Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July. Misao and I plan to go to the fireworks by bicycle this evening. Not sure if we will get any photos. Veteran's Park on the lake front is full of tents. Does waiting longer make the fireworks more enjoyable? With Church and being a bit tired we didn't go to the parade. I will grill some brats soon. Here is a photo from the Memorial Day Parade that Misao wanted me to put up... Doggles!

Yes, I am watching the Tour d' Fraud'nce. I guess cheating is OK if everyone is. I wouldn't want to be that supposed spectator that caused that first stage carbon jam. I enjoy watching time trials.

I had some good long rides hitting the local trails. On two of those rides I stopped by Emery's. First to get some brake pads, then to get some new tubes so I don't have to pump up my tires everyday. I wonder if the tube and tire companies even care about their products only lasting one year. I could blame the Chinese but I could also blame the capitalist establishment just wanting to sell more products. Not sure if that is really an environmentally sustainable approach... actually I am sure it's not. The connection between the two Oak Hill trails was too muddy to ride a few days ago. Some parts of the trails along the river are infested with cow parsnip ...nasty stuff; hogweed.

The old pads. Those pads were a bit tricky to replace and get them straight and flat with the rims. Continual adjustments while I ride for several days until the brakes settle to where they like. I might take the whole assemblies off to clean and lube.

I put my old knobby tire on the rear wheel to replace my failing back tire. It was original with the bike and was on the front wheel for years, plus two hard race seasons, before I bought new tires. It has more than enough tread to last the season. Still hoping to get to several races. The 'Ride the Divide' is over.

The new pool has in Hoyt Park has this nice new bicycle rack area. The Milwaukee Brewers had a ride to the game day. Not sure how that worked out. It sounds like they added more bike racks at the stadium.

Still having lots of problems with the Internet, I suspect man made. I wrote on three blogs Friday and my next books, yes book'S', are growing in my mind. After I get to the eye doctor and get some new eye wear the task of writing will be so much easier. I have been having lots of problems with my ancient glasses and I need bifocals. I think I will go back to a rounder frame. Life was batter when I wore round frames.

About time to cook those brats. Steven Raichlen was on public television all day yesterday. Right after the Tour coverage is over.

The Wheel on the Bike Goes Bump Bump Bump

Yes, I got in a good ride shortly before noon the other day when suddenly the bike started going bump bump bump. Inspecting my tire, I found the sidewall is failing. Another expense I can do without but I have to buy a new tire. WORS has recommended this tire; XR2 TLR 26". Looks good to me. The tread on my tire was also nearly gone, but you'd think a tire would last more than one season. I suspect it has something to do with being made in China. So I will have two different wheels with two different tires on my bike. Then I need a new bottom bracket, and the fore mentioned tubes and break pads. Should be set to race then... after I lose about twenty pounds.

Still I continued my ride as I thought I better get in as much riding as possible as long as I was out and wouldn't be going again until I got the new tire. Traveled the paved Hank Aaron Trail west. This is well used. People taking walks on their lunch breaks, mothers out with their children, bicyclers, joggers and the homeless all taking advantage. It is the green and relative quiet that is attractive. And here is a good segway to promote the Fresh Air Fund, though I am a bit late. It appears a cause based on sound ideas. Being closer to nature is good for all of us. Groups now contact me to promote their causes on this blog. Not sure where they get their stats. My counter tells me one thing, blogger stats tell me another, so I am unclear which, if any, source is correct as far as Internet traffic is concerned. I came across this video studying the interactions of autos, pedestrians and bicyclists. It doesn't make bicyclists look good.

On an earlier ride I was greeted by a man that proudly proclaimed that he rode 75 miles in the 'Miller Lite Ride for the Arts.' The Trek 100 has passed also. Both events I failed to mention. Also have to recognize a local for great achievements. But the 'Midwest MTB Festival' is this coming weekend. And the 'Ride the Divide' race is on. The promotion of the "Ride the Divide" film has been a big boost to the event. As of May they were expecting 100 participants. The problem is that it is an underground event, no permits (not sure if any are required) or sanctions by any organization. I have not been able to find the race event site where in the past you could follow the races progress. On the movie site all shipping for merchandise is free (code required) until the leader finishes the race. You can get the code from their facebook site. All things to put on your calenders for next year.

A big endurance race this weekend at John Muir. And don't forget the Subaru Cup is fast approaching. Not sure why I was thinking of attending the Subaru Cup, I have a big family event to attend on that date.

