Four Seasons

The Fall Color Festival is just around the corner. An event immensely enjoyed by many and I heard they could use some volunteers. Volunteering something I have done much of this year. Not much trail work has been posted with metro mountain bikers but with fall around the corner that may change. Though we are getting out of our unsecured debt after five years of making no headway against it inescapable home repair expenses keep the purse strings tight.

Yes, Summer is coming to a close. I have not ridden the trails much. Most of my rides take me to the lake via Canal Street. That street well designed to facilitate bicycling, …sort of. They have those multipurpose trails along most of the way that I always see lots of bicyclists taking advantage of. But for those who ride on the road, as is their right, if traffic is heavy filling both lanes, they will be blocking the free flow of automobile autonomy. But it is a great ride. A good sustained climb each way, long uninterrupted stretches to let loose on, and a fairly direct route to the lakefront.

Here is a Summer shot of some young sailors I caught on one of my rides. Lessons in the lagoon at the Discovery World Museum, the Calatrava behind. Little tiny sail boats with little people inside under the tall ship built right here, costing the life of one. There is a power boat with two supervisors there. It looked to me like all the young children were most interested in trying to ram each other. I wonder of they even know about the movie “Ben Hur.”

Exploring all the ins and outs of the lakefront has been part of my training. The ride there is a bit of a drudge, not being forested trail, but when I get to the lake I want to just keep going and going and going. If I can justify the time I ride up and down the park or industrial areas along the lake finding all extremely interesting. Then when I start heading home I want to get back as fast as possible, which I then set myself to doing. A good training run but I should ride trails more. More older photos from the lakefront.

WORS again wins the Border Battle with Minnesota. How could we not defeat those who call soda ‘pop’ and still think they have more lakes than Wisconsin. I have to determine to get to two more races, though finances are still an issue. Finances will not be an issue in getting a good trainer so I can get in great shape this time over the Winter. Treadfest is next. Only three more races left.

I trimmed the peach tree early. Wanted to see what was dead and dying and what wasn’t before the leaves started to fall. Very few peaches this year as the cool damp spring was hard on the tree. This year I am ready to treat the tree as some as all the leaves are gone. We are getting some good sweet tomatoes out of the garden though the skins are still a bit tough. I saw a show that said when you plant tomatoes you should bury more than half the stalk. I guess that promotes extensive root growth. Something to keep in mind for next year.

I covered all four seasons this post.

Alterra Coffee Bean Classic

My dad got a copy of the New York Times, book form, from the day he was born some eighty years ago. Coffee was 89 cents for five pounds. Coffee is a bit more today, especially that quality Alterra Coffee. But servings were free at the Alterra Coffee Bean Classic at Crystal Ridge Ski Lodge in Franklin Wisconsin some ten days past. And while they had no schwag, free gifts for the participants, some fine quality race T-shirts were extremely cheap to purchase. Was it two for $5, if I remember correctly? Times are hard all around.

My first race of the 2011 season. A hectic morning left me with no breakfast and I lost my water bottle, filled with a mix of iced tea, Gatorade and water, early in the first lap. Spent a good minute at the single water station after the first lap. A fine gentleman offered me drink in the second lap. Still, I had few spurts of power after the first lap and was completely drained for the last two miles. I should have been twenty minutes faster if everything had fallen into place to my advantage. But it was hot and thick and I couldn't make the craters of the moon climb without dismounting. One of the several places I lost time. WORS is promoting a new video cam this year.

I have contact lenses as they were cheaper than buying a new pair of eye glasses. And do they make a difference! I hit a rock garden that goes around a corner and floated right through; first time ever. It was truly immensely advantageous to ride with contacts rather than glasses. I had a dark pair of wrap around sunglasses that Misao had bought on one of her dollar store shopping, it makes me feel better, excursions. They worked great. I think a lighter bronze tinted sunglass would work better and make detail snap more.

Many a kind word came from competitors and spectators as I raced. Better than a good drink from the water bottle, at least in the short run. Then some malcontent had to sneer I was about to be lapped by a girl. No one lapped me. I finished before the elite start. That is how I got the pictures. Demeaning others only demeans oneself, but such malcontents don't feel good about themselves in the first place. They just need a hug ...before they make headaches for everyone. And the first black athlete to compete in the Tour de' France died at a ripe old age of ...no! ...wait! ...just competed this year.

The race tempo kick started my body into gear. My recovery ride the next day was a bit of a shock, but all my recent rides have been strong. Trips to the lake seem much shorter when pushing hard in the big ring. And my weight dropped a bit. They say iced tea is good for weight loss; iced tea with lean proteins and bright colorful vegetables.

No money for this weekend's race. Home repairs are scheduled as soon as the money is available so we are still tight financially. I got to three races to take pictures last year so will set a minimal goal of racing three races this year. I want to be around 10 mph. Was still just above 7 mph at the coffee bean classic.

The yard needs some work too. Moved the Buddha. Put up the bird feeder. Am starting to focus on writing again; working on three books at the same time and have several blog posts I want to get out. Still need to complete a good edit of my second book. Thanks to Alois for his post.