Pedicab Man

How much is enough exercise?

2010-11-18T09:27:00.001-05:00

Let me be blunt...working people do not have enough time to get optimal amount of exercise.

Here is my answer for what is enough exercise:

Let's start with some facts: 1. When we do long distance bicycle touring--over 1.200 miles-- we are usually in reasonably good shape at the beginning of the ride. 2. It takes about 1.200 miles or so for our bodies to get use to riding 60 plus miles a day so that this distance seems easy. 3. Sixty miles takes about 6 hours a day.

Once you are in shape to do a comfortable 60 miles per day, day in day out you will notice some other changes which have taken place. 1. You WILL be sleeping good. 2. All those little aches and pains go away. 3. You know your endorphins have kicked by the big smile your carrying around.

I have a bad shoulder from body surfing, bad hip from bike accidents, bad ankles from God knows what, sciatic nerve pain from football, trouble sleeping and mild depression. In other words... normal old guy stuff. All this baggage gets dropped along the road when we do long bicycle tours. It's happened on every tour.

One plus one equals two. AND 6 hours of exercise a day at 70-80% of max heart rate equals good health.

Lesson learned...at least for now.

2010-11-09T18:15:00.002-05:00

When I ride my pedicab downtown it has always been a chore to ride back home across the James Island Connector because it's so steep coming in this direction. After our bike trip this ride became much easier. I thought it was because I got stronger on the ride and maybe so but now it's become clear the real reason is time. Eighteen hundred miles on the road will teach you that there is no rush getting up the hills. Just get in comfortable gear and enjoy the trip. All the other crap in your life will wait a few minutes longer.

Back home.

2010-11-04T09:31:00.005-04:00

After my bicycle trip it's back to life with the boys. Sometimes nice, sometimes a pain in the ass but always funny--usually after the fact.

The other night I heard a scream from the bathroom where Jennifer was giving Baker a bath. A minute later a naked 19 month old, holding his pee pee--he's all boy-- comes running through the office where I'm working--okay, I wasn't working just screwing around on the computer. I remember smiling and thinking how cute.

Then I noticed dog food on the floor and wondered "what the hell". Looking back, at that point in time I should have gone out for a run. But no, had to take a closer look. Have I mentioned my glasses are broken? Wearing a pair of drug store readers means you have to get REAL close to see anything.

"Holly crap! This is Siht." Then it dawns on me why Jennifer is screaming and it ain't so funny this time. About that time Jennifer runs in, with of all things a dish towel, to clean up the mess. "Damn girl, don't use that towel I'll never be able to dry dishes again."

Bo Bo is finally captured, cleaned up and back in the tub. The floor is cleaned up with PAPER towels and things are back to normal. Whew. But I can still smell that baby siht.

It just won't go away. What the hell.........

FINALLY...I look down and poop is on my leg and shorts. Talk about crap flying all over the place...that boy was 2-3 feet from me when he ran by me.

Texas Rest Stops...

2010-11-02T11:28:00.001-04:00

Texass has a lot of rest stops which they make more affordable by NOT offing bathroom facilities. However, there is a realization that people have needs so ladders are provided so that folks can scale the fence and have at IT surrounded by mother nature..if you got to go bad enough you'll go.

Last day riding...40 miles from Deming, NM

2010-11-02T10:17:00.004-04:00

This picture was taken at a fuel stop next to I-10 about 20 miles out of Las Cruces. We continued on after this stop on the frontage road. We had a tail winds and a long downhill into town.

La Quinta Inn to Outdoor Adventures Bike Shop...4 miles

2010-10-25T17:14:00.000-04:00

Deming, NM to Las Crusces, NM....63 miles

2010-10-25T16:58:00.000-04:00

Did you notice that Las Cruces is east of Deming and that after 1800 miles of west bound travel we are now headed east? Folks...20 plus mph winds will make you do funny things. After just one 60 mile day into this wind we weren't crazy enough to do another 65 miles to Lordsburg, not stupid enough to do another 75 miles to Safford and 80 miles to Globe with predicted 50 mph wind gusts would be insane.

So...we turned around and had a nice wind assisted ride back to Las Cruces where Ron went shopping at Wal Mart, I had a few martinis, Lucky did a few tequilas and Jan hung out with the guys.

Tomorrow we drop the horses off at the bike shop for boxing and shipment back home and hop the shuttle to the El Paso Airport for the trip home.

Las Cruces to Deming, NM....60 miles

2010-10-23T21:17:00.000-04:00

We got a barely daylight start to beat the winds. There is a nice climb out of the river valley up to the southern desert of New Mexico. This is when we met The bad ass wind which was blowing over 20 mph at times. A reasonably flat ride turned into by far our hardest ride of the trip.

Ron and I drafted each other most of the day. Jan and Lucky got a ride about 10 miles out of town from a farmer and beat us to the motel. Cal had a hard time. We're all beat and a little depressed since we have more of this stuff tomorrow.

We got to the motel in time to see the Auburn LSU game. I knew someone was going to be disappointed and am glad to say it was Lucky.

We had pizza in the room.

El Paso, TX to Las Cruces, NM....37 miles

2010-10-23T20:56:00.000-04:00

We got a late start and had a nice easy ride up to Las Cruces which is just up the Rio Grand River valley from El Paso. We cross the Rio Grand a few miles from our motel. The river at this point would be considered a creek in South Carolina. The once mighty river has been drained almost dry by El Paso.

We past a slew of pecan orchards, alfalfa fields on the ride which are kept green by the river.

In Las Cruces we checked into the Day Inn and 15 minutes later checked out when we discovered their Wifi Sid not work. We ended up at a Hampton Inn and ate at an Applebees.

Fort Hancock to El Paso...65 miles

2010-10-21T18:56:00.005-04:00

We had major storms last night including temporary loss of power. We were lucky that the storm roll in after dark and not while we were on the road.

Today's ride was nice and flat till the last 9 miles when we climbed 1100 feet--they don't call it Mesa Street for nothing. El Paso is the first large town we've visited on this trip.
After riding in the traffic we are ready to hit the country again.

Van Horn to Fort Hancock...67 miles

2010-10-20T18:22:00.003-04:00

After breakfast at Micky D's we hit the interstate and spent the day riding on or parallel to I-10. Riding on the interstate isn't that bad. You have a rumple strip between you and the trucks and your own 5 foot lane. It would be great except for the truck noise. Another problem is the steel belted tires on the trucks leave bits of steel wire on the road when they fly part which play hell with bike tires. Cal had a flat from steel wire in the first few miles.

We took a break in Sierra Blanca where it started to rain. We put on rain gear and took it off again in a few miles. The predicted rain never came and after the down hill it became kind of hot.

We had an easy day. Between the 10 mile down hill and a tailwind it was almost like a rest day.

We are in a motel that the Minute Man stay at when they are in this area. I really don't have a dog in this hunt but having met a few of the MM think they should spend their money on fixing teeth before going off on this task.

Marfa to Van Horn, 76 miles

2010-10-20T17:35:00.001-04:00

On this ride the only services for 72 miles are in Valentine and consisted of a water fauset behind the post office. That about sums it up. Pedal, pedal, post office,pedal,pedal...motel.

There was a 3.5 mile long pecan orchard about 12 miles out of Van Horn but not much else for vegetation.

Van Horn turned out to be a large truck stop on I-10 with 4-7 motels and not much else. After the Gage hangover we choose Motel 6.

