
06OCT: Santa Rose Tri
TBD: Three Shaker 12 hour

Yes, I said those scary three letters together….T-R-I. The Santa Rosa is a sprint – 500m open water swim, 12.5 mile bike, and a 5k run. I’ve been swimming twice a week, running two to three times, and riding some road and mountain. As my time in Florida continues, I’ll be doing some climbing at Wetherford’s, about 3 min from the house. I’m looking to find a sea kayak so I can drop it in the water on a Sunday afternoon and go catch some rays on the water! I guess what I’m trying to say is that in order to avoid boredom in the flatlands, I plan to keep the workouts mixed up.

I’ve had a lot of folks ask me how I’m doing in Pensacola. Well, I’ve not had much time to get out and find my favorite new hangouts or really get to know the area as work has kept us pretty busy. I’ve gotten into a new apartment, we’re getting the office trailer set up next week, and are pretty much spending our time taking care of some of the upfront paperwork needed to get a new construction project up and running. Overall things are going fine but it still ain’t home. I’ve been home at my house in Marietta, GA about 8 weeks this year. Mollie, my dog, is doing well considering she’s been bounced about quite a bit. She’s settling into Florida nicely, especially with her new haircut – I need to keep her trimmed down in this climate!

So that’s it for now. Sorry for the delayed entry but as I’ve said, getting settled in has been a chore. I hope you’re all doing well and Dean, I’ll see next weekend friend! Drop me an email so we can meet up (cmyrickjr@mindspring.com).

07AUG07

I'm not sure if I've actually explained why I'm in Pensacola but I'm here as the construction manager for a project for 18 months. The project is an expansion of the Barrancas National Cemetary at NAS Pensacola. So far, this has been interesting and exciting already and I count myself blessed to be a part of this undertaking. The national cemetary program was established in 1865 by President Lincoln in order "to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan." It's amazing to speak with folks here and as a result of the press this project has received, almost everyone I speak with knows about it and speaks highly of it's importance.

I wish I could tell you all there is to know about Barrancas but I'm still learning it. All the details can be found at http://www.cem.va.gov/CEM/cems/nchp/barrancas.asp.

So I figure that while I'm here in the flatlands I might as well make the most of it for my sporting life. There's a triathlon coming up on 06OCT that I'm going to race in. It's the Santa Rosa Tri and the distances are 500m ocean swim, 18 mile bike, 5K run. I'm not worried about the bike or run but I did a swim workout tonight and I'm really worried about that! I know I can get back into swim shape quickly but WOW it kicked my butt tonight!! I found an outdoor pool with lane swimming open each night and the water felt so nice. Hopefully if I do three (3) swim workouts a week I can be ready for the race. I'll keep ya posted on the progress and the race results, obviously.

I want to get some pictures of the area and the cemetary to you and hopefully you can understand the greatness of this project. Have a great week!

01AUG07 (edit: 05AUG07)
Dateline: Pensacola, FL

Sorry for not posting much, but the last few weeks have been crazy and my brain's been working overtime --- I think it's time to get some riding in and give the brain a rest ;) It's hot here, flat, and has rained two of the last three days. I'm tired of rain this year. It cannot rain the next four months and I would be totally fine with it! I got in about a 20 mile road ride in an hour about town today so that was good.

6-26-06 (edit: 7-3-07)
Quickie from Wales

This will be mostly pics and I'll explain 'em later. All's well here in Wales. Rain cleared out and I got to ride down the road a bit to a town who's name I'd butcher if I had to spell it! Here's some pics from the Mountain Mayhem race, London, and riding from today. Enjoy!

Here's a statue of Achilles in Green Park, London. The sky was perfect for capturing this picture so I couldn't pass it up.















Big Ben and the Pink Turtle. Again, couldn't pass this up.



















Me with Hans Rey, mountain bike trials rider extraordinaire. This guy's been around for years and is a legend of the sport.
















The toilet shot. I had no idea the guy that took this had the toilets in the background, but this was taken right after I finished my last lap at the Mtn Mayhem.




















The Kenda UK boys must be rednecks! I almost felt at home when I saw this.















Eastnor Castle looking down on the race camp.
















