Abstract Monkhood-Induced Ramblings

I have a soft mute button on my television. It doesn’t completely mute all sound but just brings the volume down to a less distracting level.

This is the best way I can describe it. It’s as if I am sitting in a chair, staring at the wall, fixated on a certain point that I cannot defer my attention from. Although I am locked into this sight I still have to manage everything in my peripheral. The focus has become amplified as the peripheral images and sounds have become softly muted. I am still here and present, but ultimately my mind is consumed by my goal.

As I rolled out the door in negative degree temperature conditions for my second workout of the day on Friday night, I found myself gazing through a narrow looking glass. I glanced around town as I watched guys and gals dressed to the tee, talking on there cell phones discussing where the party is at, laughing, consuming alcohol and food, and unwinding from their week’s endeavors. I rolled by pubs, clubs and bars looking in the windows while people, warmed by the heat of the protective indoors and their hard liquor, pointed at me in what seemed to be mixed emotions of amazement, disgust, disbelief, and ridicule.
In the midst of dodging a preoccupied SUV chalked full of teenagers I began to realize that in that instance I did not feel like a civilian any longer. I was something else. I was a man engaged in a tour of duty of sort; all the while my battleground was the landscape of my residence.

Ideas like fun, humor, hanging out, lounging, seem trivial to my current planned equation. I’ll have plenty of time for those agendas further down the road.

The other day, Dybo commented to me, “make sure you are enjoying it”. Those words resonated in my mind the rest of the day until I began to realize that the journey, if done right, is going to be as defining as the desired result.

Eat, sleep, live clean, train, focus, organize…monkhood. I’m feeling good and who cares, I’m flying.

Joining the Crew: Big Wheels, Big Ideas, and Big Aspirations in 2009

There it stood before me, it was beautiful, dark cherry with gray accents. I had never saw such a complex yet sophisticatedly simple machine, I had to have it. I milled around the store, kicked a few more tires, contemplated some other more frugal choices but something kept drawing me back into that one machine, it had panache. “Dad, come over here, look at this one” I yelled to my father across the store as he to was marveling at the intricacies of engineering as well as the high price tags. “What do you think of this one?” I asked my dad. He proceeded to examine the price tag more than the machine itself. Holding the tag between his thumb and index finger he looked at me and replied, “this one is a little more than we had discussed, I tell you what, we’ll pay for half”. Knowing clearly I could not afford even half of such a striking piece of machinery, I started conjuring up financing plans in my head. I would have to work 6 months to save for this thing! Six months to a seventeen year old punk was almost an eternity. However, I failed to realize I had a high school graduation party just around the corner, and that meant gifts of money! Yes traditionally this money probably should of beeen put toward college expenses and other more responsible financial choices but I saw it as my ticket for my first “real” mountain bike.

A few weeks later we rolled a brand new, shiny 1996 Gary Fisher Joshua XO full suspension mountain bike out of Antoon’s Bike Shop, who would of guessed several years later, straight out of college and equipped with a bachelor’s degree in teaching, I would be working there full-time.

That bike was my introduction to the sport. It taught me what it meant to voluntarily engage in an activity that makes you suffer and keep coming back for more. At times, usually when it was all clean and propped up in my garage as I peered at it in lust, I loved it. Other times, usually just after I had puked from walking my bike up a hill at PLRA, I hated it and wondered why I ever wasted money on it. Nonetheless, that Gary Fisher mountain bike was the seed that grew into the Finkelstein of today.


In true nostalgic form, I am proud to announce that in 2009, I will be racing with the Gary Fisher 29er Crew. I have to admit that it is a bit poetic that in the year I step onto a world cycling stage for the first time, I am fortunate enough to do it with the support of the company in which it all started for me. Really, it's the name in which it all started for all of us.


Gary Fisher…the first and last name in mountain biking. I have big wheels, big ideas, and big aspirations in 2009.

Assuagement

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go" T. S. Eliot

On Monday of this week I received a heart dropping email from the organizers of the 2009 World 24hr Solo Championships stating that due to a grandfather clause of past participants, and despite my qualification, that I possibly may not be granted a spot in this year’s competition. Last year was a record-breaking year for attendance and they anticipate this year to be even more packed.

Hi Tim,

Later this afternoon we will be announcing the 11th annual World Solo 24 Hours of Adrenalin Championships. The event will be returning to Canmore, Alberta this coming July 24 - 26, 2009. Thanks for sharing your interest in the event. The 2008 event was the largest International field in the history of the championships and with this years team event selling out in 18 hours a year in advance it's looking to be another banner year.

I see a Tim Finkel in our database from 2003, our last year at Hardwood. Is that you? DOB: MAR/3/1979 in Michigan.

Tim, it's going to be extremely difficult to get a entry for this event, however winning the HAN certainly boosts well.

I suggest that you submit a race resume as soon as possible.

Thanks,

Stuart


As I read this my mind raced, followed by a complete loss of words or reaction. This is was what I set out to do…where would I go from here? I never considered any other goals for this season.

Yesterday I opted to scale back my training plans for the day to stay late at work and compile a convincing cover letter and race resume for the organization in the hopes that I will be granted a spot.

Today, ironically during my 3rd Hour Bike Mechanics class I received the following email from Stuart:

Morning Tim,

Thank you for providing a cover letter and race resume. Based on the information provided I'm happy to grant you a slot for the 2009 World Solo 24 Hours of Adrenalin Championships. Please note that qualifying is going to change within the next 10 days so this is only guaranteed if you register with this period. I have activated your old profile on our web site, please log in and update all your information today please.