The area around here is high desert country with cold nights and warm days. With the population density around these parts it's not a problem to see the stars at night.

Marathon to Marfa...57 mi

2010-10-18T17:17:00.001-04:00

Marathon took one last shot at me when they tried to charge 9 bucks for coffee, Danish and a small piece of pumpkin cake. I got the coffee but turn down the other stuff.

The ride today was nice even with a headwind. We stopped at the bike shop in Alpine and spent a bunch of money. Lucky and Jan had their 3rd flat at a bike shop, which has to be some kind of record.

Marfa is off route. We met a west bound rider--a vet from the mid-west--who recommended this route as a way to miss the big climb across the Davis Mountains. We ended up getting over 5,000 feet anyway but will save a few miles getting into Van Horn.

The History Channel did a special on the desert lights of Marfa which light up out in the desert and there is no scientific explanation for this happening. Yea right. After seeing a viewing area about 5 miles out of town I have a very reasonable explanation. I mean the increased border patrol in this area is a dead give away. The Marfa lights are folks crossing over the border after dark...ever heard of a flashlight?

Sanderson to Marathon ..56 miles

2010-10-18T16:52:00.001-04:00

The Sanderson to Marathon leg was about a 1 to 3 percent grade most of the way and I got tired of slogging along at 9 mph. We had a house reserved a half mile from the Gage Hotel--famous place around these parts. Turns out the house was half a mile from the Gage and another half mile up a road to rough for a pack mule.

We ended up at the Gage Hotel, Ron and my room cost $225...nice room but NO TV. Can you believe that? On Sunday no less, so no football. Talk about deprived...ride your ass off all week long and no football.

Marathon has yuppie written all over it. Everything nice and clean and very expensive. We ended up watching football in a bar down the street. Among other things they made a great Absolute martini and stir fried vegetables. Everyone except Jan floated out of the place after dinner.

After Marathon I'll be booking us in Motel 6.

Comstock to Sanderson...90 miles

2010-10-17T18:03:00.001-04:00

AND...2800 feet of climbing. Whew, what a day.

We were already to go before 7:00 AM but had to wait around till about 15 after for enough light. Man I hate to say this but Ron's head lamp, that he bought a Wal Mart the day before came in handy.

Last time I rode here we were in such a rush to beat the heat we crossed the Pecos River without stopping so it was a must stop this trip. While Ron and I were on the viewing platform Jan and Lucky flew on by and missed a great view. No problem, like me they can stop next time.

We went up what seemed like the same hill all day long. On the steep parts of the climbs it was extra hot because the wind at our backs was about the same speed as the bikes were going so we had no breeze. It's funny how on these long days you seem to get a second wind and the hills get easier later on in the afternoon. Maybe your just tired and more relaxed?i

For sometime now we been looking forward to meeting our good friend Rich Gallo who is leading an Adventure Cycling group doing the Southern Tier west bound. Wouldn't you know we finally meet up out in the middle of no where...30 miles from anywhere. It was old home week for about 20 minutes. It was great to see Rich again, he looked fit and happy. We got to trade a few war stories but not nearly enough of them.

We really needed to get water at Dryden but were not sure the store was open so when Ron and I ran into a local guy a few miles out of Dryden we asked if he had any water. Mr. Baker was a nice guy with about 20 dogs. The dogs job was to keep the guys in green--border patrol-- off his place. They seemed to be doing a great job. It took awhile for a one armed man to sort out the dogs and get the water but we came into Dryden with bottles full. Mean time Jan and Lucky are sitting in the shade at the store drink a cold coke.

If a movie company wanted a ghost town to film in Sanderson would be a good candidate. Lots of stuff left when the railroad and sheep business went away. Another case where the kids could not find work and moved to the city which in this case is a long way from home.

We had a great paste and salad meal at a little restaurant that just opened and a good nights sleep at the Oasis Outback Motel.

Del Rio to Comstock...32 miles

2010-10-15T18:13:00.000-04:00

We got a late start. It's like I kept saying, who wants to get to Comstock early or for that matter EVER? So after at late breakfast at the motel we hit the road about 9:30 and rode down to the local Wally World so Jan and Ron could get a fix. Lucky was grumbly at Jan cause she keeps adding weight to her bike and he thinks the added weight is can cause mechanical problems. "You buy one more thing and that bike breaks you fix the damn think."

On our second try we finally got out of town. We had a nice ride and pasted Amistad Resavoir which is the last big water we'll see on this trip. Nice lake.

After the lake we saw it for the first time. I just had to point it out to the newbies. Look, look, can you see it? What, what they yell back. NOTHING! Just absolutely nothing.

I'm looking forward to seeing the Milky Way tonight. The first time in several years. Cool.

About 3 miles out of Comstock we passed through a Customs Check by the Border Patrol. There is also another check going east bound out of Del Rio. I guess it's a back up to catch folks who might slip in at Del Rio from Mexico. The guards were friendly but the drug sniffing dog want a piece of our ass.

Comstock is about 50 houses, 8 communication towers, one cafe, one filling station and the Comstock Motel. The motel has been renovated and has real nice rooms. At the cafe you service yourself beer and keep up with the total. Not much of a menu but Shelia will put anything on the menu together in any way you want it. A egg on your burger? No problem.

Tomorrow we jump into the 90 mile marathon ride to Sanderson.

Uvalde to Del Rio.....72 miles

2010-10-15T09:08:00.001-04:00

Have I mentioned lately how much we hate Texas chip seal roads? Today's ride had plenty of climbs but they weren't steep but the chip seal was awful. It's hard to enjoy riding when your bounding all over a bunch of darn rocks these people call roads.

We met some east bound riders. There are some Special Forces guys doing a charity ride for their fallen comrades and we saw a couple of them around Bracketteville. Later we met a nice young lady who had enough gear for a small army who hauled all that stuff from San Diego. Her camera equipment had to weigh 15 pounds.

Jan and Lucky had three flats--two when their bikes were sitting in front of the bike shop-- and I had another broken spoke which we all blame on the rocks. We are thankful for the nice folks at the bike shop here in town who got us back on the road.

Stayed at a nice La Quinta where the wifi works in the rooms. Had dinner at an upscale Mexican restaurant with down scale food...give me the joints with great grub and low prices anytime. Well they did make a adequate martini.

Leakey to Uvalde....45 miles

2010-10-15T08:44:00.001-04:00

Oaky, we chickened out today and rode our bikes down the Frio River to Uvalde. Nice easy ride even if the hills managed to hold on for 20 miles.

It's been several days since Ron had a Wally World fix and it was all we could do to keep him from flagging down one of their trucks to do a little in the trailer shopping.

We stayed at the Comfort Inn and Ron got them to give us a ride to WW. Uvalde is a busy town but restaurant options stink...we had pizza in the room.

Kerryville to Leakey....63 miles

2010-10-13T15:15:00.001-04:00

At breakfast at our motel in Kerryville we ran into a lady who knew the area. Years ago she
rode her bike to Leakey. In a nutshell, if you travel east and west you are in for bad ass climbing. By the time she was done describing how she had to walk up hills I was ready to give her my bike for a ride to the nearest airport. Sometimes it's not as bad as people say...but this time that girl was right on.