Yes, last night was the monthly mountain bikers meeting, for all of those who ride monthly... or not. The highlights being remarks that the John Muir Trails are in fantastic shape and mountain bikers love the technicality of the Emma Carlin Trails. And most importantly, orange is the new black. Or so Metro Mountain Bikers claim as they fawn over their new orange jerseys. Not sure how well that will go over in Architecture, where Architects claim relevance by garbing themselves in black.

I took this picture on a ride a couple days after the spring river clean up. Obviously the cleaning was not as thorough as it could have been. It goes to show what happens when you try to be something your not; this raccoon thinking himself a beaver. Just some of the lessons one can learn from nature, from riding a mountain bike. In my goal to put in 60 productive hours a week into work or exercise I have found a schedule useless. Schedules just disrupt the natural flow of activity. I have a list of things I want to do on a particular day and start with one item. If it fills the entire day... good. If not I move onto the next item. It is why I don't make it to the gym much. The time when I usually go, when my friends are there, just breaks up the day to the point where I cannot immerse myself into a project. Some of my blogs I include in the 60 hours, others I don't. I have been putting together a spreadsheet, cost estimates for repairing my roof. $2,500 in materials, well over $3,000 if I want to do it in a fashion that excludes a potential plunge to my death.

Facebook is the biggest waste of time. The Internet in general is growing cumbersome. far too over extended. I don't go to the mountain biking forums any more. I was in my e-mail the other day and it suddenly said my instant messenger has been disabled as I just signed into my account on another computer.

I hate those that take spying for wisdom, who take want of manners for courage, and take tale-telling for honesty. ...Confucius (2006). The Sayings Of Confucius (Kindle Locations 990-991). Public Domain Books. Kindle Edition.

Yes plenty of free books available for Kindle, and for a very small price you can purchase my books of adventure and battles for worth. I highly recommend all my stories.

Hopefully Alois will be posting soon with tales of his own adventures here in the United States. Will be focusing on my other blogs for a while now.

Is it Spring or Summer?

Yes, Memorial Day seems to be the natural turning point from Spring to Summer. We went five whole days after turning off the heater before putting in the air conditioner. New record highs in a mini heat wave made this following weather, now over 30 degrees lower than a few days ago, seem cool. Just a month earlier 60 degrees, and colder, would have seemed warm.


But I did get out for some good rides. Even in the extreme heat I got out some evenings. The pool is open at Hoyt Park and the trails ride well. My knee has been bothering me as I fell on it last month bowling. I am wondering if I have/had a hair line fracture the way it has been feeling. That and the inability to lose much weight have made me give up on the Subaru Cup. Money is an issue also. I will set my sights on local races; WORS races 6, 7, 10, and 12, possibly 9. And yes, the Wednesday Night time trials are going on with Metro Mountain Bikers. I should start attending. Also they have the Odd Tuesday Rides, all the information on their site.

Here was our Memorial Day meal. I need to find a proper diet to lose weight. I see many people claim protein diets work, though I can't get Misao to stop serving carbohydrate filled meals. Taking a break from our mundane life we went to the mall and walked around. The book store had a book from a guy who claimed it was insulin control that is the key to losing weight. It makes perfect sense to me. Too bad we can't afford his book. High protein and high fat, who can argue with that?

I haven't posted much recently but have plenty of pictures to make up for it. Alois passed his test, as he was studying English in California, and has promised many photos after he returns home and has time to post.

I made a carrying case for the back of my bike. Just gathered stuff hanging around the house, a couple dollars on hardware, miscellaneous tools and about an hour and a half of my time.

Three pieces of scrap plywood, roughly the same size and shape.

Clamp with nuts and bolts the base of the box, part of a commercial container system for transporting cut flowers, between two pieces of plywood.

The bottom piece needed to be cut to fit underneath the saddle stem mounted cargo rack. The drill provided the rounded end and then the jig saw finished the job.

Then I bolted everything together creating a snug fit to hold the box to the rack. Tightening any of the bolts too much thew off the alignment of the bolts on the three pieces of wood. I had to loosen everything and then tighten it again. It was a bit of a hassle to get the rack clamped to the saddle stem. The box was set far back enough that I didn't need to remove the saddle bag. It also doesn't interfere with me.

