mashby | The personal blog of Michael Ashby

April 5, 2003

They Walk Among Us

Dungeons & Dragons - Original Box I was just watching Conan O’ Brian on TV and they had Vin Diesel as a guest. He was promoting his new movie A Man Apart. The first time I remember seeing Vin was in Pitch Black, which I thought was an ok movie, but Vin’s performance was pretty cool. Then I saw him in The Fast And The Furious. The movie was ok and his performance was so-so, but it was XXX that did it in for me. That movie was complete garbage. So, my overall impression of Vin Diesel was pretty low.

Then, just 10 minutes ago, Mr. Diesel just admitted to being into Dungeons & Dragons (aka D & D). Not only that, but he created his own character whose name was tattooed on his stomach in XXX. 8) I didn’t hear the name clearly, but I think he said it was Melcor. Don’t belive me? See for yourself.

Back before video games, there was D&D and it was a great game to use your imagination and have fun playing with friends. With pencil and paper we would map out dungeons on graph paper, roll 20 sided die to see if we killed an Orc and read books on what to do next. Think about that compared to playing games today. Imagine having to read entire books on how to play a game using a pencil and paper. With Gameboy Advanced SP flying off the shelves today, what I’m describing sounds like pure insanity! :O

To play D&D you had to be pretty committed to the game. It wasn’t Monopoly, or Clue where you could pick it up in a few minutes. D&D was a game that you had to really dig deep to learn how to play and you had to keep records in order to continue playing in the future. So, hearing that Vin Diesel was into this game bumped him up a notch in my book. I know that’s geeky, but watch out, or I’ll attack you with a level 4 poison missile spell. 😉

April 4, 2003

Yoga And My State Of Zzzzzzzzzen

Zzzzzzz Yesterday I was quite adventurous and decided to ride my bicycle to the gym. 11 miles later I arrived at the Maryland Farms YMCA feeling pretty good about the ride and in high spirits that my cycling is improving. I was there to attend the 6:30 Gentle Yoga class taught by Bliss Wood. It’s a great class and Bliss is really good about giving alternative poses for those of us that are as limber as Frankenstein. She’s even beginning to push us just a little bit by giving us some more challenging asanas.

I arrived there feeling all loose and ready to tackle the class having cycled for the last hour and a half. Of course that’s not the ideal state of your “body mind” when you enter a yoga class :P, but I was still breathing a little heavy and cruising on the adrenaline of accomplishment. The class is an hour long and as the class progressed, I was feeling more and more relaxed, but still getting a good workout from all the poses. Towards the end of the class, she leads us in a bit of guided meditation. It’s one of the best parts of the class because you really feel open and relaxed and mellow. At the end of the meditation, she rings a little bell and then has us sit up as she closes the class. Continue Reading

April 3, 2003

Stretching It Out

I rode to the Maryland Farms YMCA today. Good ride overall. My legs were in MUCH better form. I only walked one hill – due more to fear than anything else.

I’m still not 100% used to the SPD clips and I was in rush hour traffic on Old Hickory Blvd with no shoulder. I figured it would be better to walk it than to chance it and fall into traffic. %) So, other than that one section, I rode the entire course!

Overall, the ride felt great and I’m finally starting to feel just a little bit like my old self. However, I was glad that I was meeting Holly at the Y. She had my truck, so I was able to lock my bike to the rack and ride home with her. 🙂

Total Miles: 11 miles

April 2, 2003

Two More Days Of Rest

Well, I haven’t worked out at all, or cycled for the last two days. I’ve simply been in too much pain. Not unbarable pain mind you, just simple muscle fatigue and overall soreness.

By this afternoon however, my legs are feeling much better and I think I’m going to try and ride tomorrow morning. That is if I can stop working on the weblog and get some sleep. 🙂

April 2, 2003

A Few Changes Here And There

Cycling Since I’m doing more activities like yoga and now cycling, I thought it might help to have a separate dedicated section. Thus “recreation” (EDIT: discontinued) has been added to the site. I plan on using this section mostly as a workout log, detailing some of the recreational activities I’m involved in. Besides, I think you’d get tired of reading about my posterior pain all the time. 😛 Also, I’ve added a SETI section to the Odds & Ends page (EDIT: discontinued).

March 30, 2003

And On The 7th Day

Took a day of rest today. My legs are really tight and sore and I simply needed to rest them. Besides, it’s Sunday!

March 29, 2003

Glutton For Punishment

With my legs and ass killing me after two days of riding, I still woke at 6am, donned my cycling shoes and rode to Starbucks. With Dan still in town, we agreed to meet there for breakfast to go over a few things. I noticed some very small improvements in my climbing and overall performance, which was encouraging; however I am far from competent. I don’t know how far I cycled because I don’t have a cycle computer, so I’ll have to drive it to find out.

Overall, it was an excellent ride. It was cold and a bit rainy when I started out, but I love the slop so that was only encouraging me. Dan didn’t ride again today which gave me a bit of bravado with the fact that I was on my 3rd day in a row and Dan had chickened out two days in a row. 😀

I’m going to take at least a day off though, my legs feel like they have to sides of beef nailed to them and my legs are near atrophy. I don’t want to injure myself and lose all that I’ve accomplished thus far.

March 28, 2003

Back In The Saddle Again

It’s been almost a year since I’ve been on a bicycle and it’s been about 10 years since I’ve done any serious riding. So yesterday afternoon I did a 16-mile ride with one of my closest friends, Dan Westman.

Since January, I’ve been working out at the YMCA. Monday is treadmill and upper body weight training and Wednesday is yoga. With all of this activity I figured I’d fair pretty well overall on our ride. Suffice to say, that wasn’t the case. Instead, I was dragging ass on every hill and every climb. 🙁

It was like I was re-discovering new muscles. Even with all my previous workouts, I simply hadn’t used the muscles needed for a climb. It’s hard to explain, but it was as if I just found some new “interior” muscles in my upper thigh that my body was so happy it found them that is decided to set them on fire. Add to the equation that I was attempting to drag my lard ass up the hill and I think you can begin to feel my pain. Continue Reading

March 28, 2003

Takin’ That Hill Again

Dan and I met for breakfast this morning. We had agreed to meet at Waffle House, each of us riding from our respective homes. Well, I lived up to my end of the bargin, but Dan complained about alergies or something. If I wasn’t such a dead weight on the hills I’d have ragged him more. 🙂

March 27, 2003

First Day

First day back in the saddle. I wrote all about it in the main log [link], but I rode for about 16 miles according to Dan’s cycle computer. Brutal on the hills, but it felt so good to be riding again.