Years ago when Bill and I rode the route Tom told us a easier route would be to stay on 39 out of Hunt, Tx all the way to 83 and bypass Vanderpool. I forgot this advice but after looking at the topo information available to us, we ended up doing the same thing. Smart move, Cal who stay on route was ahead of us ended up coming in one hour or more after we arrived at the D'Rose Inn.

I have to say Leakey, Tx looks tacky. However: 1. Turns out we had a nice clean room at a motel that won't let you stay unless you arrive on a motorcycle or her weird cousin a bicycle. People Riding Harleys around the hill country of Texas is big biz for the locals. 2. We had the best dinner of the trip at great little Italian restaurant. Best pasta in the west.

Lockhart to Blanco to Kerrvile, TX...128 miles.

2010-10-11T21:20:00.000-04:00

On the ride from Lockhart to Blanco we went off route and rode through San Marco which was nice and flat till we hit a wall in San Marco. I got to say it was kind of a shock to go from cruising along at 15 mph to doing a 3.5 mph up a bad ass hill. It did't get much better for the next 110 miles. Much harder than riding the big mountains out west where you NEVER see these kind of grades. From Blanco to Kerrville we climbed 3,100 feet with some 15 percent grades.

The Blanco County Inn was cool. A retired couple has fixed up this 30 year old property which still has old time charm with a like new condition. The Wifi worked in our room which is more than some of your better known chains can say. As I predicted before the farther west we go the better the Mexican food. We ate in a joint that couldn't have cost more than $150 a month to to rent that had better food than any of the yuppie stuff back east.

On the ride into Kerrville today both Cal and Ron took off like a bat and I could figure out why until I remembered there was a bike shop in town. Both the boys need a retail fix. I guess they need more stuff to carry up and down the the Texas Hill Country.

Odd and ends...

2010-10-09T13:46:00.000-04:00

I was a little worried about Jan and Lucky being able to keep up. That have been a pleasant surprise and are giving us a run for our money. They also fit in nicely with the rest of the group. Lucky has been a big help on bike repairs and Jan is good company and washed cloths last night.

Cal is our navigator and keeps us on the chosen route. Ron is busy running for president of the U.S. I make reservation at the next motel. We're a team.

We have over 800 miles under our belt. Everyone is sleeping great and eating all the time.

Navasota to LaGrange to Lockhart....about 130 miles

2010-10-09T13:31:00.000-04:00

The last couple of days are kind of run together. Mostly up and down the hills, mostly bad food--unless you consider Subway for dinner good--but some decent motel rooms.

We stayed at the Oak Motel in LaGrange which was on the Adventure Cycling Maps and I figured it would be a dump with a capital Dee. Surprise, surprise it turn out to be a nice clean older motel with large rooms and a great price. The owners name is Mystery which Is carpenter in India or Pakistan. Ron and Mystery bonded and Mystery's wife made us fresh cupcakes--which made up for that other crap they call food in LaGrange.

The biggest change I've noticed on the trip since Bill and I rode here 10 years ago is there seem to be many more chip seal roads and believe me these roads are rough as a cob--big stone country. There are also more Wally Worlds and we have been right next door to one on two different nights. We were even in one that sold liquor.

We have had some bike problems. I broke a spoke-- I had a spare and tools to fix-- Jan had some shifting problems early on and Cal had another flat. He had to buy a new tire at Wally World in Lockhart. Considering the road conditions we've been lucky.

We are taking and off day in Lockhart. Everyone is a little worn down by the hills an two weeks on the road. Plus there are football games to watch on TV.

I've given up trying to find some healthy food to eat and decided to go native. Steak, eggs and grease. Want to be grossed out? Go into a buffet and watch people...it would be embarrassing to a Land Race-- that's a bred of pigs to you city slickers. Ron saw a guy the other night carrying two large plates of food and holding one up to his face to eat off on the way back to his table.

Cleveland to Navasota, TX....65 miles

2010-10-06T18:17:00.000-04:00

We Hit the Texas hill country today. Lots of long rollers and a little more chip seal than I would like.

We stopped,, at a bike shop in Conroe where the guy tighten up Cal's bottom bracket which you need special tools to do right. No charge. The man and wife owners have been in the bike business 22 years in Conroe but are in the process of selling out and retiring. Sounds like the business has been good to them and their 3 childern--not that the kids were interested in taking over the business. Nice Folks.

Ron bought us another bottle of vodka in Conroe. Naturally, the stuff won a taste contest and is called Ivanabitch--no kidding. I took one taste and now I want-a-bitch.

Link to Cal!s pictures of our trip

2010-10-06T17:59:00.002-04:00

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2068360&id=1332262439&l=8dc06a61dc

Silsbee to Cleveland, TX...60 miles.

2010-10-05T17:27:00.001-04:00

We took and off the route route today in order to stay in a nicer motel. The Adventure Cycling Route motels are a little third world and the chicken grease on blankets are enough motivation to find a different route. Later on we won't be able to deviate unless we switch to mountain bikes and ride onto the prairie.

You don't get much better riding than we had today. Nice shoulder, tail wind, flat and cool. AND....our Super 8 is right next to Wally World. Plus there is an upscale Chinese restaurant in the neighborhood. Can't wait to have Kung Pow Cat.

You might be wondering why no pictures? Well..in someways this Ipad suxs. Apple better be careful or they are going to be the next AOL.

We are in a no hard liquor county and low on vodka. Hope we don't have to rent a car.

By the way, shopping at Wally World is frustrating with our weight limits.

DeRidder to Silsbee, TX...76 miles

2010-10-05T17:02:00.001-04:00

Nice ride into the lone star state...looks a lot like LA to me. Staying at he Pinetree motel of maybe it's the Pineview Motel..wait, wait it's the Pineview Motel. Aw who cares! Anyway it be the same motel Bill and I stayed at on our trip 10 years ago. Our host was Rodney and his 87 year old mother..Mama. Rooms were a pleasant surprise and big enough so that Cal stayed with Ron and me.

Ate mexican food. I stuffed myself and had a margarita for about ten bucks plus tip. Watched some of Monday Night Football and bet we'll never know who won the game OR care.

Ville Platte to DeRidder, LA. 75 miles

2010-10-03T17:15:00.000-04:00

For our first over seventy mile day we went off route again for the 3rd day in a row. Good decision because we did the north direction early and had a tailwind heading into town. Plus we cut off a few miles. We've been pancake flat since St. Francisville but we picked up some hills the last 15 miles today.

Jan and Lucky are the doing a great job keeping up...errr waiting on the old guys. Of course Cal, who is carrying camping equipment, is out riding all of us. Speaking of Cal and his camping gear..I vote he just ditch the stuff and starting carrying my bags. If this isn't enough he can also lugs Ron's gear. Team work.

Another Best Western tonight with a Wally World right next door..life is good.

Simmesport to Ville Platte. 58 miles

2010-10-03T16:48:00.003-04:00

Off route all day but no problems and cut off about 20 miles by not going to Washington. Nice Best Western motel. Cal, Ron and I stayed in a suite and payed about 30 bucks each..Cal slept in a big closet in the room.

We watch the LSU-Tennessee and Alabama-Florida games. Ron kept telling Florida to NOT run up the middle and it got to be a big joke when he was always right. We're thinking the Gators may want him to come down next year and help out calling plays.

We ate low end Mexican food but the joint had a reasonable margarita.

St. Francisville to Simmesport 61miles

2010-10-02T18:24:00.001-04:00

We crossed the might Mississippi River on the ferry this morning. Bicycles were suppose to pay twenty five cent each but for some reason we got a freebee. The west bank greeted us with a stiff head wind as we headed north. Average speed today went down about two miles per hour.