Misao took note of my creation and asked, "You're not going to go around on your bike picking up cans are you?" She said that would be embarrassing. And with one look, a single remark, my goals for world dominion have suffered another set back. It was also to be part of my weight loss plan and source of funding for new bike parts. I'm not sure if it is the act of recycling she finds embarrassing, or the fact that she dresses me so fashionably and my bike is so nice compared to the people usually collecting cans by bicycle around the city.

I also spent time in the most heated of heat this past week putting in the garden. A bit late, but we got everything in. Also planted some sunflowers where the raspberries grow. We only have one small raspberry plant. It will fill in the space over the years.

Here is a photo from the Memorial Day Parade. We rode our bikes to the Parade. There were lot of people out on their bikes. The new Canal Street corridor is very nice. Most people like to ride the broad sidewalks though some, as is legal, ride with the cars in the street. Many people took their bikes to the Parade but I was surprised how many people were riding away from downtown as the time for the Parade to start was quickly approaching. The photo is also a good opportunity to shamelessly promote my latest book, available only for Kindle. I took the photo for the cover myself. I haven't written much recently but feel a writing binge coming on.

Again...

Again I was down and out today. It was a long hard weekend with little sleep. Maybe I will take a morning ride tomorrow to look for Benie Brewer. His lawn ornaments have been hidden around the county parks, and state wide, for people to pillage. Prizes hidden inside supposedly. Didn't get much done today. Had to upload my book one more time, ...again. Finally got the format right and had to make some small corrections. That's it for the Kindle version. If I ever get it to print, with professional help, it might be quite different. Waiting for feedback from a former editor I gave a copy to.


Can I get in shape for the Subaru Cup. I have to try. I have to ride ride ride, get my weight down and start racing. My bike is riding smooth after I cleaned and lubed it. I thought the bottom bracket went out again as the bike was clicking. But I was wrong. The springs on the wheel quick release mechanisms were all messed up, caught in the mounts. I fimangled them with some small pliers to put them back in their place. Have to renew my license and WORBA membership. In other attempts to get in shape and stay healthy, I thought this man had great advice. Yes he is no longer here but he lived long and well.

Took a picture of this cardinal in the park a while back. We have rabbits and all kinds of birds in our yard. The Robins built a nest. The mourning doves enjoy our company also. Have to get the garden in. The seeds we have are old so I am just going to plant everything we have open, and choose the biggest and strongest from what comes up.

Hitting the Wall

Has it been over a month since I last posted? Apologies to my readers. Thank goodness I have Alois to cover for me, now happy in California studying English. Though his English was quite fine before. Of course he came across the pond with his bicycle. ...Not by bicycle, he brought it with him on the plane.

Metro Mountain Bikers had two movie nights at a local tavern this Winter and raised a bit of money. But they couldn't compare to what the premiere of "Riding the Divide" brought to the Rosebud. And it was such a great movie. Everyone should see it. If ever you rode a bicycle, you will want to start training again as soon as you see it. The movie has been so popular, this underground, unofficial, unsanctioned, totally self supported race of 2,700 miles has over 100 entrants this year. They are a bit anxious about the attention the numbers might draw. A group will start on the south end this year at the same time. The movie event was so successful they have decided to do another. A mountain bike movie marathon at a theater next off season. A series of movies run through two or three times for a single admission.

Has Easter come and gone since last I posted? It appears so. These Easter bunnies seem to have had greater success in their weight loss efforts. My weight has not changed. For Easter I received a free ticket to a Brewers game and joined a group from church. Great seats! It was a great game. We won. A hawk harassing the teams and spectators seemed to take the majority of news coverage on the game that day.

Though the weather has been unusually cold and a bit wet, there were many good riding days I didn't take advantage of. Shortly after I last posted I had a physical breakdown. Yes, I hit the wall. Something that happened quite more often before I got my CPAP machine for sleep apnea. Headaches, hard to open the eyes or do much of anything. I recovered after a few days, had a couple of great rides, then focused on finishing my next book. That, with the Mother's Day sales, kept me bit worn down.

And yes, the book is completed. Available for Kindle, it is not professionally edited. Excuse the Table of Contents, I just couldn't get the formatting for that part to work. I have no money to self publish a paperback. But I have a couple of odd jobs lined up and we are climbing out of our debt. If you enjoy a bit of saber rattling, a backhanded bromance, love a good man cry, think we should be giving the militaristic Chinese commies a bit of what for, then this book is for you. Only $1.48. You can download Kindle for your PC. Time to start riding again, a lot. My bike is in pieces waiting for a good cleaning. Today?... Then I need to buy tubes, break pads and maybe some new grips. And I could use a new front derailleur.

