Getting Heated

 With everyone driving on the wrong side of the road is it any wonder they are having accidents in Britain? I am leery of bicyclists who video record their rides. If you look for trouble it will often find you. We have a guy like that around here that actually works for a news station as a camera man. Haven't been to his blog for a while.

Bicyclists have the right to the traffic lane but sometimes courtesy is the proper course of action. Crusaders are more harmful to the cause than helpful. It looks like he cut off the car. I can only imagine he saw a line of cars and didn't want to get stuck behind a parked car waiting for the whole line to pass. So he claimed his place on the road.

Personally I think bicycling should be taught along with drivers-ed. And some comment how people don't know how a car works any more. Perhaps some education on the mechanics too along with the dangers of texting and other bad habits. When I was 16 (actually 15) you had to watch all these movies (yes movies played on a reel film projector) of horrid accidents with heads falling off on the scene, before you got a license. Making drivers-ed longer, more demanding and maybe more expensive? Hey! Everyone forgets its a privilege.

That being said I think they should allow sensible people, riding sensibly on sensible bikes to ride on the sidewalks. Not all sidewalks. Some have visibility issues. And investing in bike lanes... If a substantial population actually begins riding they wont be the athletes we see dominating bike commuting now. They will take short trips (under 2 miles) and avoid hills. So you invest based on terrain and destinations everyone must reach, such as the grocery store.

Oh yeah! They are going to commute to work. I thought of playing poker tonight but the only way I had to get there was by bicycle. And it was really hot today. One week you are turning off the heater and the next week you need the air conditioning. That's Wisconsin. People are not going to ride and come to work all sweaty. Maybe a short, level ride where they need not peddle much to get there, but these crusaders want to redesign roads so people can commute 20 miles to work because they do... along with three other people in the entire city.

Why in a ranting mood today? One was reading Yahoo's idiotic review on the finale of "Lost." I expressed my views here. "How did Hugo Die?" The writer asked. Just a plain idiot. I think it had something to do with being on a plane that broke in two in mid air.

We all saw dead people.

My book of short stories.... Couldn't transition into the next story. Went back to editing the one I just finished and a solution to a problem on my first story came to me.

IT'S FREE!

Yes, Wednesday Night Races are back... and it's free... sort of.

WORBA members only. A membership costing $20 for the year and anyone 12 and over can join the time trials. No more Schwag so everyone can just leave when they are done. I imagine most of the changes are due to insurance issues.

I didn't go. I was working on my book and Misao reminded me we needed an oil change and off I went. Not having my bike in top shape I didn't feel like rushing to make the race. I will be taking a couple hours some afternoon in the near future to wash, lube and tune 'all' the bikes. I doubt many were there as Wednesday was the annual Bone Ride.

Yard and garden work have also been taking me away from riding. Planted everything using all available space and Misao decides to come home with some more things to plant. Eggplant and hot peppers. So I prepared more pots today.

But I did get out Tuesday. On the Hoyt trail I suddenly found myself behind some Odd Tuesday riders and more came in behind me. I decided to excuse myself and continued with my own ride, later spying those Odd Tuesday riders breaking the law. I was that close to a life of crime.

Yes, the work at the Hoyt Trails looks to be wrapping up.

On my way home I found myself surrounded by another group of riders, far less fit and not nearly as well dressed as the Odd Tuesday bunch. It was scary.

And today, after I finished the first draft of my second story ("The Forest", the last of four for the book), I went to check on the progress of the Hank Arron Trail heading west. I guess that is the extent of it. Some fresh gravel... way down at the end there.

Having decided to work off an old laptop, I set it up to print, and printed the draft. Well over 5,000 words. I did some editing this evening. I'll work on the third story from tomorrow, it will be substantially longer, before returning to the first two. I figure I need to break 50,000 words for a book which shouldn't be a problem. The fourth story (which will be the first, "The Last Day"), already well constructed in my mighty brain, would most likely be considered more than a short story, if not the third (which will be the second in my book).

