My beast for the week

And I get to listen to A LOT of music.

Road Trippin’

www.youtube.com/watch?v=11GYvfYjyV0

For those that don’t get the title reference:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBaqJj4aPDY

It’s amazing what one good race can do for your confidence. I thought I might have lost a step or two after taking so much time off from actual distance running. I guess the last 8 weeks of pick up soccer have really paid off though, because I kicked ass on that hill. I’m sure all my biking didn’t hurt either….

Only three ways to get faster: Hills, Steps, and Sprints…and I love ‘em all.

It was also a pleasure to have my Dad out for the weekend….never underestimate the power of family at a race. It was like being a kid all over again, stomping on home plate and running back to the dugout to get a high five from Coach (especially since my Dad was our baseball coach).

You can tell this is pre race because I still have a shirt on

Coach and I

About to head out for a warm up run

Waiting...

Waiting....

Go!

21:22 later...didn't want to keep Dad waiting too long....

Tired and smiling, a great feeling

I hear the minerals in beer are good for you after a run....

Congrats to everyone who ran, I hope you had as much fun as I did! And a special heartfelt thanks to Pops for not being too put off that I want to go run a race right after he drove 8 hours to see me. Besides, I think he had enough fun at the after party to make it worthwhile.

I’m speaking of course, about my father.

Still living in DC, my Dad and I don’t get to see each other enough, and the fact that I have owned a building here in Cincy for 4 months and he hasn’t seen it in person is absurd (not to mention he has a plethora of tools to bring out for me).

As excited as I am to have him out here checking out the building, we won’t be spending all weekend doing manual labor. Sure I’ll take him on a tour of the place and we’ll pick apart all the problems of the building and the busts in the plans I have so far…but this meeting of the minds will cover far more topics than homeownership and renovation.

Getting goofy with Greg Koch of Stone Brewing Co

Of the many passions in our lives that we share, beer is certainly close to the top of the list. The pictures you see are from the SAVOR event held annually by the Brewers Association in Washington DC. A higher end craft beer and food tasting, I made it to the first two in 2008 and 2009, and unfortunately had to pass this year to attend (and be a part of) a friends wedding.

Well fuck you too then

I’m excited to show off how far Cincinnati has come since the last time my Dad was here, both in its physical development, as well as its beer development (Moerlein IPA anyone?).

Adam Avery of Avery Brewing Co and former employer of my sister (who left because she is now a "glutard")

Who knows, we might even make it up to Listermann and grab some things to make a beer. It was the two of us who began our homebrewing careers together in the summer of 2006 while I was at Miami.

Hop Head

Most of all I’m just excited to have a weekend with him (and my sisters awesome little doggy who is coming along for the ride).

More photos from Savor:

RastafaRye

Raw Bar...cool, but not really my thing

Oh yeah, and we took the Metro to and from the event…..would certainly be nice if we had alternative transportation options here in Cincinnati….

Coolest sunrise of my life….

Crazier than that was getting on bikes and riding 38 miles back down to sea level. Rain suits come off about halfway down.

All of a sudden we were met with a set of glass doors, on the other side of which was sweet, cool A/C. “Tickets please fellas,” called a lady at a narrow podium, slipping us pink wristbands after verification of our seats.

The next words out of her mouth really threw me for a loop. “Go ahead and help yourselves to some food, there’s stuff all along the concourse.”

To think I almost bought peanuts to bring in the stadium

I picked up my jaw off the floor and kept moving. I had been mentally preparing myself to spend loads of cash on food and beer, all the while sweating my ass off, and here I was in the A/C with free Montgomery Inn, La Rosa’s, and what’s more, 20 oz Moerlein OTR on draft for a reasonable (ballpark) price.

Club seats are the best of both worlds. Right along the first base line above the suites, the concourse has A/C while the seats are still outside. I’ve been in boxes before, they’re cool, but you’re a little detached from the actual ballgame experience (“Beer Here!”). In the club the seats are padded, and the nosebleeds above provide some shade, so you’re still on the luxury side of ballpark seating.

It is kinda crazy, I think half the people in this section were under 12.

This kid was either dancing or running up for more cinnamon breadsticks

Too bad they lost 1-0, but at least they got 2 outta 3 in the series.

Still a blast to be at a game.

And I got a new angle of QCS.

Oh yeah, and not only is there free food inside, but free icy pops being handed out in the aisles! Beer cooler anyone?

This was my first Reds game of the season….might be my last cause I won’t get to live this good at any others (unless I win tickets to the county box again like I did last year [which I just read they are not doing this year...BS!])

Besides Race St, work, and some casual social outings (like Monday night pick-up soccer) I don’t have much else going on. Desperate to stay in some sort of shape, I’ve been getting on my bike at least twice a week. Due to the nature of the above schedule I’m pretty much confined to night time rides (the fact that it’s a million degrees out doesn’t hurt either).

I already ride around with a backpack, and I’m thinking a little tripod might be in my future, because finding ledges and things to use as a stabilizer can be difficult, especially when I need a specific angle to try and shoot, say, a new skyscraper.