Hopefully Alois will have much more to post. Kindle is also available in Germany now. So if any of our hundreds of German readers are proficient enough in English to enjoy a good bit of fiction, you can read my books.

Aus der Neuen Welt

Schon seit einigen Jahren hatte ich den Wunsch, einmal die USA zu besuchen. Die Heimat dieses Blogs ist ja ebenfalls die USA. Diesen Wunsch konnte ich jetzt verwirklichen. Ich besuche jetzt einen mehrwöchigen Englisch-Sprachkurs, da mein Englisch noch nicht wirklich gut ist. Mein Reiseziel ist San Luis Obispo in Kalifornien.

Das beste Transportmittel für die Stadt ist natürlich ein Fahrrad. Das Fahrrad (siehe Bild) habe ich hier im CBO (Cambria Bicycle Outfitter http://www.cambriabike.com/) für 400 USD gekauft.



Es ist ideal für diesen Zweck. Der Bicycle Shop ist günstig und sehr empfehlenswert.

Es gibt hier sehr viele, gut markierte Fahrradwege. Die Stadt ist sehr Fahrradfreundlich strukturiert.

Eine große Entäuschung ist das Wetter. Ich habe hier viel Sonne und Wärme erwartet, aber bis jetzt war es ziemlich kalt (abends teilweise nur ca. 4 Grad Celsius) und tagsüber nicht mal 20 Grad Celsius. Außerdem weht ständig ein sehr starker und kalter Polar-Wind vom Pazifik ins Land. Geregnet hat es auch schon mehrmals.



Den Namen hat die Stadt vom Bischof Saint Louis von Toulouse (Frankreich). Dies war ein Grund, diese Stadt auszuwählen, da Louis die französische Form meines Vornamens ist. Das Bild zeigt die Statue von Vater Junipero Serra, der 1772 diese Mission gegründet hat.





Ich hoffe, das Wetter wird bald wärmer, damit ich mir die Fotos von den vielen Palmen nicht in meinem Zimmer anschauen muß.

The Robin, The State Bird

Spring is here finally. Though it has been tempting to get out for some long rides I spent some time starting back up on house repairs. I also got some work done in the yard. I was lubing my chain and filling my tires to go out for a ride when this tough guy came around. My presence unable to deter him from his desires, he began to feast from our lawn. Paying me no never mind. I even got up and came back with the camera. He thought it curious my pointing the little box at him. I never recall seeing the Robins with such powerful colors as this year; very black crown and vibrant breast. And I have never seen so many as I have this year.

Then I got out for a good ride. These are the first flowers I saw this year, along the river near the Hoyt trails. Have no idea what they are called. The trails at Hoyt were soft. The Kettle Moraine Trails are open, or so I heard at the monthly Metro Mountain Bike meeting tonight. This Saturday will be river clean up day. There will also be a Tea Party rally in Madison. The weight is moving down ever so slightly.

"Ride the Divide" is one focus expressed at the meeting. The location for its Milwaukee premier has changed; now at the Rosebud. We'll see if it doesn't change again. The race most attractive to myself, I have a list of links to big races in the sidebar, would be the MTB Challenge.

They are rebuilding the swimming pool at Hoyt Park. With temperatures reaching 80 the other day it is about time to turn off the furnace and turn on the air conditioner.

We went to the Bike Expo at the last minute. Misao reminded me Saturday that we were there last year taking a break from fretting many days over our dog in the hospital. A couple days later she died; poisoned. She was a very good dog. So Misao took the enthusiasm out of my sails, but we made it there Sunday evening. They sold a lot of bikes. Their best event ever I heard.

Someone commented on my last post, but I didn't confirm it. It was an anti-Amway plug with corresponding link. What put me off the most is that it appeared instantly as I posted. We all have our own horror stories about salesmen, no matter what they are selling. I just question the intentions and integrity of any who would obsess so against another. Those a kin to the spitter's guild. Stirring up in the hearts of men that they can do things to some that they would never consider doing to another (or allowing anyone else to do to another), like poisoning their dog.

Bad weather will return, ensuring that the first formal draft of my next book will be completed by Monday. If you read the brief excerpts I put, will put, on my writers blog you may form certain impressions about my next book. I can insure you they will all be wrong. I may have it available for Kindle soon.