I will be lucky to get a good start into the fourth story by the end of the month. I hope by the end of June to know what kind of chances I have to be published. If it looks grim, they can always go up on one of my blogs. I have shied away from writing on my private blog as odd circumstances would suggest security to be an issue. Even for e-mail.

Still, I have a few things for some of my other blogs that I haven't gotten to. It's good to be busy, especially when it doesn't require any money... so far.

The next house project is to tuck-point the chimney and see how water is running down the vent pipe when it rains. That shouldn't cost too much money.

Last Frost

No, we didn't have a frost but May 15th was the official last day for frost.

I was working on my book the better part of last week and then took a break. Spent some time working on the yard and getting to things around the house. (I really should have been riding more) Tomorrow I will pick up some pepper and tomato plants from a friend if things work out. I could have planted the radish and leafy vegetables earlier but will get the seeds in the ground tomorrow. And I will be getting back to my book, hoping to have finished drafts for three stories and a complete rough draft for the fourth (which will be the first) by the end of the month.

The Crystal Lake Classic was yesterday. I didn't go and, as you can see (Lily of the Valley), am lacking in biking pictures. Hope to get in a nice ride in on the mountain bike tomorrow as the days are getting really long. Maybe the ODD Tuesday Night Ride,... or not. Have to get my weight moving down again and hopefully be ready for the Sunburst Showdown mid-June. Nine Mile would be good to start with, a bit more level than Sunburst, but it's a little too far away. Went to the neighborhood meeting rather than the bicycle club meeting. The minutes aren't up yet and I haven't heard when the Wednesday Night Races start.

I saw some British cook on TV with some kind of food revolution for the United States. I guess some still haven't gotten over the Revolution of 1776. I knew the guy was completely whacked when he started ripping chocolate milk. Complaining about all the sugar in kid's diets. ...Hello!... It's the corn syrup. Myself and many others grew up fine when they really did use sugar. And don't get me started on ethanol. Corn is for roasting, drowning in melted butter and then rolling in a plate of salt.

The BBC has a business reporter that is just too chipper, outright cheery, and the one I like to listen to the most on the radio. He did a three part report on bicycles that I found very interesting. They are making bikes outs of bamboo in Africa.

Misao is still crying over our dog having been poisoned.

Pictures and Scans

Misao wants me to make a video of images of our dogs, put it to music and upload it to you/tube to share with her network of Japanese Internet friends. So I pulled out some boxes of things still to be archived into albums and folders and started scanning. Still need to check some photo CD's and video files. Now if only I could find the right music. Found a pile of my earliest work. It is overcast a dreary today. I good time to keep the project moving.

It will be a busy and apparently wet weekend as we fight to stay ahead of our bills. And yes, snow will cover good parts of Wisconsin tonight possibly as far south as Milwaukee. Time and conditions leave the prospects of getting in a ride gloomy.

Misao was highly impressed by my mad art skills.

Tuesdays

But today is Wednesday...

A rare neighborhood meeting with our Alderman among others is taking place this coming Tuesday and I probably should go. But there is also the monthly Metro Mountain Bikers meeting. Then their is "Lost" on TV but I can always see that on the Internet. Or there is going out to play in a free poker tournament. Tuesdays, one of my favorite topics as far as days go, seem to burst with activity, making the rest of the week a bit dull. Except for those other days. And Sundays when WORS is racing.

The garden is coming alive, at least flower wise. My friend brought us some more hostas to plant between the house. Vegetables will be planted soon. Maybe I'll plant some radish and spinach tomorrow. I've already had to cut the grass several times. Working on the yard or the house, with a good ride thrown in, can consume most of a good day.

Most of my riding has been on errands around the city. I'd rather use the car and ride the trails on my mountain bike rather than using large chunks of my day getting from point A to B. I will be cutting back on the gym since it cuts into the most productive time of the day. Everyone I know goes in the afternoon. My strength seems not to suffer if I stay active. Benched 240 several times out of the blue a while back, far beyond what I had been doing this year, just because I could.

I started writing two new stories and researching a third. Reading leads to writing and after writing I feel like drawing and then can get to the more practical aspects of design. Moving my riding to later into the day.

Wow! The weather man just said snow is coming.