We are off again! First Vegas, now Washington D.C.
Since we both had a few days of vacation to burn, we decided to visit our nations' capital. Is that the correct use of the apostrophe? Although the wife has been there, I've never been. We are staying close to the capitol as possible (without breaking the bank), basically just a hop, skip, and jump away from the White House.
Pretty excited about seeing all the major monuments, and I'm definitely planning on visiting the Smithsonian Air & Space museum. Lodging and flights have already been arranged, and Jenny and I are definitely looking forward to the trip.
Cycling update: this Labor Day weekend I did a half-century on Saturday. Again, I ran into the Panama Young Mothers ride from Neola to Panama. I was amazed by the number of people participating, and it was nice to see some other riders on one of my regular routes...usually I don't see another soul on a bike. One issue, something that bothered me and hopefully folks will be more careful in the future. Besides seeing riders without helmets, I also saw support vehicles driving alongside riders. This could be disastrous in several ways...a rider could lose control and easily go underneath a moving support vehicle. Also, the support vehicle is driving on the wrong side of the road. There wasn't a great deal of traffic but what happens when you are meeting a support vehicle in your lane? The support vehicle can't move into the opposite lane, there are cyclists there. The only option is the shoulder. I should know, I was riding in the opposite lane towards one of these support vehicles on the way home. Who moves? Either the support vehicle takes the shoulder or I do. And what happens if we both move at the same time?
I was headed towards a white pickup, and held my position because I had the right-of-way (I was going the right direction in the proper lane), and the truck eventually took the shoulder. As we passed, I heard a shouted "Look out for cars!" I shrugged and continued on my way.
Amazingly, I soon met a larger school bus/van heading in the same direction, in the wrong lane, heading for me. I was weary of playing chicken with 4 ton vehicles, so I took the shoulder and as we passed was unceremoniously honked at. I wasn't sure if that was a friendly thanks for yielding honk, or a 'get the hell out of the way' honk. In any case, I was still in the proper lane.
Next Labor Day weekend, I'll ride on Sunday :>) -D
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Viva Las Vegas!
Headed to Vegas Friday morning! Occasion? Daughter's wedding!
Her future father-in-law is a minister working in Las Vegas. How convenient is that? Bonus, Las Vegas bling and fun! We were married there in 1994 and we haven't been back since...I'm certain things have changed a little :>)
We aren't much for gambling. Might drop a coin or two in the slots but that's about it. The kids are getting married at the Stratosphere, on the balcony, about 100 stories up. I'm okay with heights, as long as I don't have to look over the edge. And I'm not doing the bungee jump!
Formal dress. Pants are required, and I may have to wear one of my Hawaiian shirts. I think I have a nice pair of flip-flops somewhere, that aren't cracked, torn, sandy, mud-caked, or paint spattered.
Bike riding update...not much lately. Short story long, I had a great time on RAGBRAI! Slept in a tent for 6 nights, then I went to sleep in my own bed. Woke up the next morning, my hand an fingers were numb. I figured I slept on it funny and this would go away. Much to my chagrin, it stuck around. I consulted my sister the nurse, who thought it was probably a pinched nerve (and I was hoping it was NOT carpal tunnel!). Eschewing 'conventional Western' medicine (MD's, surgery, pill pushing and such), I went to a licensed massage therapist for a therapeutic massage hoping it would loosen things up a bit. As she was working on me, she mentioned the fact that out of all the massage clients she'd seen that day, I was the one who most needed a chiropractic adjustment. Of course, she made a recommendation and I figured why not? I'll try it, if it doesn't work no harm, no foul, make a doctor's appointment.
As of this posting, I've probably had about a half-dozen chiropractic 'adjustments'. I can say the first time he adjusted I had this great sense of relief and relaxation throughout my entire body. And, the numbness has subsided greatly to the point of feeling almost normal (no numb feeling in my left hand or arm) this morning. Although I'm not really sure whether this is actually due to the adjustments or staying off the bike awhile...I've ridden only once or twice since RAGBRAI. I'm going to take it easy for the next week or so and then back on the bike commuting. By that time, the hot summer afternoons should be subsiding and I'll be riding in nice crisp fall weather!
-D
P.S. However, our Corporate Cup run is coming up in late September, so I have started running. Hopefully, the running exercise makes up for the temporary bicycle hiatus. See ya later!