By that last sentence you’d think I was an actual photographer with something other than my little Point and Shoot. I’m not….

As much love as I have for the city, I would go crazy if I couldn’t escape to nature every now and again. Mountain biking, disc golf, just a walk through the woods–I need to get away here and there. Some days that just doesn’t happen, and that’s where a little greenery in the city can help soften the hard lines and times of the concrete jungle. The pictures here are from the model unit in the Gateway building, where I was tasked with putting together some plant material to liven up the roof deck. Every morning I’m afforded the luxury of walking over to water the planters, and I have to be honest, it’s a very relaxing way to start my day. It takes me back to my college days of wandering the rows of the greenhouse watering and pruning (and I didn’t even work there, I just did it for fun). It’s a reminder that despite everything going on around us, there can be a simple existence involving nothing more than sun, water, soil and some photosynthesis (although remembering cell bio, there is nothing simple about it =).

And let’s not forget, soil bacteria can make you happy!

You see, we have one thing Columbus does not that is pretty irrefutable….hills. Not only are they great for running and biking, but they provide some pretty stellar views.

Someone call Duke and get that transformer out of there

Come July 4th those hills can give you a wide angled scene of dozens of fireworks shows, the likes of which I’ve only experienced on the top of a 34 story building in Chicago.

It will also give you a view of the fire that started across town (remember kids, booze and fireworks don’t mix well [actually they do, except that one time...])

If you live tucked into a hillside with a view of the basin, you are required to have a telescope. I looked into the one sitting on the top floor of our hosts’ house to find it aimed perfectly down Main St.

This is the point where I need a better camera, or at least a tripod. But I think you’ll get the idea.

As cool as fireworks are, it’s not really a party until someone brings out the sparklers.

A little puppy love also added to a great time.

Guard dog that knows what's really valuable...beer

To our hosts that evening, thank you very much, I know I had a blast, and everyone else sure looked like they were having fun as well! In fact I’m pretty sure the right phrase was on display in your house….

I remember being 15, on my bike, tooling around in the driveway for hours.

Wheelies, endos, bunny hops, hell just practicing track stands….

I’m a bit older now, and I don’t confine myself to the driveway anymore…instead I just pick spots in the city to play around.

Don’t get me wrong, I love going out and socializing, and bars can be fun on a weekend night….

….but I’m just as happy on two wheels.

After running home to change I started my journey by heading back up to OTR before sprinting down Race St to the river.

Over-The-Rhine fascinates me even more than it did 3 years ago when I moved here. Majestic Music Hall sitting right across from boarded up treasures labeled with the plight of the neighborhood.

Moving on….

It’s always a nice cruise down race (or walnut) from OTR to Downtown. Once you cross central parkway the lights time up, almost egging you on to pedal faster and hit the river without stopping. Although sometimes I loop around 5chw4r7z’s so I can get a view of QCS.

Being close to the river feels good. Sure, it’s not the cleanest body of water out there, but I did swim in it and live….so I like cruising down to Friendship Park and the Serpentine Wall. I guess the sun knew it was the reason I was out and about…it certainly caught my eye on the south shore….

When I’m that close I always ride over to NKY and back. Something about crossing state lines make any workout seem that much more badass.

Returning to the other side of the river I always face a dilemma: do I ride back through downtown, or torture myself on some hills in Mt. Adams?

Yeah, the hills normally win.

When it really started to get dark I kept my camera in my pocket and just rode. I put my headphones on to drown out the world and got lost in endless pedal strokes. It felt good to just zone out for a while and wear myself down.

The last rays of sun had set and the sky was growing darker by the minute as I cranked down Reading Rd. Living so close to Neon’s can be a great thing, and that night it seemed appropriate to just show up on my bike as opposed to going home and showering first. I ran into a couple of friends (oh neighborhood bar, how I love thee) and enjoyed a pint (or two) before we all remembered it was a school night.

A little break and a few beers can do great things though, and I wasn’t ready to pack it in yet. I know it’s closed, but frankly I just felt like going to hang on the Serpentine Wall…so I did.

One reason not to hang out there at night (besides the fact you will be asked to leave pretty quickly) are the crazy looking bugs that swarm the light poles.

With creepy bug pictures under my belt (was that really necessary, prolly not) and security in my ear, it was time to pack it in for the night. With a gentle ride up Eggleston I was home, completely content with my summer solstice ride.

*                    *                    *

It’s nighttime, around 9:30, and I’m still up at Race St, work boots and all. My jeans are starting to have permanent sweat stains on them because it’s getting hot. I’m sitting on a chair that looks like it came from an elementary school (it probably did) watching some guys play chess in my garage. I finish my tallboy that I picked up next door and say my goodbyes to the crowd that has become an unexpected group of friends.

I drive home–all of seven blocks–relishing the A/C that’s pouring from my vents. As I do many nights, I pull in the apartment garage and sit in my car while I wait for the song that’s playing to end (have I mentioned how much I love music?).

