The Gravel of the Earth

Sometimes I feel like the gravel of the earth. Useful when needed but otherwise disregarded.

If you can’t wait for Tosa Fest, and the WORS Treadfest in Lake Geneva is too high brow for your tastes, and you just have nothing going on for Labor Day, The La Crosse Area Bicycle Festival may be the answer to your prayers. The La Crosse Gravel Classic, part of the festival, is September 6th. The course is mostly in Minnesota; nothing highbrow about that. La Crosse is a beautiful part of the country and no more than a three hour drive away.

I was worried about the branch pictured above being pulled from the peach tree by the weight of its fruit. I should have been paying more attention to the other side of the tree. The dog began barking strangely. So I immediately went to see what was wrong. My heart broke at the sight. I set the broken off branch up as high as I could upon the fencing and left the ripening peaches hang. I picked only the few that were nearly ripe. I should have trimmed away more, even if losing a large number of peaches. I’ll have to do better balancing the tree as it fills back in.

September begins tomorrow already. Wow. The Fall Color Festival is only four weeks away and don’t forget about the Saris Gala the day before. The Art Museum had an Art Ride this last weekend; their first. Their route took them past displays of local public art. I am not sure if the promised beer was of the craft variety.

I WAS a great fan of the Milwaukee Art Museum’s original design for their new addition, now under construction. Then a committee altered the design and now we have some… thing that represents everything that is wrong with architecture. It’s being built right under the Eero Saarinen War Memorial addition, running right out to the lake, and beside the Calatrava addition. At least it can only be seen from the East.

My wife is going to be shocked. Then heart broken when she comes home and sees the tree.

The $112 question: What were my three most favorite WORS races? Keeping the same question. Check out the Charity Jackpot Page link in the sidebar to possibly triple the amount.

Cool and Overcast; My Favorite

I am not a fan of preseason football, but my knee has been bothering me for no apparent reason. Just started yesterday. There is only one reason I will watch Thursday Night Football and that is; if the Packers are playing. Otherwise I will go out of my way not to watch. Football is for Sundays (and Monday Night). And yes my knee has truly begun to hurt.

No, this is not a grave marker for a career, but a trellis for our raspberries. (knock on wood) It is coming along. I routered out, notched and interlocked the cross connections, not just for stability. It was also so I could shim the cross members so that they would align vertically and keep the shims out of sight.

I was looking for something to sleeve the holes the wire/cable will run through, so the wire/cable would not cut into the wood. I couldn’t find anything that matched my needs though the man suggested some hardware for wire rail systems. He sent me to the wrong aisle and I couldn’t find what I wanted. I didn’t want anything with threads, like a t-nut, or they would cut into the wire/cable I am planning to weave between the two structures. So I bought finish washers and hammered them over the holes, both sides.

And why counter sink the screws when you have 100 finish washers. Note how all the screw heads align.

I only had to shim one horizontal member, so that both ran on the same line. The ends are all plum with each other. Now, if the stone border of the raspberry patch doesn’t align with your horizontals? Realign the stone border. You would be surprised at the number of people to which that solution would remain eternally a mystery. I could write a book; “The Way of the Shim”, and impart valuable life lessons to my readers. Mechanics and assembly were important skills men were expected to learn, like self-defense, in the past. I fear no more.

Now all you men can run to your wives. “Sweetie! I need to buy a router.” One more goal in my life accomplished; to give men more power. It is what keeps woman happy.

The $111 question: What were my three most favorite WORS races? Keeping the same question. Check out the Charity Jackpot Page link in the sidebar to possibly triple the amount.

Oh Waffles!

Morning glories are wondrous. They are beautiful, grow like a weed once established, but are easy to be rid of if they are someplace you don’t want them to be. Glorious.

Why don’t my waffles taste like those at the restaurant? I keep asking the Internet and have yet received no answers. I bought my wife a waffle maker one Christmas to boot, and still stand denied that crisp clean restaurant result.

Today is National Waffle Day. Support US made waffles.

Did you miss it?

No, not waffles for breakfast, you can eat those anytime today. I’m talking about the underwear ride last week.

The sun had long set. I was sitting before the TV watching one of my favorite shows via Roku, “Rough Cut”, and taking notes when suddenly there came a roar. As if some people had broken out in brawl.

‘A ha!’ I thought ‘That group that hangs out in front of the house across the street at odd hours has finally broken out into a fight.’ I rushed to the front door, cell phone in hand ready to call the police, and threw the door open.

My jaw dropped. Hundreds of bicyclists rode buy our home and those of our neighbors in nothing but there underwear.

When I realized the horror of what was playing out before me I yelled through the screen door, “It’s a one way street!” And they were going the wrong way!

My wife came running down and joined me at the door. After her initial shock she laughed and waved at what looked to be thousands of riders. “Are they going around the block?” She asked, wondering how there could be so many.

My thoughts were somewhat different. ‘Don’t smile’ I internally scolded, ‘Give them the evil eye and the fearsome frown, they are going the wrong way on a one way street.’

“It’s so cold outside.” my wife fretted over their plight.

‘It is cold.’ I entertained. A smile stretched across my face at the thought of the temperature tormented.

Neither the fruit of the loom nor the fruit of the womb, our peaches yet hang low in bounty. They have yet to ripen and autumn is quickly approaching. They would make a sweet topping for your waffles.