Her future father-in-law is a minister working in Las Vegas. How convenient is that? Bonus, Las Vegas bling and fun! We were married there in 1994 and we haven't been back since...I'm certain things have changed a little :>)
We aren't much for gambling. Might drop a coin or two in the slots but that's about it. The kids are getting married at the Stratosphere, on the balcony, about 100 stories up. I'm okay with heights, as long as I don't have to look over the edge. And I'm not doing the bungee jump!
Formal dress. Pants are required, and I may have to wear one of my Hawaiian shirts. I think I have a nice pair of flip-flops somewhere, that aren't cracked, torn, sandy, mud-caked, or paint spattered.
Bike riding update...not much lately. Short story long, I had a great time on RAGBRAI! Slept in a tent for 6 nights, then I went to sleep in my own bed. Woke up the next morning, my hand an fingers were numb. I figured I slept on it funny and this would go away. Much to my chagrin, it stuck around. I consulted my sister the nurse, who thought it was probably a pinched nerve (and I was hoping it was NOT carpal tunnel!). Eschewing 'conventional Western' medicine (MD's, surgery, pill pushing and such), I went to a licensed massage therapist for a therapeutic massage hoping it would loosen things up a bit. As she was working on me, she mentioned the fact that out of all the massage clients she'd seen that day, I was the one who most needed a chiropractic adjustment. Of course, she made a recommendation and I figured why not? I'll try it, if it doesn't work no harm, no foul, make a doctor's appointment.
As of this posting, I've probably had about a half-dozen chiropractic 'adjustments'. I can say the first time he adjusted I had this great sense of relief and relaxation throughout my entire body. And, the numbness has subsided greatly to the point of feeling almost normal (no numb feeling in my left hand or arm) this morning. Although I'm not really sure whether this is actually due to the adjustments or staying off the bike awhile...I've ridden only once or twice since RAGBRAI. I'm going to take it easy for the next week or so and then back on the bike commuting. By that time, the hot summer afternoons should be subsiding and I'll be riding in nice crisp fall weather!
-D
P.S. However, our Corporate Cup run is coming up in late September, so I have started running. Hopefully, the running exercise makes up for the temporary bicycle hiatus. See ya later!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
We tried!
I just saw a comment on my earlier 'Vote 4 Go Kup' post. Seems Gravelo added a tagline to his 'Go Kup' idea and got hosed out of the prize money. I agree with Gravelo...shop Casey's!
What about the 3 or 4 others that entered the 'Go Kup' idea? How does Kum and Go decide who gets the cash?
Here's my thought...the Kum and Go corporation declares the contest 'null and void', keeps the cash and uses the slogan anyway. Pretty shrewd, but extremely unfair. Maybe I'm wrong, they might throw the names in a hat and do a drawing. However, that shouldn't disqualify someone just because they put a tagline on their idea. Give a guy a break, fer chrissake!
I've been pretty lazy regarding my blog lately. Lots of stuff going on right now and my blog isn't the highest priority. Since I was sitting here watching Star Wars Return of the Jedi on Spike TV (probably the hundredth time I've seen it) , I figured this would be a great time for a post.
Still don't have RAGBRAI pics downloaded to Flickr. We will get to this eventually, though. -D
What about the 3 or 4 others that entered the 'Go Kup' idea? How does Kum and Go decide who gets the cash?
Here's my thought...the Kum and Go corporation declares the contest 'null and void', keeps the cash and uses the slogan anyway. Pretty shrewd, but extremely unfair. Maybe I'm wrong, they might throw the names in a hat and do a drawing. However, that shouldn't disqualify someone just because they put a tagline on their idea. Give a guy a break, fer chrissake!
I've been pretty lazy regarding my blog lately. Lots of stuff going on right now and my blog isn't the highest priority. Since I was sitting here watching Star Wars Return of the Jedi on Spike TV (probably the hundredth time I've seen it) , I figured this would be a great time for a post.
Still don't have RAGBRAI pics downloaded to Flickr. We will get to this eventually, though. -D
Friday, August 6, 2010
Long Time No Blog
Got back from RAGBRAI last Saturday, rode the entire 7 days!
It was quite an adventure, we tented...the wife did the entire 7 with me driving our sag wagon! What a woman she is! I do have pictures, which I'll eventually post along with more verbiage.
I haven't been on the bike since then, but plan on riding the Bleriot tomorrow morning, during the cool of the day. Looks like it's going to heat up next week.
It was quite an adventure, we tented...the wife did the entire 7 with me driving our sag wagon! What a woman she is! I do have pictures, which I'll eventually post along with more verbiage.