We're staying at the Sportsman Inn. On the one to ten dump scale this motel ranks a number three with extra points given for being a bed bug training facility. Several rooms have a small child bed next to the regular size bed. We figured this is where they train the baby bed bugs to jump up on the bed.

Ron got a little freaked out when a 2" roach ran inside his pillow and I was grossed out by the dead chick grease they used to wash the bed spread. A couple vodkas got us stress free and we enjoyed another night on the road.

Skipping ahead

2010-10-02T16:30:00.000-04:00

After joining up with Jan and Lucky in Popularville we eased over to Bogalusi and had a great lunch at Miss Vickies..other than Miss Vickies there is not much to say about this stop. Rode 62 miles.

Next day we got off the Adventure Cycling route and rode to Amity, La. We just couldn't find rooms on the AC route. Good dinner at Katfish Heaven. Rode 51 miles.

Next day it was off to St. Francisville a ride of 64 miles. Nice ride till the last few miles where construction on highway 61 made for some scary riding. Stayed at the Magnuson Inn which was Quality Inn when Bill and I came this way about 10 years ago.

Day 3 Vancleave to Popularville, Ms about 72 miles

2010-09-30T17:15:00.001-04:00

Who would have thought you could ride 70 miles in Mississippi and climb over 2,500 feet? The highest elevation around these parts is 300 feet and the low was around 150 feet. We spent the day going back and forth between the two elevations.

Early in the day my bike started squeaking and I stopped several times before discovering the problem was mud stuck in the front fork. It didn't take near as long to discover the mud was siht. No siht that was some was some tough siht.

My sister Jan and her boyfriend Lucky were joining us in Popularville. They got in early and rode 8-9 miles out to meet us. They were carrying full packs to see how it would go. Right away we noticed Jan's kitchen sink...the next morning the sink went home.

Day 2

2010-09-30T16:51:00.000-04:00

Day 2: Dalphine Island to Vancleave, Ms...65 miles. Several things happened that day:
A. There was some rain and we ate at the Waffle House in Bayou La Batre.

B. I got dehydrated and stopped riding after 35 miles. Caught a ride to Vancleave where we were staying at the Bluff Creek Campground in a cabin.

C. No sheets on the bed had to ride to the nearest Dollar Store and buy some.

D. The women in the camper next to our cabin asked me if I was the cyclist that her dog bit. I told her it wasn't me. She said not to run if he started to chase me. I started looking for a gun to borrow.

E. I wasn't feeling any better by the time Cal and Ron arrive at Camp Hell. All the things that could be wrong started to panic me. Not having a physical exam in 15 years didn't help. Cal and I hitched a ride to the emergency room.

F. According to the staff at the emergency room most people would love to be in my physical condition. Relieved and fortified with a vodka I got a good nights sleep.

Catching up on bike trip

2010-09-29T16:02:00.008-04:00

The plan is to ride from fair hope, Al to Phoenix which is about 2000 miles and should take about a month. So far, so good.
Getting started: Cal, who stayed with us in Charleston, and I drove to Jacksonville where we picked up Ron who dropped off the rental car he drove up Fort Myers. We kept alerting on trucking to Fairhope where we spent the night with Bill Robertson at his condo. The talk was all about pass trips and the pending rain. We had a great meal at Winsels. Even the Absolute was above average?

Day one:Fairhope to Dalphin Island..58 miles. More rain worry in the morning but the rain is never as bad as the worrying part. Uncle Bill rode with us for about 20 miles before turning back to the condo..thinking he was rid of us. We finished the days ride with a visit to Fort Morgan and the ferry ride to Dalphine Island.
Cal had a flat and the nearest bike shop was in Fairhope, enter Bill stage right. While Cal was alerting the ferry that Bill was dropping off the spare tires for them to bring over from Ft. Morgan, Ron and I dropped in on Bill's cousin John and his wife Jenna who were on holiday on the island. We had a few drinks, some great food and watch the Alabama Game with them and their friends

What have I been doing?

2010-05-20T08:54:00.001-04:00

No not redneck art!

Spirit of South Carolina..

2010-03-12T15:09:00.003-05:00

Hanging out ain't hard to do...

2010-03-09T12:26:00.004-05:00

Click to make larger.

The funny thing is that I don't have a lot to say these days so these guys make perfect companions. I guess I'm still a little depressed about Bama being National Champs. Not that this is that bad but it proves there is NO GOD or God is a Bama fan--it's a big mystery to me. There was a glimmer of hope this week when College of Charleston beat them in baseball. To bad baseball suxs on so many levels.

2010-02-23T09:51:00.000-05:00

I get asked a lot at the launch landings if I'm fishing. My answer is that I don't fish but try to stay quiet while my friend fish.

Global Warming

2010-02-15T08:33:00.006-05:00

I want to invite Al to sit around the fire with me and EXPLAINS global warming. If it's gets any warmer around here I'm heading to South America.

Happy Valentines Day

2010-02-11T16:19:00.003-05:00

"Papa, I pee pee IN the big boy potty. Uh oh...I pee pee ON the potty!"

It was a cold day in hlel..

2010-02-01T18:46:00.004-05:00

Morris Island Lighthouse on a cold ass windy day. I rowed 8 mile in a stiff east wind at about 45F today. Didn't realize how cold I was until my feet started to thaw out in the car going home. A good thing is you body in a effort to survive doesn't require as many pit stops.

This is one of those trip where your glad to have GPS.

In the ditch...

2010-01-31T17:15:00.005-05:00

I like to row on a low tide in Colberg Creek on cold and windy days at which time it's basically a ditch. All that cold wind just goes six feet over your head. It was blowing 15-20 mph when I took this picture which is more than I want to deal with on a high tide.

Hanging out with PCM.......

2010-01-23T14:28:00.003-05:00

A half mile from anything and this guy shows up for a free meal...sorry, I gave at the office.

Do I look like a fisherman or just smell like one?

2010-01-07T15:38:00.004-05:00

This is one of about 20 Pelicans that sun on the point between Wappoo Cut and the Ashley River across from City Marina. I was drifting with the tide, eating lunch after rowing about 6 miles and spotted the gang a few feet from the boat. While I was reaching for my camera they took flight but I caught this one on lift off.

Row row your boat....

2009-12-25T12:33:00.004-05:00

I've been rowing 3-4 days a weeks and about 4-6 miles each time. It's been fun getting to know all my old friends again. I'll see Dolphins just about every day shrimping in the channel. A Brown Pelican will fly across about six inches off the water and splash down a few feet from my boat and beg for fish. He doesn't like bandannas or power bars and tosses them back after a quick taste--I tell him baggers can't be choosers. Osprey can been seen about every quarter mile on Wappoo Cut and sometimes I'm luck enough to see one catch a fish.

Then there are people AND every kind of boat imaginable. I made my case with the attached photo. Roger the Earth-Ball Guy is taking the boat pictured around the world. His boat is basically a floating dock with 3 outboards motors, a bio-sphere to keep out the rain, plenty of electronic gear to communicate with on the adventure and a generator for power. It cost less than my rowboat; talk about on the cheap. Here is his web site: http://earthball.org/

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T12:31:00.001-05:00

Send your rent check to China!

