A White Christmas

Look at my Tires!

Now look at your tires.

Now look at my tires again.

Now look at your tires.

Now look outside.

I’m not riding a horse. I’m writing a blog.

Wish you were me?

Probably not, if you are a regular reader of this blog. But far too many people have it far worse off than I as my wife and I work through our own difficulties. Many have been struck by tragedy this holiday season, even today, and I am sure many prayers are going out to them.

Snow tires in this season of white may prevent tragedies small or large for yourselves also. I have heard they are required by law in Germany.  Alois…?

We will be strapped financially for many months to come. My weight is going up as it does every Winter and I just don’t know how I will be able to swing getting a trainer. The good news is any workout starts burning abdominal fat right away, or so the radio told me… That reminds me to get out of my rocking chair and sit on the exercise ball as the seemingly insignificant efforts at staying balanced work your core continuously.

Yes our difficulties are small here in the United States even in this financial disaster that not only my family but all of us are facing. Still I would have to put myself easily in the top 10% in the world financially.

Where is that one person who could say, if the idea ever came to their mind, that they are the number one worst off person in existence here on this earth? Where is that person who could say no one has it worse off than they? My money would be on North Korea.

Merry Christmas. Peace on Earth and Goodwill Towards All Men.

Tis the Season

As the days grow short and the year comes to an end I got a few bucks together and treated our peach tree with a pump sprayer. Really the only way you should treat something as large as a tree. Fortunately the weather was warm enough this late in the season. I hope I didn’t poison myself getting a bit of blow back in my face. The wind just swirls there in the back corner of our yard. Afterwards I clearly labeled the sprayer as it should be dedicated to a single product. You don’t want to mix potentially dangerous chemicals.

The holiday season is truly the most wondrous time of the year. Thanksgiving was followed by the failure of the alternator on our vehicle. After replacing that we were hit with two large financial responsibilities, not to mention Misao’s Christmas shopping binge. At least that is almost complete.

On the heals of meeting those financial demands with $0.26 available in the bank and $18 in my pocket our furnace stopped working. Fortunately my brother has a ‘Furnace Guy’ and we didn’t need any money upfront for that.

This past weekend my mother called us very early in the morning and we rushed over to take her to the emergency room. The doctor said she has a touch of pneumonia. I am not sure if that is the same as a pinch of the plague or perhaps a smidgen of shingles.

That night on the way out to our sales route we blew a front tire and I couldn’t get the spare to drop from underneath; frozen in rust. Thank goodness for AAA. Decided to get four snow tires on a line of credit. I also need to get the suspension repaired.

But I have completely recovered from my surgery. I had several masses removed, all part of my weight loss program. The bills started coming in with the first Christmas cards.

It looks like the prospect of purchasing a trainer this Winter is getting slimmer by the day. I’ll just have to rely on the gym if I can get there. I am having trouble adjusting the brakes on my road bike, they drag. We do exercise a bit in the evenings, usually while watching TV and I can always walk the energy crazed furry thing that torments me all day long called ‘Ike’; AKA our dog.

He doesn’t approve of my characterization.

The weather has been favorable for Winter bike riding but my days have been too hectic. We have hit a record for consecutive days without snow and it grows each day. Having bought snow tires this year the probability that we will have a snowless Winter has increased dramatically. I would say I am dreaming of a white Christmas but I would just be called a racist.

It was a few years back when we were coming home in a bit of a snow storm and a gust of wind swept our van perpendicular to the road. My wife screamed and shuddered as a calmly spun the steering wheel into the spin then back the other way as we swung in the other direction. repeating the process twice more, bringing our vehicle under my complete control I continued on down the expressway never giving it a second thought as Misao hyper-ventilated in tiny screeches. Clearly I did not need to buy snow tires but such displays of my steely nerve and unmatched skill and talent in most everything I do I consider extremely vain and unbecoming.

Funny because it is all true. I have to struggle to keep myself from rolling on the floor in laughter as I proof read my post. I am grateful to be rid of those pesky skin tags and for the spirit and wonder of the season.

Merry Christmas!

