A blog by Eduardo Arguelles

Will it ever be enough? Hoarding and Whoring

noreply@blogger.com (Eduardo Arguelles) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 20:03:00 +0000

What is it about a true cyclists thirst for cycling stuff that deems "the cyclist" a borderline hoarder? Not sure what the answer to that is, as my own experience forces me to save everything, old cables(you never know), old cassettes, chain rings(someday art will molded out of them by my hands), chains(cool bracelets, think the wife would like?), hell even old bar tape pieces have been saved. Why? I don't know.

If anyone can offer a clue as to why some of us collect this useless junk? Please elaborate here... Your opinions are truly welcomed.

Another weird thing about the "true cyclist" is our obsession with replacing our old stuff(whoring)! This due to financial limitations has been put to rest on my part, but there are still those who without having "pro contracts" seem to purchase the newest stuff all the time, my question is this, WHY? I wonder if they feel that shaving grams off a bike will give them 30 secs and bring them one step closer to that prize money, all 150 dollars worth. Winning for the sake of winning doesn't require all the latest "stuff" just ride faster than the other guy.

By the way here is my cycling wish list:(bikes only because if I include the other stuff(accessories), it would be too long)

And to be honest.. that's not even half of the bikes I really want... *sigh*

-ed

Now I know what Lance must feel like!!

noreply@blogger.com (Eduardo Arguelles) — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 02:07:00 +0000

As I was pulled the entire way up!

This mornings ride was excellent! Not only did my wife exceed her maximum mileage, some good friends did as well. My wife Monette impresses almost every ride, though she suffered a bit at the end, she was a trooper. My friend Kelly Smith also exceeded his max mileage.. and took some monster pulls! Please excuse the quality of the image, it was in a Ziploc bag...
Eddie Palacios, Mon Daroy, Kelly Smith, Jorge Guerrero, Jorge(not sure about last name), Carlos Lopez, Monette Arguelles, and Myself.. Thanks for pulling us guys!!
And the results....

After the ride we met up with Kelly and had lunch at BJ's which has turned into an Arguelles family tradition after any 50+ miler..

Then Skyler and I went and had manicures and pedicures.. it was AWESOME!

Stage 5 - Wax on Wax off!

noreply@blogger.com (Eduardo Arguelles) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 02:11:00 +0000

Stage 5 was awesome... The peleton is still very nervous, Alberto Contador was put in his place by the nature of the race, one must always keep in mind, "what goes around comes around." His bad luck is simply the vengeance of a race without righteousness(2010 Tour) paying it back..

Hats off to Cavendish.. this man seems to flourish when the critics are chirping at their loudest! It's like Cavendish mush give them a big FUCK YOU then sweep the wins! Tyler Ferrar is an American and all, but he rubs me the wrong way for some reason, it's an innate feeling about him, he just doesn't strike me as a real sprinter, he has no fireworks, sprinters leave it all behind!

My ride was pretty awesome, rode with Eddie and Janie Palacios at a nice easy pace, giving my legs recovery from the rides these past 5 days.. Trying to keep sight of the goal, don't let the competition lure me into trying to train, instead my goal is to simply ride and enjoy it..

-ed

p.s. - the wife waxed my legs, the comeback must be real!

Stage 4 - Don't fuck with a mountain biker!

noreply@blogger.com (Eduardo Arguelles) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 20:43:00 +0000

Cadel Evans and perhaps my favorite roadie wins! YES! Goes to show, one should never ever fuck around with a mountain biker(loser alberto contador), simply put, mountain bikers are better cyclists, PERIOD! Better handling skills, better tactics, more endurance.. Lance Armstron(Mountain Biker), George Hincapie(Mountain Biker), hell anyone who is awesome is a mountain biker! .. Look at Mike Padgett... Even Che Ibarra got his start on a mountain bike..

-ed

Ride Through The Tour - Stage 1, 2 and 3

noreply@blogger.com (Eduardo Arguelles) — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 11:20:00 +0000

Stage 1 of the tour was pretty awesome, the nerves of the peleton were like the jelly stains on my torn up yet favorite Golden Corral T-shirt after eating too many donuts, APPARENT! My ride was pretty cool, my wife and I did a short loop, got to chat, then met up with family for breakfast.

Ride Data Here: http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/53132324

We went to the Municipal Park to check out the BBQ team competing, some cool rigs out there..

Later in the day we bbq'd with the family

Start with the brine - over night!
Then Roast them slowly... damn they are good!