2009-12-18T08:55:00.003-05:00

I'm an average guy to the point of being boring. However, I knew 3-4 years ago--and pointed out in this blog-- that 1. housing prices were to damn high, 2. people were borrowing to damn much money 3. they weren't going to be able to pay back the money unless the price kept going up and they sold their house 4. price were NOT going to always go UP.

Double duh...you don't have to be a genius to know people don't need to be borrowing 4-5 times their annual salary for a house. It's INSANE!

So what the hell were all those idiots in Washington thinking? Now..a year later and ...no one lost their job, Congress will make some half ass changes and everyone will blame everyone else. With the confirmation of Bernanke to a new 4 year term we will know it's business as usual, the idiots continue to rule and failure will carry NO penalties. Can you tell I'm pissed yet?

Let me make another prediction. It ain't over folks. People are going to start walking away from those home loans in droves and the siht is going to be right back in the fan.

Think I'm wrong? Then you don't believe in market principles and the number one principle is people do what they perceive is best for themselves. What would you do if all you have is a big mortgage on a house which is worth half of what you owe and you can rent the same house down the street for MUCH less money and save or spend the difference?

What about all this credit card debt? For the last 10 years idiots have been transferring it to their home loan and starting a new cycle of living BEYOND their means. Yeah I know...the government will continue their policy of rewarding bad behavior and do another bail out.

Here is the problem: our government is doing the same thing as all those people who borrowed money they could NOT pay back and one of these day they are going to socialize the whole country and we'll all send our rent checks to China.

Plan B...

2009-12-17T15:17:00.004-05:00

After back to back 30 plus mile weeks I've thrown in the towel. My left knee had enough. After reducing my mileage to 14 a week for three weeks the knee is not any better.

In the mean time I've dusted off my Yoga cheat sheets and recommissioned my rowboat. I'm back over 30 miles a week but about 20 miles are in the boat.

When running I could put my heart rate where ever I wanted by changing the effort. If I wanted a 70 to 80% effort--good for the heart-- my Garmin GPS allowed me to set these rates as training levels and would give me an alarm and depending on the alarm I would easy back or work harder--trust me, that alarm could be a really pain in the ass but you knew you were getting a good work out. The Garmin also works with the rowing and you can change fields to get different information for different sports, for example using mph when rowing and pace when running. The strange thing is it's been impossible to get over about 60% of maximum heart rate when rowing and I don't understand why it's this way? Any ideas?

Hopefully I can do enough running to get in 3-4 cardio work outs a week.

The Yoga really helps eliminate some of those little aches and pains. The big problem for me with Yoga is it just gets boring. I'm mixing it up these days by doing more shorter secessions, usually about 15-20 minutes every day. I'm also doing some standing stuff, warrior and balance poses, when I walk the dogs. AND.... there is always housework Yoga, helping a friend move Yoga and playing with the grandkids Yoga.

Not Bad...

2009-11-21T17:22:00.004-05:00

This week was NOT Bad which is Italian for so-so. Did a 13.5 mile long run--my last long run was 12 miles two weeks ago-- and 33.5 total miles this week. At 11 or 12 miles on this weeks long run I was wondering if all the pain was worth it just to add another marathon to the list. Have to keep reminding myself that when I'm in marathon shape then the marathons themselves become the long runs if you do a race about once a month.

I've had this on again off again left knee and foot problem for several weeks. Been icing like a Eskimo, which keeps the knee swelling manageable. It would be a real downer except for the fact my right side hip problems are totally gone gone--I never went to a doctor with the hip but figured it would have to be replaced. Go figure. There is a good side to the pain..you know your alive. I've been listening to running podcasts on my Ipod and it appears that older runners either live pain or hang-up their shoes and becoming 300 pound sofa slugs. Thanks God for Motrin!

The hard-easy-week with only a real long run every two weeks seems to be working good. Another good indication of my fitness is the 4-6 mile runs seem routine and almost easy. I've also slowed down after reading a slow start will get your body burning fat. I've lost 12 pounds since starting this project and am getting near"fighting weight". At 218 I'm the same weight as in high school--of course I wore 32" pants then and 36" now but that's cause we worn tighter clothes in the old days.

Right now..

2009-11-11T09:51:00.003-05:00

A famous Zen Master once said young children have the best answers to life's mysteries because unlike adults their minds haven't been cluttered up with a bunch of preconceived notions.

Sooo...I asked three year old Jack the "Meaning of Life" this morning. His answer; "Coffee."

Freeze that moment in time when you take your first sip of coffee in the morning. Then you'll see what a great answer this is... live in the moment.

Another week on the trail..

2009-11-09T20:28:00.002-05:00

I'm always thinking of cool stuff to say on the blog while running. Trouble is old age..forget the stuff before it gets written down.

I do remember thinking about the ass factor while running last week. This is a bit from "Born to Run" in which he discusses our genetic predisposition towards running. Turns out asses are a real asset to running and one of many reasons humans are the worlds best long distance runners-- and you thought they are just for kissing, chewing out and setting on. Our nearest relatives in the animal kingdom, chimps, don't have a fanny since it is it is useless for standing or walking. However when you run upright --like humans-- it's acts as a counter balance to keep you from falling to far forward and a great storage area for those big Gluteus Maximus we need to be such great runners. So lets all get out there and put those asses to work.

My ass stay busy last week doing 30.5 miles including a 12 mile long run. The total also includes several trash miles behind the jogging stroller with Baby Baker. This hard week easy week plan seem to be working so I plan to cut back again this week and try to do a 14 mile long run a week from next Saturday. My long run water problem was solved this week by having two water bottles and a back-pack hydration systems alone for the ride.

Kiddy colds and hangovers...

2009-10-31T10:56:00.003-04:00

After 10 weeks of running in minimalist shoes or barefoot I took a spin in an old pair of running shoes. It felt like I was running in high heels; on every stride that damn shoe heel would hit the ground before I could have a good forefoot placement. Don't know how this whole barefoot experiment will end up but I've purchased my last pair of high heel trainers.

This last week was a rest week where I backed down to 20 miles total for the week with a 7 mile long run. The timing turn out to be perfect since we all caught the kiddy cold which Jack and Baker picked up at morning daycare. Shame on me for being a little caviler about using my saline nose spray. Thankfully it's a fairly mild cold with a night time sore throat being the only discomfort.

Speaking of being sick, I woke up Friday morning with the swine flu. Well, it felt like the swine flu sounds. After a few minutes of laying there in misery I remember all that sake I drank the night before at the local sushi joint. I was so excited about not having the swine flu I forgot all about that hangover. I ended up having a great little 3 mile run and making it around to all the hotels, giving out cards for Bike Taxi. Everyone at the hotels loved my hangover cure.

Next week I'm going to try a run like I feel week. No preconceived notions of what I'm going to do on any day other than an off day on Friday. Just get up in the morning, when the spirit moves me, put on my running uniform and walk out the house and see what happens. I'll keep my Garmin GPS on but not look at it until I get back home. Just let Mother Nature make the calls.

Water...

