Early Anniversary!!!!

I can't even begin to tell everyone how happy I am right now! You see it is tough work when you are half a world away from one another. But let me say a few thanks to the following: Lets start with SKYPE, push a little US Postal Service in the middle, with a dash of Delta Airlines, and finally a big thanks to the folks at LG Diacom. Because without these guys, I would not be able to keep in touch with my beautiful, wonderful wife back home. So without further hesitation lets begin....

As we may all know, starting last January I began running and cycling in preparation for triathlons. In the pursuit of this awesome experience in human endurance I have spent waaaay more money than I first briefed Guinny I would be spending. Everything from shoes, shorts, shirts, swimming gear, and last but not least cycling equipment. After the dust has settled I dare mention the total dollar amount due to the fact I am afraid Guinn may completely remove my testicles in my sleep. I know you are asking yourself "Clayton, get to the freaking point"! Well here it is. I fell in love with cycling. Every moment not spent in the cockpit I am spinning away on my Cannondale (aka Canny).

So in pursuit of happiness I found the shimano 105 groupo an excellent beginner groupo for light riders who don't really "jam" on the pedals and spin along at low RPM with low torque levels. You will recognize this by your derailleurs jumping or your chain slipping when you jump up for a 15 second sprint. I began pricing some higher level groupo's that could handle the rigors of cycling along with a longevity that would justify the HUGE price tags that most carry. So as I was sitting on my couch (skipping work) watching the TDF (Tour De France or Le Tour) I began noticing a trend. The pros were using a groupo known as SRAM Red. If you have known me for more than a day, you know that once I get my mind stuck on something its hard to stop me from making it happen. I told myself and Guinn who was here in Korea at the time of the TDF, that I must have that groupo!

After Guinn politely (and as sweet as she could) stated the words I here almost as much as I love you was..... "Clayton, NO". It took many more miles on my Canny and some serious internet research to finally find the elusive Sram Red groupo at a reasonable price. Usually in the $2400 range I was able to dabble a bit and score it for half that on ebay! The cherry is that it has never been ridden or been installed on a display bike. It just so happens that my super long legs and now slender body dimensions made this hard to sell groupo easy for me to obtain. Not to many guys that are 6'4" buy pro level parts. So bonus for me, and thank you to the seller on ebay!

You all know how silly someone looks when they speed walk on the hike and bike trail. Well that's what I looked like when I got the package! I came back and opened it up to see my new power train laying in sheer splendor right before my eyes. Red, everything I see is red! My bike sits next to my rollers in my living room begging me to take her out. For the plastic "barbi dolls" in LA this my friends is my Canny's new set of boobs! She will go under surgery in the next couple of weeks. But when she comes out, well my lord what will daddy do with his new toys!

FOR GUINNY: Baby this is the greatest anniversary gift in the world. While typing this Mark Broussard (the CD you made for me) has been singing in my ear. You have and will continue to be the most wonderful woman in the world. I love you more than you like to say "Clayton, NO"! As for my next itunes riding mix, Mark and I will pedal in sequence for the love of the sport and for the LOVE I have for you. Thank you beautiful girl, thank you so very very very much. Hugs and kisses off the moon to you. I love you......

Green Platoon/RL Progression July 18-August 28

Well I owe to all to update the blog and tell you what has been going on since my beautiful wife left and I started really "working". Let me start off by saying flying is far from working! Okay, so "Green Platoon" here is a six week course that allows new aviators from flight school to progress to RL1 quickly to become an asset for the unit.

Before I get to far ahead of myself let me tell you this... As an aviator you are responsible for certain tasks that must be done in the aircraft. Such as: taking off, landing, starting the darn thing, talking on radios, and all things that encompass flying this wonderful "fling-wing". However unlike flight school, here you are responsible for much more. Kind of like qualifications to fly in a specific area. So other than the easy flight school tasks, let me tell you about some of the fun things I did while in GP.

Lets start off with the water bucket, I will try to keep the aviation terms to a minimum. This is a large bucket that hangs from the aircraft about 40 feet below and you use it to fight fires. his was a good training day. As we hovered over the lake to fill up the bucket, fisherman would drive a boat over and try to wave us away because I think he was scared we were taking his fish! But needless to say we didn't scoop up any Korean fisherman but we did almost blow a guy out of his boat! Fun stuff though...

The last thing I want to discuss with yall is terrain flight. Pretty much low enough that your wheels are dragging on top of the trees! Flying through valleys and landing on mountain tops is way more fun than I am making it sound!

After the six week course I came out RL1 and it was back to the company to start flying with the boys. Good times fo sho! If you have more questions or want to know more just post up a comment and I will answer you back as soon as I can:)