Mike Roberto's Blog » Fitness

Regarding This Week’s Shark Attack in San Diego

Berto — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 16:49:47 +0000

Before I begin, I’d like to send my condolences out to the family of Dr. David Martin, who was killed by a great white shark in Solana Beach earlier this week.

I’ve recently received a good number of concerned messages after Dr. Martin’s death, since I’ve been swimming and surfing a lot lately. While I appreciate your concern, I am here to publicly state that I am not going to stop swimming or surfing due to fear of sharks.

I understand the risks I take every time I don a black wetsuit and get into the ocean. The natural marine life, whilst normally shark-free, is part of the fun, adrenaline-pumping process of becoming one with mother nature and her brutal, often unforgiving power.

Let’s be clear about it – When you enter the ocean, you become part of the food chain. And for the first time in your city-dwelling life, you are no longer on top of that chain.

And for that very reason, I don’t think it’s necessary that we hunt the shark that killed Dr. Martin. It was hungry and mistook him for a seal. Deal with it – sharks own the ocean, not us.

If I am killed by a shark while in the ocean, just know that I died while doing something I loved, I was happy as hell, and that I knew the risks that accompanied this endeavor. I will exercise all caution, and leave the water when I feel unsafe (surfers often get a sixth sense when the water feels eerily “sharky”).

If you don’t like it, go ride a bicycle.
See you in the water!

Cheers to My Personal Hero, C. Reeve

Berto — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 04:01:57 +0000

Those of you who followed me during the MS150 know how I excited I was on “the hunt”. Immediately after I finished the ride, I pulled my cell phone out of my bag and messaged Eric to see if he finished yet (he had not).

In the process, my ID and the $23 wrapped around it must have slipped out, because it was gone after that. I realized this later, and had to get to the airport early to board the flight and get searched.

So guess what I got in the mail today:

A letter from C. REEVE (let’s call him ‘Christopher’, for the obvious reasons) of Bridges Fairway in Houston:

FOUND THIS DL. ON THE STREETS OF AUSTIN, 4-13-08

with my ID enclosed. How amazing is that?! ‘Christopher’, you’re my new hero! As much as I love this part of California, Texas is the only place where I see such friendly people. Awesome!

So it’s time for a new poll. How do I re-pay Christopher?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Your comments are appreciated and welcome!

THANKS CHRISTOPHER!

(PS – It’s been far too long for me. We gotta file this one under HUMILIATIONS. Coming soon – my technological review of the tracker app, along with a write-up on the cycling culture I witnessed)

Thank You to my MS150 Sponsors

Berto — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:23:06 +0000

I’d like to thank all of my sponsors who donated to the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation for my ride into Austin. Here’s the list of everyone, in order of contribution date:

Ashley
Uncle Anthony
Rowler
Jordan
Geri
Aunt Maddie
Gramma
Marilyn G.
Joe P.
Mom
Brian
Brother Nick
Aunt Patty
Big Mike Roberto
Kathy G.
Ddoson
John Z.
Lon
KiRBY!
Allison and Polly
Jamie (donated after the race – you can do this too!)

THANKS!

173.29 Miles Later…

Berto — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 19:32:46 +0000

Yall know I love Austin, but never has it felt so good to get back in!

I made it in at 2PM on the nose after traveling through tons of farm country, the Austin outskirts, and then into downtown and through UT.

Results from the hunt? Success! The lion has caught the gazelle and will be eating good tonight!

Lunch and the Hunt

Berto — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 16:16:12 +0000

Eric, Steve, Jessica, and Kristen are 8 miles ahead of me. There are 32 or so miles to Austin.

The hunt is ON.

Cold Morning!

Berto — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 15:15:57 +0000

La Grange was cool, but by 4am it got way too cold in Texas last night.

So I cacooned up in the sleeping bag and didn’t wake up until the last minute. I’m a bit behind the early birds!

Now I’m at a rest stop, I took the challenge route but took a wrong turn and ended up with the slackers. Probably for the better!

So now its time to catch up and cookem out there. I really wish I didn’t forget my headphones in Austin. I’d love to have them around my neck.

Biofreeze rules!

100 Miles, 90 Against Wind

Berto — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 00:04:21 +0000

We’re in La Grange!

The ride ended up great, after lunch I tore it up on the third quarter, but really struggled the next 15 miles.

My bike says I averaged 15mph and it took 6.5 hours.

I didn’t mention this, but we faced 10-15 mph winds nearly the entire time. This was nothing new for me, but it really wore on us as the day went on.

I did a lot of riding with Eric G, and then Platt and Dylan. Good times, we did a lot of drafting off each other.

Time for a beer and the best night of sleep under a tent ever! I feel like jello.

See you in Austin!

Beagling in Bellville

Berto — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 16:40:31 +0000

Lunch time!

I’m ahead of most of my friends, so I’m waiting around to eat with them.

So far all is good, my main ride partner has been Kristen, James’ girlfriend.

Just before lunch we hit some hills, nothing tough, but I realized how much I like climbing. I was pasing everyone in high gear.

The beginning of the ride was a bit frustrating for the faster guys, which doesn’t include me really. It takes until the first breakpoint to separate the chumps from the champs and to scatter everyone. In the meantime, you got these cyclists who are completely passive aggressive and get mad at people who hang on the left, and rightly so sometimes. But shut up with the abide comments!

The GPS is tracking but I’m low on battery and when I lose intenet access in the middle of nowhere, things shut down.

Ok everyone is here, see ya!

Howdy from Houston

Berto — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 02:34:35 +0000

This is a test post from my phone. I have some bugs in my tracker program but I think I figured the quirks out.
Houston is a hellhole. I can see why this ride is FROM Houston and not TO it… Nobody would want to participate! The most epic part of the ride is leaving this dumpster of a town, and hopefully not returning for a year!

In all seriousness, we’re stocked and ready to go, and James’ bike is phenomenal! See ya early in the morning!

Riding the 2008 MS 150 From Houston to Austin: Help Donate!

Berto — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 02:00:18 +0000

Hey everyone!

On April 12, I will be joining the MS 150, a 2-day biking adventure from Houston to Austin to help raise funds for people living with Multiple Sclerosis.

The path is roughly 165 miles long. The 2008 tour map isn’t out yet, but you can see the 2007 map here.

I need to raise $400.00 to the MS Society to ride. Please help me by donating a few bucks to my MS150 fund.

In return for your donations, I promise to work very hard and finish the race (barring any major catastrophes).

Most of you know that I’m a swimmer and not a biker. In order to learn more about the hardcore training that bikers go through, I’ve been reading Cyclist’s Training Bible by Joel Friel. It is for bikers way more experienced than myself, but I enjoy the technical and scientific aspects of the sport.

I’ve been training along the South Bay Bike Path, which gets extremely interesting once you make it past the airport and into Venice Beach. For hill work, I will begin going to parts of this Palos Verdes Peninsula path.

Thanks for your endless support!
berto

PS: I am going to be taking a break from writing for a while. My past few articles have received a great amount of traffic, and I should ride that momentum, but I have too many projects going on for now. I’ll be back later, feel free to contact me.