8 Mile

Mile per hour that is. Yes, I went to the final Wednesday Night time trial of the season put on by Metro Mountain Bikers, and busted the 8mph mark. One climb was eliminated but that was followed by a very fast fairly level mile plus section, also eliminated. I felt strong and fast over most of the trail. Just ecstatic over riding the green forest trails, hitting the obstacles hard.

They had a grill and drinks for a final party but I only stayed long enough to get my lap time. It was bring your own meat. I looked for a donation can they had last time in the past hoping to get a soda and support the cause but didn’t see one. I had brought my camera to get some pictures of the grilled meats but left before they started that heavenly culinary exercise in goodness and all things manly. And I know why California is the second largest state on my visitors record, being vastly surpassed by Wisconsin only after I began posting about Ray’s Milwaukee opening October 1st. All those vegans and vegetarians come to view my collection of grilled meat photos. They think no one knows what they’re up to.

Those Californians are almost as hideous as that conspiracy at the BBC. All their broadcasters pronounce ever letter of each word in their news reports. Listen and you’ll hear every consonant in words such as Wednesday, all in some perverse effort to give British students an unfair advantage in International Spelling Bees.

Yes, after riding mostly on the road this past month it was a real rush hitting the trails. I could feel accomplished as my long rides have paid off. Getting in better shape and losing some weight. Craters of the moon has been a difficult feature for me, but I not only felt good in the climb was going faster than I have ever. Just came inches short of making that final steep bump at the top.

Yet I am questioning whether I can make any more races. The cost is still prohibitive as we have to invest much into our home before Winter, I would like to be riding at something closer to 10mph for ‘sport’ class, my weight is higher than I would like or have expected, and working weekends I arrive tired with little time to warm up for a race, even finding it hard to get a good breakfast. Certainly I will make Sheboygan, if only to take pictures. I am at 267lbs and if I get significantly under 260lbs before Sheboygan I really should race. Was near 280 over the Winter.

Sheboygab 2010

We couldn’t make it to the State Fair either this year. Here is a video from last year’s Wig Wam Ultimax in Sheboygan.

I will have to count this last event as one of the three races I wanted to make this year though I only did one lap. The other could be the next Odd Tuesday Ride this September 6th. Wheel and Sprocket will be providing food and have bikes to demo. Be there at the Hoyt Park swimming pool! A one hour ride followed by food, what else could be finer as the days grow shorter, a night ride later for those with lights.

Copper Harbor is becoming a mountain bike destination. It was mentioned at the last Metro Mountain Bikers meeting and I heard it again highly spoken of Wednesday night. Some really enjoy the ‘Ore to Shore’ race (already past) giving the upper peninsular a growing reputation for mountain biking. Also heard Wednesday that the cult favorite, The Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival has been sold. Some wonder how that will effect the unprecedented attendance the event has been known for.

My wife will be back soon and we will be going to the hospital. My mother is having open heart surgery already an hour in now. We hope to be there when she wakes up if the surgery goes well and doesn’t take too long. Your hopes and prayers are welcome along with ours.

Ok you meatless Californians, I pulled out an old photo. Enjoy! I think that’s real meat, but with bicyclists you can never tell.

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.

SLO: Avila Beach

Ich berichte hier in unregelmäßigen Abständen von meinen Erlebnissen während meines Englisch Sprachkurses in San Luis Obispo (SLO). An einem sonnigen Sonntag bin ich mit dem Rad zum Avila Beach gefahren. Es dauert ca. 45 Minuten, bis man mit dem Rad den Strand erreicht. Hier sieht man einen Fluß, der zum Pazifik fließt. Über den Fluß führt eine Metallbrücke, auf der man bequem zu Fuß das gegenüberliegende Ufer erreichen kann.

Einige Impressionen vom Strand:

Adapting to Conditions

Conditions require some adaptation. I will not go to the time trials tonight. With the heat and the difficulty of the climbs I believe it to be unwise. I could not have possibly completed two laps, as intended, anyway with the heat warnings. So how did I adapt? Did I just sit home enjoying our three air conditioners and dehumidifiers?