2009-10-25T13:10:00.006-04:00

Hydration: I'm one of those guys who always knows if he is having problems with hydration...okay, there are people who admit they aren't totally sure about their hydration level and those who lie about it and now you know which group I hang with. On my long run yesterday--Saturday-- it felt reasonably cool but very humid. I drank water at the house along with my coffee and took along one water bottle for my 11 mile run. At the 5.5 mile turn around it hit me out of the blue..no way was I making it back to the house without a ride or more water. I start walking through one of the apartment complexes near the Greenway looking for a water tap but all were inside the fenced back yards--along with some mean ass dogs. Finely ran it to a nice guy at a church who gave me two bottles of cold water and I gave him the only dollar I had on me for the collection plate. I needed both those bottles to get me home. Moral of the story; you need to have twice the water you think you need or away to pick up more on the run and one buck ain't going to buy much without divine intervention.

I signed up for the Myrtle Beach Marathon in mid-February. My original goal was to do a marathon or longer in January so this gives me another month of training and a couple weeks to tapper. I'm going to need this time and hope it is enough. I was on a schedule to do a 20 mile run on January 2nd but seem to be stuck trying to get over an 11 mile long run. Looking back I should have had taken an easy week to get refocused and rested. That's the problem, once you get going on a running program the hardest thing--and the most important thing--is to schedule some easy weeks. Maybe I can do it this week by getting my over all mileage below 20 and do about a 7 mile long run? Then next week jump up to 12 or 13 miles for the long run. We'll see.

I hit 219 pounds this week which is about 12-15 pounds less than a few months ago. Yes, I had to take off all my clothes to do it. My goal is still 210. Been eating a lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and staying away from cheese and deserts.

On another subject we had a family visit this week from New Orleans and Montgomery. If you leave out conversations about politics and religion then your discussions tend to revolve around what's been going on in your life. After awhile, I noticed a lot of the stories being recycled. And recycled. And recycled. Then it came to me..when nothing or maybe the same things keep happening in your life ALL you have is the same old recycled stories. Bye the way, have I told you the one about Jack and the backhoe? Well...blah, blah, blah and then we laughed.

Better days.......

2009-10-19T13:00:00.006-04:00

What a difference a week makes. Couldn't get going a couple weeks ago on my long run and then this weekend nothing could stop me. I had planned on 8-9 miles but ran into an old guy on the Greenway who was walking 10 miles; I figured if a 73 year old can walk 10 I should be able to run the same amount. It didn't hurt that the weather was perfect for running. Also, my Chi Running form has started to kick in and has improved my speed. My average pace for the week is down by almost two minutes per mile since reading the Chi Running book.

Total miles last week were 24 which is about the same as the week before but this week I only ran 4 days instead 5 or 6 days. This week it was 2 each six mile days, 1 two mile day and the 10 mile long run. In the past I almost never took off more than one day? On all the off days and some of the running days I crossed trained by riding my pedicab to work downtown and probably did close to 100 miles for the week. Maybe I need longer recovery time after turning 50 or the cross training is helping?

For several months now I've been mixing up a morning drink with Joint Juice a liquid glucosamine supplement, Majestic Earth liquid plant derived minerals and in the last few weeks a liquid vitamin D supplement. I also take some fish oil for Omega 3's. Then after long runs I add a sports recovery drink call Endurox R4. Also been eating lots of raw fruit and vegetables and stretching after long runs. I've lost about 10 pounds and feel GREAT...a study of one means nothing but I ain't changing anything. Back 5-6 years ago when I was training for marathons I'd take hand fulls of Motrin to keep going. So far this time around I've take about four Motrin in 8 weeks.

Bye the way, did you see the 101 year old guy from England who is training for the London Marathon? He said he ran 1/2 marathon in New York in 5 hours and stopped along the way for a fag.

Running the pits..

2009-10-11T08:01:00.003-04:00

It was a week of running that started out good and just went down hill and by the time my long run came around I ended up having a bad day and cut the run a mile short. In my defense the conditions for the long run were the pits. Muggy, muggy muggy. The first drop of sweat and every other drop of sweat stayed with me the entire run...Lake Wallace does the Greenway. No siht, it was 78F at 5:30 AM and 120% humidity in the fog banked Greenway. By the time I crawled back to the house all I wanted to do was get in the shower with kilt, five finger shoes and everything else. Turns out everything else included my cell phone. Twenty four hours latter I feeling a little better but the cell phone drown and I still don't have a working phone in spite of spending $200 bucks on a new one. Lack of phone commiseration is killing me.

On a positive note, I've been listening to podcasts about running. Virtual running partners. You can run along listening to other folks running and talking about their running--AND not worry about running someones else's pace and you can flick a switch to turn em off. The really great thing about this is if your in a low point it nice to hear other people who are going through the same thing or even better being motivative by someone who's on a high.

Of course, I had to run out and get a recorder so I can do my own podcasts which I wanted to post on this blog but haven't been able to figure out how to do it. It takes a few hours to get use to hearing that strange voice when you do a play back. If elephants talked they would sound just like me. If you want to hear my podcast let me know and I'll email you a copy.

Seventh week of training...

2009-10-02T11:40:00.005-04:00

Between marathon training, helping with grandsons, trying to loose a few pounds and bike taxi it's a busy time.

I'll finish my 7th week of marathon training tomorrow with a 7 mile run which will be the long run for the week. My body has been screaming at me for about a week.... the message is that a 50K in early January is loonies tunes. Looks like my best bet will be Myrtle Beach Marathon in February. Riding the pedicab back and forth downtown has taken a lot of my energy reserves along with loosing 9-10 pounds. On the bright side I'm really fired up, the weather is cooler and when I do feel good I'm faster than than the fat guy down the street.

Been doing hot yoga on my off day--Wednesday-- for the last few weeks. My bum hip says this siht has to stop. So it's back to my old routine of 20-30 minutes of light yoga when I get up in the morning. This way if I'm doing Sun Salutations and feel the urge I can just go back to sleep when I get to the prone part of the practice.

I can't imagine going back to traditional running shoes but going 100% barefoot ain't going to happen anytime soon. To many acorns on the street not to mention blisters on the feet. The minimalist shoe option-- Vibram Five Fingers and running shoes with the heel cut off with a hacksaw-- seems best for the time being.

September 2009 Running--I might have to shoot myself in the arm...

2009-09-26T12:14:00.006-04:00

I have a new partner to help me train for marathons. Gar is great, he's always on time for our run and he can run any distance at whatever pace I ask him to run. So if I ask him to run 12 minute miles he just nails that pace and if--actually that should be 'when'-- he starts getting ahead I know it's time to kick it up a notch. The trouble is if he starts getting too far ahead I'll want to pull my piece and shot him--anyone who can maintain any pace for any distance should be shot-- but if this urge happens I'll be shooting myself in the left arm.

My other training partner, Scooter, is getting a little grey, can't see or hear too well and has to pee every 10 feet all of which I've gotten use to over the years we've been together. Then last year he got nipped by a Yellow Lab and how if he see one he either stops dead or if we are headed away from the home turns around and runs towards the house--trust me, you wouldn't believe the number of Yellow Labs out there. The stopping dead isn't a that big of deal but the turning around and running is a real pain in the ass. I end up running down the trail screaming at the little siht which is embarrassing and a real mood killer. So this week we got on the leach for the going out part of the run. Now all I have to do is remember the leach and get use to heavy breathing on my right ankle.

Aside from running after the dog and only having an electronic training partner things have been going great. Did 22 miles this week with a 6 mile long run. Still running either barefoot or in my Vibram Five Fingers. I looked at the calendar the other day and if I only add one mile per week to my long run I won't be ready for the 50K ultra in January so I might try adding a couple miles to it for a few weeks to see how it goes? My only injuries have been a few blisters and a stone bruise and I like to keep it that way. One day/week at a time.

