Full Throttle

For the past week I've been waking up scratching at bumps that weren't there the night before.  Don't get excited, I recognized them as spider bites.  I've had my fair share of them being as how I spend a good deal of time in mountainous activities and I've learned to distinguish them from other bites or forms of poison ivy.  But how am I getting all these spider bites at night?  In my apartment?  Then I saw him, the teeny tiny little critter responsible for my mysterious itching.  He managed to escape me on our first encounter, but I'll be looking for him.  I was hoping he may just decide to leave but this morning I walked through a tiny web he created across the archway into my living room.  Beware little buddy.  Authorities have been instructed to squish on site.

The bruise on my hamstring has nearly vanished but it's not quite ready for the rigors of climbing, mountain biking or running yet.  Soon enough though.  I'm heading to a cabin in the mountains of Austria in two weeks.  A few us are bringing our bikes up, so my ham better be ready by then.  The weekend after is the reschedule date of the climbing trip in Frankenjura that I had to bail on a few weeks ago.  Injuries don't really agree with my full-throttle personality but they come with the lifestyle I live.

None of my current injuries kept me off the go-kart track yesterday though.  The track was super slick from all the rain the night before, but my friends had already made the reservation and they don't let you reschedule.  So we gave it a go.  The corners were streaked with black rubber along the line that most drivers take around each bend.  On most days this a good indicator of the best line to take around the turn, but not today.  Rubber on rubber makes for horrible traction when water is involved.  So we took the turns high and wide.  Most of the time.  I quickly learned that if you tried to brake in the blackened areas of rubber while going into a turn, you were guaranteed to spin out.  And I did, dozens of times.  So high and wide, no exceptions.  By the time I got a feel for the track, the kart and the conditions, it was too late.  The race was practically over and I was getting owned by the other drivers.  It was still a ton of fun though.  The karts go pretty fast and you have to wear a full helmet.  Next time I'll know better and hopefully the conditions will be better.  I'll be out for redemption and it will be full throttle the whole way.