Patrick Adams greeting finishers and thanking them for coming to play at his little gig.
















Here's what the crankset looked like following my last lap. Look at that mud! but notice how clean that chain is.....BIG thanks to ProLink chain lube, made right here in Atlanta, GA.
















Cymmer Abbey, near Dogylleau, Wales
















Riding The Beginning of the End trail, Coed y Brenin forest, Wales.

6-15-07

Finally.....

Well, it's official: I got to actually ride my bike in Kabul!! There is true Afghani dirt on the Pink Turtle. We had a BBQ tonight at the villa of our security team and instead of walking, I opted for the ride. Hey, it's the only chance to officially get the required escort and get to ride so I had to take it.

No more explanation needed.

6-10-07
Do you feel that?

It's racing fever and it's spread all the way to Kabul!! Here's where I've been riding for the last couple months....man, it doesn't get any better than this! Wait...I think I've been here too long....remember Pisgah, Clemson, Conyers, Stanley Gap......oooooooooo....Stanley Gap.....YEA!! I remember now =)

Last night was a good workout. I somehow managed to stay at a high power output at an average of 95 rpm for the entire hour. I had some good stuff to watch during this workout too. See, our neighbor on one side is the VP of the country and he had a large gathering of about 100 folks at this house. There were people coming and going and guards and soldiers with RPG's all over the place. Good times! I may get to see the new F-22's running patterns at home, but you don't get guys with AK's and RPG's. HA!

Ok, picture pages, picture pages.....


LOOK!! It's the PinkTurtle Walt Works in action. Take a good look at that becuase that bike is going to be a singlespeed or 1x9 when I get home. The gears are going on the new Dos Niner softail 29er.















There's my view for most of my workouts. Note the privacy screen around the patio next door? Yea, the VP doesn't like us nosey Yanks!!

6-8-07
12......

And we're back with more from your broadcasting correspondant from the Big Funky K-town. Weather this week has been....well....interesting! We've had sun, rain, hail, sun, heat, cool, sun....did I mention sun? This week also brought on a site visit to a building dedication. The building was constructed by the Germans with money donated from the country of Qatar and it was a cool experience to be a part of. I will say we didn't go just for the dedication as we needed to see the remainder of the site so we can include it in our master planning efforts but it was a fun time anyhow.

I've been talking also with several new contacts about the possibility of executing some facility management training for the Afghan ministries and that has brought me into discussions about collaborative work with the German government as well as the US and Afghanistan governments. It's been a great learning experience to say the least!

Oh, I bought a new mountain bike frame this week...a Salsa Dos Niner. I've been wanting this frame for about two years and just refused to pay the asking price of $1000 for a Japanese made frame when I got my custom WaltWorks for under $800! Well, I found the Salsa for under $700 from the fine folks at http://www.bike29.com/, based in the Green Mountain State (VT) and was able to get a quality new wheelset and the frame for the MSRP of the frame. I'm pleased with that! I also found a new helmet by LAS....I'll post a picture of this funky skid lid when I get home and retrieve it from the mail.

My UK trip is coming together quite nicely too. I have a close friend whose brother lives in London and has offered me two nights free lodging. Turns out the guy lives two blocks from Buckingham Palace so I'll get to see all the sights and it's all within a 10 minute bike ride from Peter's! What a blessing! With the free lodging in London, free camping at the Mountain Mayhem race for two nights, this little adventure is fast becoming a lesson in "How to spend a week in the UK for under $500!"

Ok, now onto the pictures...

Rainbow over Kabul 6-5-07

Entrance to the Kabul Zoo. I'm almost scared to know what's behind that gate!

A couple months back I posted a picture of this mosque and the catwalk to the tower. Here's an updated shot so you can see the progress!

This is a village on the west side of TV Hill. I thought the street running straight up the hill just looked cool, but this gives good perspective on how much of the population of Kabul lives. Remember, there's no running water going to these houses, so the folks up top have to carry buckets and jugs from the wells at the bottom. I won't talk about the lack of a centralized sewage system....I'm sure you understand.

This is the north face of Shir Dawarza, the mountain we hiked back in March. Again, another good shot of the houses.