Thanks again for your interest and look forward to meeting you,

Stuart



As I read it I burst out loud with excitement and may have even jumped off the ground a little bit. My students looked at me in confused wonderment. Following this reaction, I made them all drop everything they where working on at the moment and turn their attention to the big screen which projected my computer monitor. As I read my acceptance letter with proud proclamation, the students and other staff in the room applauded.

Due to the urgency of the matter, I performed a bit of personal business on company time and quickly registered during my 6th hour prep time today. I can now for the first time proudly say there is no turning back…I am in. 196 more days…how will I spend them?

I never considered that there would be difficulty getting into this race granted I qualified. The realization of this drastically altered my motivation and spirit; I was crushed. However, after having to go through the week long emotional roller coaster of realizing this dream may not come to fruition, and then actually having everything pan out in the end, I have come to value the fortunate situation I am now in more so than if there had been zero hiccups in the process. This small derailment has equated to even more burning passion and aspiration; it was a blessing.

Monkhood.

Monkhood (n): Live Simply. Eat clean and lean. Sleep well. Train Hard. Train Smart. Focus all mental and physical energy on the task at hand. Organize priorities. Abstain from alcohol and any other form of indulgences other than riding.

If 2008 taught me one thing it is the realization of the power of mental commitment and the results that can follow.

Recently, 24 hours of Adrenaline announced that the 2009 World Solo 24 Hour Mountain Bike Championships will be held at the Canmore Nordic Center in Alberta, Canada on July 25th.

201 days lay in front me. Come July 25th, I want to stand at the line, crowd roaring the countdown, with the assurance I spent those days making the most optimal preparation choices. All decisions must ultimately lead to one specific goal.

This past holiday season I spent my final days enjoying my family and friends and the love that surrounds me, their support will carry me through this journey. New Years Eve brought about a last supper of sorts, as I partook in one final indulgence before diving into the depths of dedication.

I have changed one perspective this season however. I viewed last season as a personal quest. I relied on myself for motivation and I admittedly developed a self-absorbed, narcissistic attitude. This time around I intend to realize how all of this fits into the big picture: family, friends, and future. I do not intend to go about this alone but rather with the community that surrounds me.

Training has always been a bit of a catch-22 for me. In essence, I put off doing everyday necessary tasks to go riding (organizing bills, finances, my basement, garage, files, etc.). However, if I negate riding to tend to these tasks, I get extreme anxiety from my time off the bike. Likewise, I receive anxiety while training when I think about the ancillary responsibilities I have put off to go ride. As a step toward monkhood, I have spent the past few days developing organizational systems for my belongings, and getting rid of as many material items that are not commonly utilized but take up space and mental energy. Live simply.

In Fight Club, Tyler Durden states that you don’t own your material possessions, they own you.

Monkhood. This race will receive all of me.

What is your destination? How are you going to get there? Who else is with me?

2008 Mileage in Review:

First off, if you were not racing the longest stage race in the world this past season, make sure you are registered this season. We are already 4 stages in, don’t delay, sign up today.

2008 brought about a Hermit-man inspired perfect palindrome total of 13531 miles.

I sat on the saddle for 845 hours.

I averaged about 37 miles a day.

I dedicated an average time slice of 2hours and 21minutes each day to my two-wheeler.

I may have even run a mile or two on foot as well…It’s hard to say.

Steed Overview:
LeMond Victiore: 4,301 miles



Trek Top-Fuel 9.9: 2,634 miles



Trek 69er: 2,956 miles



Kona Hei Hei SS Winter Beater: 1,240 miles



Trek STP SS Winter Beater: 474 miles



Fetish Cyclocross Bike: 257 miles



Nas-Track Bike: 95 miles



Cycle Ops Trainer: (And although some may argue these miles are irrelevant) 1,574


So what will 2009 yield? I can tell you this, the miles as well as the wheels will be getting bigger...stay tuned.

Beard Update:

Fell short 66 days...
Sometimes ideas are not the best when not clearly thought out...
Sometimes we just need a fresh start.

As Linus is to his blanket, so I have become to my new toy…

Every year I like to treat myself to a little present from me to me. After a year or so of lusting, wanting, yearning and wishing, I have finally bit the bullet and bought myself what seems to be the most intelligent instrument I have ever had my hands on, the illustrious icon of human revolution: the iPhone. In the 1950s, NASA started sending wavelengths to space in the hopes to communicate with intelligent extraterrestrial life; clearly the iPhone is the product of this allied attempt, as it seems to be some sort of advanced alien technology not derivative of human capability. I now walk around armed with more technology in my pocket than the astronauts equipped themselves with on their maiden voyage to the moon in 1969.



Yes folks it seems that I have fallen victim to the clever marketing tactics of the Apple Cooperation, as I am a Macbook user, own two iPods, and now the iPhone. What have I become, am I merely a lemming that has fallen in line with the masses? Perhaps…but I will tell you something, I have no words to describe how amazing this little device is. I have only owned it for about 72 hours and it has already changed my life in so many ways that I don’t know how I ever managed to function without it; it completes me. I will not ramble on about it’s virtual infinite possibilities and applications, but I will say this: if Steve Jobs offered me some tasty kool aid and asked me to lie down and take a nap, I may be so hypnotized by his ingenuity that I just may follow suit.