Cyber Monday

Cyber what the huh day? No…, Cyber Monday was not something I partook of but the title will most likely bring traffic to my site. Misao went out Thursday night for the Black Friday sales, obviously not native born, and the car broke down. Another expense we could not afford and one of the reasons my plans to buy a trainer will have to wait until Christmas. The car also needs some major maintenance and I am debating getting snow tires as we drive over 500 miles a week easy.

Thanksgiving was a family time well enjoyed. The nine nieces and nephews were well coordinated in not allowing a single moment to pass without at least one scream, yell, proclamation of wrong doing or exclamation of self to fill the air; at least when they were not eating. I actually had over forty hours of work the last two weeks (if you include time on major home repairs) which, with the holiday, left me zonked Saturday and Sunday. It was a nice long very cold walk to the repair shop to pick up the car Friday afternoon.

For Winter training there are some truly good trainers put out by some quality companies. Cycleops has some great stuff and claims the quietest trainer around and they have jumped on the virtual reality road. I will have to look more closely at what they have and research compatibility in general between all the different VR systems. The Computrainer is a standard that you can experience at several local bike shops.  Kinetic, 2012 sponsor of WORS, also has their own unique training approach in their trainers. Crank Daddy’s has training sessions in store as well as Winter storage and service plans if you live on the East-Side. Emery’s has training sessions with the Olympic medalist name sake during 21 weeks of Winter. The guy never stops enthusing his knowledge and love of the support to all around. They all use the Computrainer. Very few stores market the Tacx products, but if you ask any of them could most likely order one for you and get it within days.

I am still looking at the Tacx Flow or i-Flow for the virtual reality aspect and price as my trainer of choice. I have been told the Tacx Fortius has more advanced training tools than the Computrainer, though the Fortius is no longer up on their homepage. It is hard to imagine what more you would need than what is found on the Computrainer. Emery's says they will match any price on the Internet. I see slightly lower prices for the Tacx Flow on the Internet but it is unclear if the items are the latest models. I think I will just go with a dealer. I like dealing with people in person and can get personal feedback and support if anything goes wrong.

You would be mistaken to interpret this approach as a sign of any kind that I fear shopping on the Internet. And you may think it foolish for us to depend on our dog ‘Ike’ for our Internet security (shown on the job in previous post), but you’ve never seen Ike in the Cloud.

My wife has kept the blog relevant as one needs a continuous flow of posts to hold the public’s interest. Perhaps Alois will treat us with a Wintery Christmas post from the Alps as the Christmas season progresses.

I have been neglecting my writing and training having been so busy recently. I wish I could receive some kind of compensation for my name dropping but that just is not the case. if you would like to support the blog, or a couple just fighting to get by, you could always purchase my books, available on Amazon. The short stories would make a great stocking stuffer.

Security Dog

 

 

Do you know my new job beside watch dog and paper shredder?

 

 

                           It's Internet security .

Winter is Coming

 Hello everyone !  
 I'm doing well happy and keep my owner busy.
                                             

                                       
 Then cold weather is coming...
                                             
  What do you do ?

                                      
 Me ?
  I just sleep in warm.

  I hope you have good weekend .     Love Ike

More Power!

Have been under the weather for a few days. Even more power draining than an oncoming cold for a man, a real man, is the failure of one’s power tools. Yesterday working on a project to rehabilitate our home my electric drill began to fail. Fortunately I got from it all I needed for the day and kept it from a noble but tortuous death in service to its master.

Finally, with the help of Emery’s, that bike enthusiast driven let’s do a triathlon center of fitness bliss, I finally, yes finally got the old road bike back in working order. A piecemeal effort over the summer months has come to fruition as the bicycling season is quickly coming to an end. And I still haven’t swung the cash for a new helmet.

Riding the road bike, to the gym and such takes some getting used to after being off her for so long. The small ring is bigger the the big ring on my mountain bike. I may rebuild the entire mountain bike again, though I really need a new one to compete. The basement will become my work station most of the Winter as I have several projects other than repairing the bike in mind, including creating a bit of finished space for a trainer and exercising. I should make use of all the free fitness videos available on our Roku. How long will they be called videos?