I’m tired. The project is wearing on me. It’s tough to measure progress a day at a time.

I get out of my car and head upstairs. Normally I would shower and fall over on the couch, done for the day. For some reason though I change into shorts, grab my camera and leave my apartment. I need some thinking/outside time.

I walk down Court St towards the Greyhound station and the bridge that spans I-71–one of my favorites for many reasons. It’s an easy way to get from downtown to Mt. Adams. There is a wild juxtaposition between life at the bottom of the bridge and life at the top. It’s also relatively steep, which makes it a good running spot.

My mind wanders as I approached the steps that lead up to the bridge. A burst of light followed closely by that unmistakable fireworks BOOM snaps my head back to reality.

I grab my camera from my pocket and start shooting. At first I think it’s just someone firing off a few shells from their house, but the bursts keep coming.

I realize this is more than an amateur event, so I start climbing higher on the bridge.

I reach the top and the fireworks are exploding at what appears to be a little over head height.

It was all pretty cool as it’s not often I see exploding balls of light at eye level.

The Finale

The shows over, and my mood has done a 180. Not that I was even in a bad mood per se, just frustrated. But now I’m just happy and grinning–my worries about Race St are fading away like the smoke trail left from the show.

*                    *                    *

I don’t know why I do the things I do, but everything happens for a reason.

I don’t know why I sat around for half an hour drinking a beer at Race St. I don’t know why I left my apartment when I did, or why I walked over to that bridge instead of down to the river. The list of actions I’ve taken for which I have little to no explanation is endless. But somehow it all makes sense when I stumble across a random fireworks show in the middle of the city.

*                    *                    *

As I walk home, I start running through pictures in my head of what Race St looked like when I bought it a couple of months ago (a la yesterday’s post). Progress is much easier to measure in months, and that thought calms me down enough to hit the sack and prepare for another day of work.

Here’s a look at what I bid on vs where I am now.

Second floor, one day it will be a kitchen again.

Second floor, from ghetto bathroom to, well, not much of anything.

Third floor, supposedly I’m gonna turn these old kitchen connections into laundry hookups.

Third floor, my future bedroom and the stairwell down to the second floor. Let there be light.

The moral of the story….I have A LOT to do still.

It started off well a few Friday’s ago with a 7:30 am wakeup call from Rumpke, giving me a 15 minute heads up that the driver was on his way.

I came back that afternoon to start wrecking stuff, but the real work was done over the weekend, when I had a few helping hands to knock shit out.

The evil looking ceiling ripper

We pulled ceilings, wrecked bathrooms, removed 90% of all the plaster from the brick, knocked out walls, and packed–to the brim–that Rumpke container.

The chipper hammer was a must

Before the 2nd floor bathroom disappeared

3rd floor bath gone

My buddy Mitch was awesome, and we cranked on Saturday after a few other guys had left. We got a lot of brick exposed on the 2nd floor before he left to head back to Columbus.

Sunday a few guys came back, and we kept tearing things to pieces.

Before

During

After

2nd Floor bath being cut up

One very full dumpster

With 90% of the 2nd and 3rd floor demo complete, here is where I stand:

Ceilings ready for new electric and insulation

Office/Laundry (the range goes eventually) with bathroom on the other side of the stud wall

Bedroom, wall comes out still

Kitchen area and hall back to Living Room

]]> http://www.theboilover.com/2010/05/7-8-tons/feed/ 4 http://www.theboilover.com/2010/05/reflective-ride/ http://www.theboilover.com/2010/05/reflective-ride/#comments Wed, 12 May 2010 14:45:46 +0000 theboilover http://www.theboilover.com/?p=1143 It was a beautiful day last Thursday. I had spent the week up to that point working on my Race St project, and with a weekend of demolition coming up I thought I would take a day off to get back on my bike. I’ve been having a blast working up there, but it has put a severe dent in my running and biking. I decided to cruise down and snap a few shots of QCS (see yesterdays post) and just enjoy being out on the town.

I was out riding without music, which leaves my head a little clearer to think about stuff (namely, how the hell am I going to rebuild the interior of a house!!!). It was a good time for reflection…which I then started taking literally.

I cruised up into OTR from downtown, figuring the sun was right to get some shots of the detail on my new place.

Right up the street is Rookwood Pottery, who was hosting the first tapping of Christian Moerlein IPA.

At the end of Race St lies a pretty cool church, with an iconic hand pointed towards the sky.

I then rode back down to the riverfront to meet up with the Thursday Night Slow Ride, a member of which informed me they would be at The Banks in 5 minutes. I beat them there, and snapped some photos of Roebling Bridge during the painting.

This was right below the stairway from the bridge down to the street.

The Banks.

I found the group, and we actually rode through the painting tarps on the suspension bridge. It’s not the first time I’ve ridden across the bridge during construction.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky-jtmdzBxI

We then cruised from Covington to Newport, and then back to Fountain Square. Oh yeah, and we found the Girls Gone Wild bus down by the Levee.

I know it’s a shitty picture, but it’s true. Life. Happens. Here. At least my life.