No! I went out in the hottest part of the day (100F) with high dew points and put in more than fifteen miles; the length of the WORS Sport course. Stayed on the parkway. Still some good climbs but not nearly as strenuous as Crystal Ridge. The goal; to acclimate myself to the conditions that I may encounter Sunday. made a quick stop at Emery's along the way. They also have a great remodel on their website. I will now tweak my bike and add another bottle holder. Yard work and home repairs will continue my acclimation process as I now rest in preparation for the race. I will register on site Saturday.

Actually felt OK during the ride until the last mile or so. My weight is down below 270 also. I believe the heat is played up so much in the news these days because people fail to acclimate themselves in these days of air conditioning. And part of acclimating is sometimes just to slow down, stop and find some shade in which to quietly ride out the heat wave. Much like Winter where at times one is confined indoors people need to adapt to conditions. In that vein we have been raising our temperature settings on the air conditioners as Summer goes on (80F). It will save us some on the electric bill too.

Here is part of the work around the new detention ponds. The picture is several weeks old now. The water in the river is still and very green. The bicycle parking at the new swimming pool is packed full these days after I posted a picture of the amenity here. I must have a whole lot of readers. Hope to get some photos soon from Alois and Misao is inspired to play on the dog theme in photos.

Misao bought some Gatorade and I am looking forward to my Saturday soba noodle feast to prepare. Whole grain buckwheat noodles are the best you can eat to prepare for a race. I speak from experience as well as research on the Internet. But, honestly you can't trust everything on the Internet.

Hot Day

Happy Birthday to Me

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Alois; July 18.

Yes, today is my Birthday and I have survived unscathed. I heard they closed the expressway in LA today. I hope it wasn't on my behalf. Misao was inspired by Master Chef to make me a cake from scratch. The whipped cream covers her attempts at writing Happy Birthday on the cake.

I made the Wednesday Night time trials this past week. A good one lap run of the race lap for next Saturday. Under an hour gives me confidence to race in Sport class. A lap people's fancy GPS systems have measured anywhere from 6.3 to 7.5 miles. Two laps for the Sport race should have me at the ski hill before the Elite racers start. Should be well off the course by then. have been feeling good recently; strong on the bike though my average speed is only about 7mph on the trails. Will ride near everyday and hit two laps next Wednesday before the big race. Then three days of rest, sobe noodles, oodles of noodles, the night before the race, some Gatorade and I should be in good shape to perform well.

WORS has redesigned their site (very nice) and I really enjoy Cycling News; I get their updates via facebook. Some controversy in Milwaukee over a half marathon they held for Summerfest. The director caught some heat but it is as always. If you're popular, part of the in crowd, anythings OK, if you're not, you never work again. And what about the BBC World Service covered music festivals some weeks back and not a word about Summerfest; the largest music festival in the world. What I really want to know is, what happened to Peter Day?

My parent's will take us out to Red Robin for lunch tomorrow. I have wanted to try their burgers for a while now. This robin is from the nest in our garage this year. Very friendly and eager to pose, his adult feathers still to fill in. The baby rabbits hardly give us notice when we come out. None of the lettuce I planted is coming up this year.

As we get out of our financial distress we have been able to afford more supplements. Fish oil being the big one that seems to have made the difference. Also not much fast food for the last five years might be helping some. Well over five years on the CPAP machine and I think my body is finally rebounding strong. Still need some medical tests I don't have money for, but I'll eventually get to that. Feeling good to be getting back into racing after nearly two years without participating in one. My weight is still too high, twenty pounds more than the last time I raced, but I feel stronger in some ways than before.

I have opted for contact lenses, as they are much cheaper than a new pair of eye glasses. Bought some $15 reading glasses for ...reading. They are much better for riding and I can now get some nice shades to protect my eyes and clear the glare. People seem to enjoy my latest book.

The fourth of July was another grill day. Burgers the general shape of the state of Texas were called Bubba Burgers. We road down to the Harley Davidson Museum where we had a good view of the fireworks. the fireworks feature on my camera didn't seem to work well, but the battery was very low. A small crowd made it all that much better. God Bless America.