Ran into an old guy downtown last week..it was obvious we were both a little stiff and sore. We got to talking about this and he says he'll ask people if they remember how they felt in high school the next day after the first basketball, baseball of football practice? Then he tells them this is how you feel EVERY morning when you get old. That just about nails it.

Barefoot update...

2009-09-20T06:33:00.004-04:00

The best thing about this whole barefoot running thing so far is it's changed my foot strike from heel to mid-foot. This little goodie not only makes me a little faster but I'm convinced that it helps prevent injuries particularly in the knees, ankles and hips.

For me, barefoot running does have it's own set of hazards such as blisters and stone bruises. Fortunately the stone bruises can be eliminated by not running in the dark and after a while your feet get tough enough not to blister on the bottom. As you can imagine it's also a long process --one I haven't completed--to get your feet in shape.

Part of my problem is the Greenway, which I run on, has lots of little stones where the dirt has worn away to expose the crushed rock RR bed. Sometimes it's more about hopping from bare spot to bare spot between the rocks than actually running. Three or four miles a week are about all my feet can handle barefoot on the Greenway. The rest of the time I run in what we BF's called minimal footwear; sandals, Vibram Five Finders and running shoes with the heel cut off with a hack saw. All these give your foot plenty of flexibility, don't have much cushion and keep you running in a mid-foot style, away from heel strikes.

So far I have not had any serious injuries after one 15 mile and four 20 mile weeks --knock on wood-- and the biggest down side is people think I'm crazy proving they can sometimes get it right.

Yoga...

2009-09-17T15:13:00.003-04:00

It's true: if you were limited to only one exercise program it would have to be yoga. Yoga provides strength training, stretching and to a lesser degree a cardiovascular work out--hot yoga. In addition the meditation experience is outstanding.

However, boys beware....this is a activity which, if it were competitive, most women would whip yo-ass. Being light and flexible is a big plus.

I've been doing yoga 3-4 times a week when I get up in the morning. I start by stretching in bed and work myself into a Downward Dog as I get out of bed. After some sun salutations I call it a done deal. Makes me feel better all day. Earlier this week I showed up at the 8:15AM Yoga Hour at Holy cow Yoga Center taught by Steven. Steven and I were the only guys in the group of 15-20. Lucky for Steven he was able to talk himself around doing all the posses by walking around the room checking out all the girls. Pedicabman, on the other hand, tried to keep up with the ladies and darn near pulled a muscle and got cramps from the effort. My tee shirt was dripping for crying out loud. The next morning I could barely get out of the bed.

Now I have to make a decision, do I go back to what I now call lazy yoga or go back down to Holy Cow for another ass whipping by the girls?

Some observations..no it's not about the kid!

2009-09-11T15:21:00.003-04:00

Comcast Communications: Auburn was going to be televised on ESPNU last week-end so I went to comcast.com to see what the deal was regarding this channel. They had a web page dedicated to this channel with an 800 number to call so I made the call. A nice lady answered the phone and I assumed she works for Comcast but thinking back I'm not so sure. She said she never heard of ESPNU but would look on the channel line up for me. After awhile during which I finished my drink and made a sandwich, she came back and said she couldn't find ESPNU and that Comcast didn't have this channel. I paused a moment to settled into my chair for the battle ahead. Then I filled her in on the Comcast website with particular emphasis on the fact I was looking at her companies information which said they indeed had ESPNU. She knew the battle was lost and did what they all do when this happens, "Sir, I'll transfer your call to new services who'll fix you right up." I explained to her that I called the 800 NUMBER her company told me to call about ESPNU and that now I was going to call satellite TV to see what, if anything, their people knew about their website. Do you think Comcast is using the same company to train their folks as AOL?

Bust-in a sag: I was leaving Harris Teeter downtown a few days ago and the guy in front of me had the baddest bust-in a sag I've ever seen. The part of the pants where his fanny should have been was around his knees. How do people walk in these things? I had to find out so hung around the bicycle rack watching him shuffle away then got on my bicycle and slowly followed him. Right after he turned the corner of the building he stopped pulled those pants up around his chest--no siht-- tightened the buckle and walked away looking normal. You know, fanny near the crouch or the pants. This also explains the bulky tee shirts which are there to hide the belt buckle around the chest.

I need a fix, man!

2009-09-07T11:10:00.002-04:00

I was running in VFFs--Vibram five Finger which have a rubber sole less than 1/8" thick --a about a week ago, in the dark and bruised my heel on a stone. Finished the run okay but my heel was tender. Later in the day I was going to stroll my grandson to the store and figured my heel would feel better in some running shoes. So I dug around and found a rusty pair of trainers in the back of the closet and hung those clunkers on my feet. It did sort of help the tinder spot but those damn high heeled snickers kept getting in the way even at a slow walk. Halfway into our shopping at the store I couldn't stand it another minute. Had to have that barefoot fix. Took those damn bricks off my feet and threw them in the nearest trash can--no way was I taking any chances of putting them back on my feet. It wasn't till later that I realized I've become a barefoot addict. God save me!

New GPS and other stuff...

2009-09-02T11:00:00.003-04:00

Purchased a new Garmin 305 GPS which fits on your wrist and tells you everything you would want to know about your running or cycling work-out, including: heart rate, average heart rate, pace, distance, time, grade, feet climbed and how many times you scratched your ass. It also maps you route and will show you your route on Google Earth. The list is near endless what you can do with this machine including charts, planned work-out and navigation options.

It was exciting to take this puppy for it's first spin, at least until it told me how SLOW I was going. Twenty minute mile for the first mile but I did stop to talk to Doctor Ted and Dolly the Basset Hounds daddy--he just had appendicitis. What with the slow pace, hot day and sore feet it didn't take long for the new to wear off. At least I was excited for 15 minutes and that's not too bad for 175 bucks.

The first three work outs with the Garmin were mostly a learning curve on how to use it. Then on the forth morning the battery was dead because the operator was too stupid to plug it in properly. So at 6:00 AM I had to leave for my run without my new pal. Man it was GREAT. I just relaxed, forgot about pace, time and distance and had the best run in weeks. Best of all I came in after the run with a big smile on my face. After that experience I still take the Garmin for consultation purposes but don't pay much attention to the results till after I've had my fun.

Home costs....

2009-08-27T14:28:00.000-04:00

At the bottom of this there is a comparison of home costs and average income. The ratio in 1934 was 2.3 times annual salary and now it's 4.2 times annual salary. Plus I'm willing to bet there were less family members working per household.

If we're going to have affordable housing again in this country people have to start making more money or home values have to come down.

2009-08-24T15:16:00.001-04:00

Day 13 - Woodstock to Saxtons River - 48 miles

We started the day with another great breakfast by Charlotte at the Ardmore Inn - this on top of the late night blueberry pie snack. That sealed her reputation as our best B&B chef. Sarah left us in Woodstock and headed back home; we continued cycling - back to carrying all our own stuff which at this point in our trip dwindled down to just the bare necessities.

Route 106 was recommended by our next B&B host - great route thru many small towns to Springfield VT. One thing we noticed, is that except for Middlebury up on the hill, we screamed downhill into every town and crawled back up and out the next day. Woodstock was no exception. Patty tried to find routes along rivers to avoid the extreme climbing; we had a gradual 4 mile climb along the creek out of Woodstock.