Stage 2 - Team Time Trial.. it was awesome, not only is Alberto Contador further down, it was just awesome seeing the cohesion of the teams... my ride was good, well it was ok, went out with the team, saw a bunch of familiar faces, and some new ones. Mike and I had a good ride..

When the road turned to dirt.. Mike sped away..

Stage 3 - I know Tyler Ferrar wins, but am just watching the tour right now... My ride was good, rode with my wife to crossfit, where we parted ways.. my ride was good, listening to music and rode alone the rest of the time..

Happy 4th of July everyone!
-ed

on quitting...

noreply@blogger.com (Eduardo Arguelles) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 22:27:00 +0000

my nature is not usually to quit once something has been started; however, since there has been some commentary on my recent "quit" at the walk and rolla ride, a response is necessary.
the wind was 35 mph+, granted there have been rides in which the wind was stronger than that and finished on my part, but when my fitness was much higher, excuses, excuses, agreed. lets just say this then, you should have done it and seen just how much torture this ride was. my hats off to the awesome strong riders who finished one of this years hardest rides thus far...

and with that.. have a good day... hopefully my writing will get better now that blogging is cool again.

-ed

thursday social ride - pizza rustica

noreply@blogger.com (Eduardo Arguelles) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 17:54:00 +0000

we headed out around 8:00 p.m. thursday evening, joseph, eddie and i. the traffic was low, the headlights we not yet needed, and the conversation was good. wives, lives, kids, upcoming races, bosses, you know, the everyday struggle that keeps us going.

as we got past the main streets and onto the lesser traveled roads, there was a calm about the pace that was indescribable, almost a no chain spinning that is rare when facing head winds. my body was feeling bonkish as we got to pizza rustica, nothing that a coca-cola and a slice couldn't fix..

the restaurant itself is pretty quaint, reminded me of a diner once passed in a ghost town of a memory. first thing you see is a bar with pizza spread out like a train tunnel, with all kinds of pizza. i settled for a caprese with basil and buffalo mozzarella on a whole wheat crust... it was delicious and immediately i thought about my wife and how much she might like it.. turned out to be the opposite.

the guys ordered a sausage pizza and a chicken pizza, also good!
this is only the 2nd of what i hope becomes a every thursday evening event, but already it has been awesome. not sure where we are going next thursday but we'll let you know!

What's been going on..

noreply@blogger.com (Eduardo Arguelles) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 21:53:00 +0000

My son is now going to day care, he's having a bit of an issue when we drop him off, My wife assures me this is normal and they in fact not beating and mistreating him at the day care. So he's been learning to play the guitar when he gets home to ease the pain of being away from me for a few hours a day...
My anatomy and physiology class is going well. There is so much to learn, and surprisingly I am very very interested in the subject matter and seem to be absorbing the material well... This is on the wall in my lab... Thought it was hilarious.. My lab partners are all pretty cool and we seem to compliment each others abilities. Also my lab teacher and lecturer are very good.. learning is easy with them and the tools that UTPA now offers students..
I have been riding and attending Cross-fit pretty regularly, well not these past 1.5 weeks because of illness, it's all in my chest and head so riding, running and jumping are out of the question, however I am much better and think tomorrow might see me return to Cross-fit..

My son enjoys his rides, regardless of how he looks, or perhaps he's giving me the "Mike Padgett Look" you know the one that says.. "come on fatso, go faster!"

Took my brother in law to the local trails and he really enjoyed it.. Snapped this cool picture of him..
While on the road one day I came across this boot just sitting there, and for some reason it reminded me of .. well .. me! Don't ask why, there must have been a reason at the time..

Skyler finally learned how to ride her bike without training wheels.. she turns to me the other day and says, "I really like riding bikes now!" She achieved something pretty cool, her first taste of freedom...
and Finally.. my friend Eddie Palacios and his son Jospeh Palacios and I took a trip to Warda, Texas to preride Bluff Creek Ranch.. We had a lot of fun, even when Joseph took a pretty steep spill.. He was in good spirits.. and what doesn't kill you makes you stronger!!!

thanks for reading...

Eddie Arguelles

Do champions eat ice cream?

noreply@blogger.com (Eduardo Arguelles) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 17:40:00 +0000

Yes we do!

-ed

ahh.. its my birthday..

noreply@blogger.com (Eduardo Arguelles) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 17:14:00 +0000

the morning started out great.. went for a ride with my good friends.. the morning was just beautiful.. couldn't have asked for a better ride!
then steve started to strip in front of a dps trooper.. LMAO!

thanks steve and eric for a great bday ride!!