Time, circumstance and the lack of a second vehicle will most likely keep me from the Wigwam MTB Challenge, WORS’ finally event of the season. The word is they will ride the course backwards this year. Not by bike but in reference to the direction of the course. I must set my mind on rebuilding this Winter, not just my mountain bike and state of fitness, to compete with more power next year, but financially, professionally and every way possible.

I missed the “Ray’s sneak peak” last week. It was a night of free riding for Trek employees and Metro Mountain Bikers members. Again it conflicted with my schedule. My Wisconsin site visits overcame the number of visits I was racking up from California, after I wrote of Ray’s Milwaukee several times after they first arrived in Milwaukee. I am not sure why I have so many visits from California. I should visit Ray’s this Winter but it is 4-5 dollars in gas just to get there.

I did get to Metro’s monthly meeting Tuesday. The highlights? IMBA is creating a GPS mapping system and production specifications. Metro wants a new logo but many do not know why. One of the expenses with changing the logo is paying IMBA $300 for the change. Well over a dozen, up to two dozen, will qualify for the fifteen hour of volunteer work free T-shirts by the end of the year. Waukesha is coming along with some great new trails in Minooka.

I haven’t been out to Crystal Ridge for some time, but the baseball park development has brought many changes, still ongoing. For those of you who believe the holiday season begins with Halloween rather than Thanksgiving, or in other words you evil doers, Crystal Ridge is the site of “The Hill has Eyes.”

Weight II

So much for my determination to get in 25 hours of writing and such a week. Misao has been in Japan for two weeks and I got working on two projects of a physical nature and got myself to two political rallies (even ended up doing some telephone surveying) and a lecture at SARUP. I could have gotten to two lectures if they had posted the events properly. Taking care of the retail business by myself added eight extra hours a week. I did no writing while my wife was gone.

Misao had a lot of weight to bring back from Japan. All these sweet goodies were gift wrapped and every piece of sugary goodness individually wrapped. It is like that in most of Asia. So much for environmentalism. The weight of all that containering nearly put Misao’s baggage overweight. I think you can all see why I have become so broad.

Being alone, doing my own grocery shopping I have lost more weight. My experience is that when one approaches 280 pounds it is noticeably debilitating. It is not as much fun to ride the old mountain bike when you get to 270, at least in an aggressive fashion. One of the reasons I have not been riding as much as usual this year. When you get to 260 it becomes hard to compete at a sport level.

More than the goal of dropping under 250 pounds is to get in the best shape of my life this Winter. The type of trainer I will buy depends on where we are financially this Thanksgiving. Financial burdens and headaches should be out of the way by then. A basic Cycleops trainer, for the quality, will be my choice if the money is still tight. Otherwise I will go with the Taxc Flow. You can buy the basic model and upgrade later to a virtual reality system; the Flow Multiplayer. The computrainer is the industry standard for the serious athlete but cost nearly twice as much. It is beyond what I need. Its extensive training features can be accessed by attending a training session at a retailer. On the East Side I believe Crank Daddies holds them in their basement in the Winter.

Weight  is an issue with tablets also. Yes, I am talking those computer things. A basic reader is lighter than a tablet, something ardent readers appreciate. I would like a reader if I could afford one. A question I have been pondering is whether an e-ink screen is far easier to read than a back lit traditional screen. From what I have researched people have no problem reading long periods on LCD screens but find an e-ink screen more enjoyable. Also there is no glare on a good e-ink screen.

Then I thought of when I was a kid, before computers were available to the common man. I hated reading the glossy paged books. So I guess I will eventually buy a reader with an e-ink screen. It would be great if you could get one with Pandora radio or that could play your music files.

In my reading I discovered sidebars and other busy-ness on the page can distract people and make reading less enjoyable. Obviously something our local newspaper has failed to understand in the layout of their webpage. I may simplify my own blogs. They take constant attention, something I have been slipping at, as links often disappear or change over time.

And what about those Packers? Everyone says they won. Even some Vegas Casinos and online betting sites have returned the money to those who bet on the Packers. Even the NFL knows they won as they settled with the real referees real quick like. So if everyone knows the Packers won Monday night, why did they lose? The story of my life.