..What? You lost your appetite??? Would my explaining  the fact that most all the riders were young and fit, make a difference? They also had appropriate lighting, flashing red and a few head lights. Some were wrapped in strings of LED lights and one bike was made to look like a chariot. …Didn’t help?

Don’t forget the Fall Color Fest in the Southern Kettles or the quickly approaching Tosa Fest. Right now, at this very moment, Emery’s is having a big Summer sale.

For the total complete bicycle enthusiast The Saris Gala is just around the corner; special guest Gary Fischer the father of mountain bike and always the best dressed for any occasion.

I volunteered to man a booth at the WORS Collectivo Classic in Minooka. Not the Minooka in Illinois, and certainly not the Minooka in Alabama, but the Minooka in Waukesha. I arrived and realized that I had forgotten my camera. So I didn’t get out on the course to take any pictures, but the company was good. I bought a waffle from one of the food vendors, no joke, for a light lunch.

This past weekend WORS had a great cross country romp up Green Bay way. Their next event is September 6th on a fabulous course in Lake Geneva Treadfest. The high end resort experience is fitting for the devoted rider as the season’s end quickly approaches. One of my favorite races, but I have failed in my weight loss goal and will not be competing.

I am reminded that Metro Mountain Bikers is an organization advocating the building of sustainable trails. They also spend much time maintaining those trails; along with other IMBA chapters across our State and Country. Maintenance is something The Rock has given up on. Where $5 might not seem much for self paid access to their trails, it is when the trails are neglected and overgrown. Alpine Valley has trails not only maintained but with a cheaper access fee.

Here are some of IMBA’s best trail centers across the nation.

Copper Harbor, in the UP, is a system of trails growing in length and reputation.

Always wear a helmet and dress appropriately when riding the trails.

The $110 question: What were my three most favorite WORS races? Keeping the same question. Check out the Charity Jackpot Page link in the sidebar to possibly triple the amount.

The Fair, The Fair, The Fair

It’s that time of year. A good time of year. We got to the Wisconsin State Fair and did something we haven’t done there in a long while; spend a good deal of money. Some treats for the dog, a gimmick sprinkler head and a hat for my head.

Wait,…

Sorry, I thought I saw my helmet crawling across the floor but then I remembered that I threw it out. It was sooooo yucky. Yes I bought a hat not a helmet but a really need a helmet more than a hat.

The bicycling community suffered a significant loss last Saturday. An active member of the Bike Fed was thrown from his bicycle  by a speed bump and suffered a fatal head injury. Same age as myself and the accident wasn’t too far from my home. I need to buy a new helmet. I also have almost been thrown from my bicycle by speed bumps.

Helmets are required for all WORS races and this coming weekend is the Collectivo Classic at Minooka. Four dollars for parking. if you’re a participant you can get a parking pass at the registration tent. Get it on your car before you’re ticketed. The race is near Milwaukee. If you’re interested in the sport of mountain biking come on out.

You don’t need a helmet to bowl, though after watching choice bowling footage on YouTube you may change your mind. National Bowling Day was last Saturday. I did not go bowling Saturday yet somehow the day was declared a success.

Look at those cattle. Yum. We saw some ornery horses, fat pigs, gentle lambs and some hopping rabbits too.

I heard Meijer’s bought the prize lamb at the Fair, or so I heard. Meijer’s just opened two stores in the area, their first. We went to the nearer and my wife found the produce well priced. I observed they sold single serving size cuts of meat; lamb and bacon wrapped beef medallions. A sign of a predominant single lifestyle? I wasn’t overly impressed though it is a nice store. They had plenty of hummus, a good source of protein for weight loss, in their produce section. We bought the roasted pepper hummus. There will always be a market for food no matter the economy. Much of the State Fair is geared towards eating. I just today realized that we were there on the day of the Governors auction. We were walking out the gate as it started.

That’s one proud rooster. Then the camera’s battery died.

After buying half dozen of the all valuable cream puffs, and needing to get them to my mother’s house as quickly as possible, we happened walked by the canine sports arena. Oh dread. If only we had known such a venue existed, but we could not stop. I also didn’t see it listed in any State Fair promotions. If you ever watched the Purina Dog Shows, the active competitions, that is what it’s all about. We saw a couple of water jumps. Good for a splash if you stand at the far end of the tank.

I am baking another cake. Going Martha Stuart; upping the butter and sugar and using half all-purpose flour rather than all cake flour. I went with the smaller pans. Almost doubled the bake time. I need to get a third 8”. My wife refuses to let me frost it. The last cake, from a recipe I devised myself from a menagerie of recipes, I used only cake flour. It was not dry but it was not buttery. So I surrender to the all knowledgeable Martha. You can see the sprinkler head we bought at the Fair in the background. I am sure that pepper from our garden would have been award winning. Ike, our dog, pulls the peppers from the plants when they are ripe.

Decatur Dairy had some award winning cheeses at the Fair; their Havarti and pepper Havarti were ribbon winners. They are at the Tosa Farmer’s Market.

Tosa fest is coming September 11-12.. It is always good to plan ahead. The Fall Color festival is fast approaching; September 26th.

Ta-dah! My wife frosted the cake. I told her to trim away those muffing tops but who ever listens to me.

The $109 question: What were my three most favorite WORS races? Keeping the same question. Check out the Charity Jackpot Page link in the sidebar to possibly triple the amount.