I haven't been on the bike since then, but plan on riding the Bleriot tomorrow morning, during the cool of the day. Looks like it's going to heat up next week.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
VOTE 4 GRAVELO! Visit your local Kum and Go
I just found out my blogging buddy Gravelo might have an opportunity to win $10,000!
The details are on his blog post:
http://gravelo.blogspot.com/2010/07/help-brother-out.html
Basically, if you have a Kum and Go in your town go buy something, grab a receipt, then go to www.nameyourcup.com. Enter your receipt code and vote for "Go Kup".
I'll be looking forward to the big payoff, along with my cut :>))
GOOD LUCK!
The details are on his blog post:
http://gravelo.blogspot.com/2010/07/help-brother-out.html
Basically, if you have a Kum and Go in your town go buy something, grab a receipt, then go to www.nameyourcup.com. Enter your receipt code and vote for "Go Kup".
I'll be looking forward to the big payoff, along with my cut :>))
GOOD LUCK!
Friday, June 25, 2010
Keepin' it fresh, unintentionally OR My Adventure!
We've had quite a bit of rain lately.
So much so, the Missouri river has been pushing outside its banks, especially on the Iowa side. Needless to say, this had an effect on my regular, tried, and true commuting route.
It was a beautiful day yesterday, one of the first nice days after a string of thunderstorms and rain. Low wind, blue skies, sun shining. The bike glided almost effortlessly along the trail. There were a few puddles and some standing water, but nothing the super Soma Double Cross couldn't handle. My go to commuter, takes punishing miles and comes back for more. I made the loop around Lake Manawa, no sweat.
When I reached Riverfront Park, it was a different story. As I descended down into the park, I rounded the first curve...and slammed on the brakes. The trail disappeared into a great swamp, definitely not some little puddle or simple standing water. No way would I be able to splash through this mess!
What to do? Here I was, only 3 miles or so from work and I was stopped cold. The first thing crossing my mind was riding all the way back to my truck, load it up and drive into work. Crap. My next thought considered any possible alternate route. Of course I had no contingency, no alternate routes mapped out or any other kind of alternate plan in mind. Jeez.
So, I did the only thing that made sense at the time...at least to me. First, I accepted the fact that I was probably going to be late to work. Now, it was time for an adventure! The only route that I could think of to get me across the river would the South Omaha Bridge road. I turned around hoping a route would magically materialize.
I backtracked to South Omaha Bridge road and started heading west. There is a trail adjacent to the road so I didn't have to ride in traffic. I was wondering what would happen when I arrived at the bridge. I knew they were renovating, so I was hoping there would be a way to cross without having to ride in rush hour.
I shouldn't have worried. The recently and very nicely renovated bridge (I stopped and took pictures btw, subject of a later post) had an excellent pedestrian path. Made it across, no problems.
Next issue...where do I go from here? I was on 13th street in Omaha, south of the Zoo and Rosenblatt stadium. 13th Street was not an option, too much high speed traffic and the College World Series was in town. The bike path terminated once I hit the street. But, I noticed a path on the river levee below the bridge. Now I had to figure how to get under the bridge and onto the levee path, running North towards my intended destination. I found a cross street (and pedestrian path!) running down under the bridge to river level. Great! I was able to find the entrance to the river levee path. I hit the path and started cranking, making great progress...until...
The levee path abruptly ended after about 2 miles. I ran into a gate across the path, and the path behind the gate was no longer paved. This was a dead end. Fortunately if there's a will, there's a way. At the gated point, another path lead down hill to the Burlington Northern railway, which runs parallel to the levee. I could only think "This is where they hide the bodies." but I soldiered on :>)
There was a gravelled right-of-way along the tracks, the only way to go, so I took it. After a couple of hundred yards there was a railroad crossing that led to a gravel 'street'. 3rd and Hickory. A light at the end of the tunnel! There was no place to go but up, and the street numbers were increasing.
I knew where I was, and once I got to 10th street it was North to Dodge and west to 16th and work. I rode through 'Little Italy' on the way, a nice diversion. Past the Durham museum and into downtown, lickety split. Without the backtracking, it's only two miles more than my regular route! -D
So much so, the Missouri river has been pushing outside its banks, especially on the Iowa side. Needless to say, this had an effect on my regular, tried, and true commuting route.
It was a beautiful day yesterday, one of the first nice days after a string of thunderstorms and rain. Low wind, blue skies, sun shining. The bike glided almost effortlessly along the trail. There were a few puddles and some standing water, but nothing the super Soma Double Cross couldn't handle. My go to commuter, takes punishing miles and comes back for more. I made the loop around Lake Manawa, no sweat.