But September hasn’t been all bad.

Weight

I heard that putting a mirror in the kitchen is one tactic for losing weight. That is, you will think twice about reaching into the refrigerator when you see your chubby self giggling across the room. I find looking at old photos a source of inspiration to lose weight also. I spent four years in Korea getting to the studio most every night after working the early hours of the morning and doing volunteer activities much of the day.

I could use some quiet time too just to sit and reflect without disturbance.

Decreasing testosterone is a big problem for some as they get older. It is related to weight gain as endless advertisements for supplements suggest. Of course if you want to compete you cannot be using supplements of that kind but there are natural ways to increase one’s testosterone.

The WORS Treadfest is this weekend at The Grand Geneva Resort. One of my favorites, but I will just not be able to make it. Everything is topsy-tervy for us right now on many levels, most related to money, and I had not even thought of this class act of an event until just now.

Thanks to our new Roku (cheaper than a TiVo or paid TV) we have access to hundreds of free workout shows including  yoga and kick boxing. This will give me plenty of interesting exercise when the snow flies. Winter is the time my weight goes up. It always goes down in the summer. There are medical reasons for weight gain also. One relates to vitamin D which your body makes with help from the sun. So this Winter I will be focusing on vitamin D supplements.

The gym is always a place I should be going to all year, but can usually only get to in the Winter. I got there with a friend the other day and can still work up to and bench 185 lbs. more than a few times. Ideally a man, if he wants to call himself a man, should be able to bench at least 200 lbs. a few times, which I imagine I can still do I just didn’t want to push myself not having lifted in a while. A goal of double plates (2-45’s each side, 45 lb. bar) or 225 lbs. is what I try to maintain. Pushing beyond that is risking injury though I made a run for 300 lbs. and may try again to go for triple plates (315 lbs.) just to hit the standard. Even with losing the strength later muscle memory will serve one well in case of emergency.

Me and the raccoon had a face off the other day. As I entered the alley he ducked behind the telephone pole. Peering out from behind it he knew I knew who he was and he knew me. He turned away and scurried off between some buildings. He was obviously intimidated by my powerful frame.

I picked all the peaches this last Saturday. We had more than a third more than this lost in the great peach incident of 2012, when an entire branch snapped off under its own weight while the peaches were still green. I had to pick them as the raccoon and other critters were eating them, particularly at night. I suspect the raccoon had something to with the great peach incident. There is a reason they wear masks.

Routine

I need to get my routine down. My weight has dropped about three pounds a month from my Winter high. To keep it going down I will need to get that trainer I am always talking about. I need to get into a routine before the snow flies. I need to train for WORS next year. It is hard to compete when you don’t know the field. I need a good solid season of races to enjoy competing as I need to identify my nemesis, those better than me in order to target and defeat them. (I need, I need, I need) It would be nice to be the outright top of the field in my class but that may not be a practical goal. Of course if I can get my weight down to under 220lbs…. I am currently at 275.

And talking routines, what about them Olympics. I missed most any cycling coverage due to NBC’s poor overall coverage for those who don’t have paid TV. Why is it the consensus that everyone has cable despite statistics otherwise. And many of these claims of a cable only public are from the same people who make fun of the manmade global warming crowd by pointing to the mountain of statistic that contradict the global warmers.

But the routines that I really want to mention, that implant fearful images in my mind of man, are those of the synchronized swimmers. That heavy waterproof makeup looks outright scary. Then all the miscellaneous disassociated limbs dancing across the water? Two out of two adults agree (my brother and I ) that watching synchronized swimming is a leading cause of nightmares in small children.

After not racing in the Alterra Coffee Bean Classic my sites are set on next year. Forgot about and missed Sunburst Showdown but will more than likely be at the classic final in Sheboygan; The Wigwam MTB Challenge. Just as a spectator and enthusiast with a camera. The Subaru Cup is the premier event of the year and was this past weekend. I heard they had some Olympians there.