-ed

future cyclist..

noreply@blogger.com (Eduardo Arguelles) — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 16:26:00 +0000

i guess seeing dad ride these past 2 weeks gave santi the bug to ride on his own!! he was finishing up some tempo intervals...

soon he will give mike padgett the look!

my friend Don!

noreply@blogger.com (Eduardo Arguelles) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 02:35:00 +0000

rode with my good friend Don Green! what a great ride..
my pace is still slow, so i am grateful for anyone willing to put up with my lack of fitness! don needed a recovery ride so he came out, having already ridden at sullivan city, which we all know is a leg killer!

thanks Don! You are THE MAN!!!

-ed

on the trail..

noreply@blogger.com (Eduardo Arguelles) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 22:15:00 +0000

everything seems better after a ride on dirt... today it was a good ride, the flow of the trails was with me, too bad it didn't last more than 1 lap, seems my fitness knows no shame. fitness is one of those things that cannot be faked, it must be earned!

but now all is well, the wife is cooking dinner, the kids are napping and i'm left alone to enjoy some edamame while finishing up some work....

can't wait to be able to hang with the boys again, its coming!

-ed

training with my boy!

noreply@blogger.com (Eduardo Arguelles) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 19:58:00 +0000

did some muscle tension intervals with my son today..

just like his dad, he was pooped out by the end of the ride.. pulling a baby and a trailer behind you is some very good training!

-ed

morning rides

noreply@blogger.com (Eduardo Arguelles) — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 21:07:00 +0000

went for a morning ride and really enjoyed it! there is something about empty dark streets that soothes my agitation.

later that morning my sex trophy(santiago) and i went to the grocery store for some stuff, then we went to the bike shop, motorcycle shop, the park, and took him for a hair cut. boy this kid gets a lot of attention from the ladies..

santiago is a good baby. sits pretty still while they trim his hair..

tomorrow hopefully i'll get to go to the trails with don, it's been a long time since ive hit dirt.. looking forward to it!

-ed

ever read your old posts?

noreply@blogger.com (Eduardo Arguelles) — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 19:54:00 +0000

went as far back as my first post, it's funny how time passes. what's even funnier is how much has happened that isn't mentioned on the blog.. lol

still riding, albeit a bit.. ok a lot fatter! hah.. just more to love baby!

-ed

hmm.. highway to hell

noreply@blogger.com (Eduardo Arguelles) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 21:57:00 +0000

at the end of the day, the automobile will always beat the bicycle! not sure this was too smart of these austinites and critical mass..

thanks for the tweet jeff..

-ed

took a while..

noreply@blogger.com (Eduardo Arguelles) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 01:49:00 +0000

took a while to get this trademarked .. but if anyone wants one.. let me know

where's nemo?

noreply@blogger.com (Eduardo Arguelles) — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 18:13:00 +0000

took the kids swimming..

skyler..

santiago

Ride More Eat Less...

noreply@blogger.com (Eduardo Arguelles) — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 02:46:00 +0000

gonna start doing this...

Sunday commuter ride

noreply@blogger.com (Eduardo Arguelles) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:32:00 +0000

short and sweet.

-ed

like weeds...

noreply@blogger.com (Eduardo Arguelles) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 17:33:00 +0000

from this..

to this..

in just under 4 months!

Karma..

noreply@blogger.com (Eduardo Arguelles) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 14:59:00 +0000

Karma is NOT a bitch! I've found out the hard way karma is simply justice being enforced by nature. Karma never ends, karma is just another word used to describe "you get what you put in". So if you're an asshole chances are you will get shit on! Some people wonder why they are always in a shitty spot, well, time to evaluate what you put in! In the end, Karma is the ultimate enforcer of justice!

-ed

The essence of stupidity...

noreply@blogger.com (Eduardo Arguelles) — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 19:05:00 +0000

The essence of stupidity exists strongly amongst the shoppers of the HEB on 10th and Jackson Ave. One can expect to see that dumbfounded look ejaculating itself with uncensored enthusiasm whilst using that one crusty index finger on the lone star number pad at every checkout lane. The aggravation as they ask for lottery tickets immediately after paying cash for their 24 oz beers, fills my veins, and the thought of sweet death makes me smile, like the snuggle bear does in those commercials. Dealing with stupidity at this particular HEB feels as if there is a honey like drink oozing its way down my throat hole as slow as possible while inflicting the same kind of pain that only a dinosaur penis could inflict on a midgets asshole!

It hasn’t exactly been my week as far as rekindling my faith in humanities ability to exist intelligently!

-ed

hehe.. from the inside!

noreply@blogger.com (Eduardo Arguelles) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:44:00 +0000