When I reached Riverfront Park, it was a different story. As I descended down into the park, I rounded the first curve...and slammed on the brakes. The trail disappeared into a great swamp, definitely not some little puddle or simple standing water. No way would I be able to splash through this mess!
What to do? Here I was, only 3 miles or so from work and I was stopped cold. The first thing crossing my mind was riding all the way back to my truck, load it up and drive into work. Crap. My next thought considered any possible alternate route. Of course I had no contingency, no alternate routes mapped out or any other kind of alternate plan in mind. Jeez.
So, I did the only thing that made sense at the time...at least to me. First, I accepted the fact that I was probably going to be late to work. Now, it was time for an adventure! The only route that I could think of to get me across the river would the South Omaha Bridge road. I turned around hoping a route would magically materialize.
I backtracked to South Omaha Bridge road and started heading west. There is a trail adjacent to the road so I didn't have to ride in traffic. I was wondering what would happen when I arrived at the bridge. I knew they were renovating, so I was hoping there would be a way to cross without having to ride in rush hour.
I shouldn't have worried. The recently and very nicely renovated bridge (I stopped and took pictures btw, subject of a later post) had an excellent pedestrian path. Made it across, no problems.
Next issue...where do I go from here? I was on 13th street in Omaha, south of the Zoo and Rosenblatt stadium. 13th Street was not an option, too much high speed traffic and the College World Series was in town. The bike path terminated once I hit the street. But, I noticed a path on the river levee below the bridge. Now I had to figure how to get under the bridge and onto the levee path, running North towards my intended destination. I found a cross street (and pedestrian path!) running down under the bridge to river level. Great! I was able to find the entrance to the river levee path. I hit the path and started cranking, making great progress...until...
The levee path abruptly ended after about 2 miles. I ran into a gate across the path, and the path behind the gate was no longer paved. This was a dead end. Fortunately if there's a will, there's a way. At the gated point, another path lead down hill to the Burlington Northern railway, which runs parallel to the levee. I could only think "This is where they hide the bodies." but I soldiered on :>)
There was a gravelled right-of-way along the tracks, the only way to go, so I took it. After a couple of hundred yards there was a railroad crossing that led to a gravel 'street'. 3rd and Hickory. A light at the end of the tunnel! There was no place to go but up, and the street numbers were increasing.
I knew where I was, and once I got to 10th street it was North to Dodge and west to 16th and work. I rode through 'Little Italy' on the way, a nice diversion. Past the Durham museum and into downtown, lickety split. Without the backtracking, it's only two miles more than my regular route! -D
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Keepin' it fresh
Google blogger has come out with a new template feature so I decided to try it. How does it look?
It's good to change things up to keep things fresh. I haven't tried all the new templates but the bookshelf background caught my eye.
I've added a new link to my blog list...John Gough's spoke calculator. I've used this application to build wheels, and I can say it hasn't yet miscalculated a spoke length. Thinking about building a new rear wheel for the Double Cross, so I put this here just to make it convenient for me. It might prove to be convenient for someone else should they decide to build their own wheels.
I'm pushing hard to get in 4 days of commuting this week to get the miles up. Need to get the miles in for RAGBRAI. The MS15o Omaha to Lincoln (and back) ride is also coming up mid-July, and is a good yardstick for determining RAGBRAI fitness. Other things I need to do: buy the wife a new sleeping bag and camping bag, get the truck serviced, pull out the RAGBRAI camping list, etc, etc. It'll be here before you know it! -D
It's good to change things up to keep things fresh. I haven't tried all the new templates but the bookshelf background caught my eye.
I've added a new link to my blog list...John Gough's spoke calculator. I've used this application to build wheels, and I can say it hasn't yet miscalculated a spoke length. Thinking about building a new rear wheel for the Double Cross, so I put this here just to make it convenient for me. It might prove to be convenient for someone else should they decide to build their own wheels.
I'm pushing hard to get in 4 days of commuting this week to get the miles up. Need to get the miles in for RAGBRAI. The MS15o Omaha to Lincoln (and back) ride is also coming up mid-July, and is a good yardstick for determining RAGBRAI fitness. Other things I need to do: buy the wife a new sleeping bag and camping bag, get the truck serviced, pull out the RAGBRAI camping list, etc, etc. It'll be here before you know it! -D
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)