The baseball park developer, with his eye on Crystal ridge where Metro and Alterra has invested much in trails, is going to do an MTB and BMX park, along with snowboard course for Winter pleasures as part of his plans. (as long as they get rid of those soccer pitches) At least that WAS the word. Now the word is that our very accomplished parks director has been fired for fast tracking the plans without making the proper environmental planning with the DNR before hand. In other words, the County Executive just found out about it after the fact. I don’t know if that will frustrate the schedule and change the investors mind.

And trail work season is here. Metro will be scheduling many trail work days in the near future if any are interested. Something else I need to add to my routine along with some long trail rides. Metro’s Wednesday Night Time Trials have been very successful and have run going on fourteen weeks in a row, excluding the 4th of July. A new record. I need to get out there and get a timed lap in to compare with early next year after the mother of all training Winters I am committing to.

Mm mm. The peaches are ripening. We lost dozens earlier when an entire limb snapped under the weight of the peaches. I am not talking two or even three dozen. It was a great loss but I am finally over it.

Phlox is growing to become my favorite flower. And it is not because it is spelled with a ‘ph’. It blooms earlier and more fragrant in the forest from my observations. I love the sight and smell, the pleasant surprise of phlox on a good trail ride. This is the best bloom we have ever had in our yard.

For those concerned among you, having heard Reverend Moon has been deathly ill on the news, Reverend Moon is steadily improving in his battle with pneumonia. A very serious battle to overcome at 92 years old. All prayers of well being are appreciated.

And always desiring to educate, to leave you my readers more informed and capable after reading than before, I have an important technique to share. Unless you are rich and have flying robotic fly zappers to hunt down those pesky pests you may have been tormented by flies landing inside a bowl or cup, supposedly protected from the swift retribution of the handy, doesn’t need to be changed, fly swatter. The dilemma is easily resolved if you follow these simple instructions. What you need is a quick double tap. The first very temporarily stuns the fly. The second coming in quick succession strikes as the fly is rising out of his formerly presumed safe space. If done right the fly will be dead before it hits the bottom of the concave implement of its own choosing.

The learning never stops!

Dangerous Times

Preparing for the Sport race at Crystal Ridge.It was not too bad today heat wise but the temperatures have been dangerously hot recently. I didn’t take a bottle with me when I went for a bit of a ride but I know where the Bubblers are. Yes we call them bubblers in Milwaukee.

A friend of ours from Japan lost her father earlier this year. He was hit while riding his bike. The host of Cooking with Dog (It’s not what you think), or rather the hosts master was also struck by a car while riding her bike. She was hospitalized for quite a long time and received many well wishes over you/tube and otherwise from around the world.

Alois too had a tale from Germany of a man who while riding his bike in the heat got a flat tire. It took him a long time to change it and without the breeze of the ride cooling him off he overheated and died. All thoughts go to Bubba. You can find a record of Alois’ flight here. I hear there are similar sites for cycling though I haven’t researched them as I have no GPS device anyway.

The cucumbers are coming and it will be a while before they stop.

And what about the women’s volley ball at the Olympic this afternoon. I am talking the team sport not the adult version. The United States against the Chinese and you know who I was rooting for. The Chinese had a women who looked like a man and she had to have her hair cut like a man also. We had Destiny Hooker dominating. The most attractive woman on the court with the longest hair. It would be out right unnatural for the Chinese to win, not to mention the whole good versus evil, liberty versus tyranny thing we got going.

Yes the United States beat the Chinese in three games on the sixth match point. I hope they make the gold. Not only did Destiny Hooker dominate but Megan Hodge also. They should be called Designated Hitter and Mega Hitter. I turned the Olympics on during the rowing this afternoon. Right after the cycling coverage had ended. Ugh!

Another shot from the Alterra Coffee Bean Classic. Beware the heat. A few weeks ago when it was 108 Fahrenheit outside and I was working my deliveries. The soles of my shoes became so hot on the pavement they softened and split open.

And the Winner is…

Lane number 5, or four, depending on which end you count from as the first cucumber vine has reached the top. I bought some welded wire mesh, the type they use in concrete slabs, to create this trellis for our cucumbers. It was on sale so it cost me less than $10. We secured it with some tent stakes and Misao added some lateral support with some string lines to keep it from falling over. These photos are about seven weeks apart. The mesh is four feet by eight feet. Sometimes I just sit outside and watch the cucumbers grow.

Soon we will have plenty of cucumbers pouring in, but it is the Olympics that everyone is focused on now. Those opening ceremonies sure were strange and outright socialist (un-American for those of us on the other side of the pond) but you can’t say it wasn’t well orchestrated in terms of theme. The torch lighting is really what makes everything stand out and they did a good job with it, accenting the theme they were trying to convey. The scale was surely grand enough. We have come to expect bigger and more extravagant every Olympics but that has been replaced with simply a grand expression of the national identity the corresponding Olympic committee  wants to convey, which is all one should expect.

The peach tree is heavy with peaches. Does that mean I boo when any Chinese win an Olympic event and cheer and laugh when I see a Chinese athlete fail and embarrass themselves in front of the whole world? …Are those Chinese gymnasts under age?

I have not seen any cycling coverage of the Olympics yet. Maybe I have to get up earlier, or maybe they are being ignored for some reason beyond my comprehension or simply because the British have some real competitors in the events. My wife was watch the gymnastics last night and one young lady did very well. I looked up to catch part of her performance and asked my wife “Is she British?” My wife answered, “Yes, look at her teeth.” …True story. So much for the National Health Service.

I will go out and water the garden now. we have finally got some rain on a regular basis but the heat and drought of this summer have been tragic for our farmers. You can see the river off the Hoyt Park trails in the picture. When the area was a dump many many years ago, they say people would drive out on this little dam and wash their cars. Some mountain bikers like to ride over the river here though this is the first time I’ve seen the river so low that I would consider riding across myself.

Alterra Coffee Bean Classic: The Video

Starts and the O’Malley Woods rock garden.

The Olympics have started. The mountain biking will all be at the end. $30 to watch the Olympics live over the Internet. Actually $29.99, but that is $29.99 too much for me.

Happy Birthday

The Alterra Coffee Bean Classic in Franklin, Wisconsin was the day before my birthday. Today is the day after my birthday and tomorrow is Alois’ Birthday. Yes, Alois is not my evil twin nor I his. Though I am sure he would make a fine twin brother. Happy birthday Alois!

I arrived in time for the Sport Class starts. I wish I was in shape to race but I wasn’t. I race to compete and if you can’t compete…

It was a bit hot Sunday for the WORS race. The brief rain from two days before was not enough to keep the dust from flying.

Crash! Lucky the National Bike Patrol was on hand.

I hiked part way up the ski hill. The bikers look like ants.

I looked for a new place to get pictures this year. and settled on the rock garden in O’Malley’s woods.

“I hope you didn’t get that.” he said.

The WORS sponsors change over time. Kinetic is now a sponsor rather than CycleOps; a reputable company. Kinetic runs the warm up tent now. Does it make a difference who sponsors the event? Yes, especially if they are cheaper. I would like a very high end trainer with virtual courses and Internet interaction but don’t think I can afford one. I absolutely need a trainer this year before Winter arrives if I am serious about contending next year and it will have to be a more basic model at the lowest price possible. Not sure what that says about Kinetic.

This may be the final WORS race at Crystal Ridge if negotiations with a baseball facility developer do not go well. A gentleman has come in with a large bankroll to build baseball diamonds on much of the site and has four fields fully booked for next year from April. WORS had some 800 competitors on Sunday.

Now that Metro Mountain Bikers is part of IMBA there are greater opportunities to produce world class facilities for mountain biking. If they can build and run these places successfully out in the wilderness I don’t know why they wouldn’t be a hit in more populated areas. Especially in an area where racing is so prevalent.

I have strung my video together and will get it up in the near future. The pictures (I have a lot) will eventually get up on Flickr though they want money now to have so many photos up. I will try to see if I can get back to their free service by reducing the number of sets I created if I can ever access the sets. …Maybe I’ll just pay them.

It sometime takes up to two hours or more to prepare a post for this blog if I have pictures. My political blog is a minimum of five hours to produce a post and my professional blog hours upon hours. I can produce a post for my other blogs within an hour. Then I have the books I am trying to write.