Our choice in Springfield was more uphill or we could cross into NH and ride along the Connecticut - a futile effort to convince Derna there was some flat riding in this neck of the woods. We chose to cross into NH and left behind the nice shoulders and low traffic of Vermont. We headed back over the Connecticut into Bellows Falls VT to Saxons River which was a quiet little town with a B&B, two restaurants and a grocery store - perfect bike tour-sized town. The B&B was in a old, rambling Victorian farm house - once a rooming house, now a B&B without the second "B" - no breakfast served. This meant the next day we could get up and out early and eat breakfast on the road; Jim's favorite routine.

Day 14 - Saxtons River to Ashburnham MA - 68.6 miles

Ron and Jim, with a combined total of over a dozen long distance bicycle trips, both agree that today's journey was in the top five hardest. Combination of hills and heat and distance made this a long day - almost 4000 ft of climbing and no flat riding for almost the whole way. The only thing that kept Jim going was thinking "this can't continue, it has got to get easier". The low point mentally and the high point physically was climbing Richmond Hill, about 20 miles out of Brattleboro on Rte 119. Jim was followed by a truck that probably had to gear down 6 times to make it up that hill and was only going about 10 mph at the top.

The ride from hell culminated when we finally turned on the last road of the day - Old Ashburnham Rd. We were fooled into thinking the worst was over with the freshly paved shady NH road, only 6 miles from the B&B. Our illusions were shattered when we hit Massachusetts - Jim described the road as "chucks of asphalt surrounded by sand" and the final straw was the "bridge out detour" which added another mile to an already long day.

This was not the scheduled ride; we were advised in Saxtons River to avoid Rte 12 to Keene due to construction. We had already been on Rte 12 the day before and the heavy trucks and non-existent shoulder led us to follow the advice. The amazing thing is that Derna and Ron had travelled much of this route on Day 1, when Patty was waiting for Jim to fly in. If we had done it once before there is no way we would have ever agreed to cycle it again. This says much about the sanity of Canadians.

We arrived at our last B&B, the Maguire House, with greetings of cold beer, a view of Mt Monadnock and Lake ? and much needed showers. We headed out to dinner in the "courtesy car" of the B&B and ate a huge meal at Little Anthony's. The waitress told us Little Anthony wasn't that little and based on those portions, it has to be true.

Day 15 - the last ride, Ashburnham to Lexington MA - 53 miles

After filling up on a nice B&B breakfast, we were off by 9am. We had a 15 mile downhill to and out of Fitchburg. Luckily it was early Saturday and there wasn't much traffic and it only took an hour to ride 15 miles - our fastest hour of the whole ride.

Second breakfast was at Tiny's in Ayer - Jim had his last fried egg sandwich for the year. After Ayer, we got off the main route and took back roads from Patty's training rides thru Harvard, Littleton and Acton to arrive at our lunch stop in Concord. It was our hottest day so far but we didn't feel that heat with the shady roads. There were even some sections that could actually be described as "flat" much to Derna's delight.

We arrived in Lexington by mid-afternoon and were greeted by Sarah with champagne, snacks and cookies. Nice to be home again!

Total miles by Jim and Patty - 634, Ron and Derna 689. We're not even going to think about how many feet we climbed!

2009-08-24T15:14:00.000-04:00

Day 11..Middlebury to Woodstock..63 miles and 3,500 feet of climbing.

We had been talking about this ride for the whole trip...the day we crossed one of the Gaps in the Green Mountains. Up to this point we had been told a few hundred times that VT had hills but this was a REAL mountain crossing. The nice guys at the local bike shop gave us some good advice about which Gap to cross. The original route was the Adventure Cycling Route across Middlebury Gap but we were warned off because of poor road conditions and sent south about 10 miles to cross the 2,170 foot Brandon Gap on State Hwy 73. It turned out to be about a 6-7 mile climb with some really steep stuff on the last 3 miles. Ron and Derna shugged over the top about 20 minutes before Patty and Jim finished the climb. Then we were treated to what would be a mostly downhill 20+ miles.

Most of this part of the route was through the Green Mountain National Forrest and we were needing some grub when Ron and Derna stopped for a bathroom break. Patty and Jim kept riding down the hill to what turned out to be the only restaurant of the day. We ordered lunch and Patty started worrying about Ron and Derna. Jim figured they stopped at another place up the road that was closed and Ron was talking them into opening or at least out of a cold drink. Just as our food arrive a guy came into the restaurant and told us Ron had a fall up the road. This guy was a EMS professional, on vacation with his family and had stopped traffic with the emergency lights on his mini-van. He gave Ron a check up, bandaged the road rash and advised him to get in the mini-van for a ride to town. No way Ron Winney was going to let a 20 mile per hour fall from a racing bicycle stop him from finishing the task at hand...they kept trucking. The restaurant owner insisted I borrow his car and I drove out to check out the old road warrior who was still peddling away. We all ate lunch.

We needed that lunch because after a another mile we made a right hand turn and had to ride up a 7 mile hill but it wasn't too steep till near the top where we took another break at a country store where a bunch of folks were on sag for an AIDS charity ride. After Ron's accident Jim was nervous on the 7 mile down hill, into Woodstock, until a big guy from the AIDS ride passed Jim and the adrenalin kicked in; He beat him to town.

We're staying at the Ardmore House B&B. It would be hard to pick our 2nd favorite town in VT but Woodstock would be right in the running. Our favorite is Burlington because it has the best Cremee Place in the world...we recommend the large chocolate with waffle cone.

2009-08-24T15:05:00.003-04:00

Day 10 Crown Point to Middlebury, VT...29 miles 2,000 feet of climbing

Since it was a low mileage day and Patty couldn't convince us to "tour" by stopping at Fort Ticonderoga, we got a later start from the B&B, heading out at 10am. Some up and downs on the 8 mile ride to the ferry in Ticonderoga. The ferry carried us back to our old hunting grounds in Vermont; the first few miles in VT were on our route a week earlier. It didn't seem like a hard ride and we were was a little surprised by the amount of climbing in less than 30 miles. Maybe the flat-landers in the group are getting used to the terrain? It was also nice to have Sarah carrying some of our load - we had taken only what we needed for the day on the bikes.

This was one of those days that had a nice start and great ending with out much to remember in the middle. The views of the wide valley up to Middlebury were wonderful; comparable to the expansive views we had of Lake Champlain. Middlebury turned out to be great. A person could do a whole vacation in and around Middlebury. Plenty of New England charm, great food and two good bike shops in one little town.

We stayed at the Middlebury Inn, which Derna declared to hve the best beds so far. We had a great lunch at Sama's and an even better dinner at Marie and Tully's, right on the river on their deck.

2009-08-24T15:02:00.002-04:00

Day 9 Plattsburgh to Crown Point New York - 65 miles and 4180 feet of climbing!!

We're writing this on day 12 due no available internet and being to bushed to write up the day's report. This part of New York has some upscale areas particularly around Lake George and some dumps, which is unlike Vermont with it's consistent upscale hippie look and feel. Port Henry, NY is a good example with it's charming 1890's buildings which have vegetated into apparent slums. Port Henry should annex into Vermont and get in on the tourist trade. Having said that it would be fair to point out there are a few places in VT that I'm sure would look better with a few feet of snow to cover the junk. All and all, Vermont does a great job saying, "spend your money here".

We got an early start out of Plattsburgh and had a few flat miles before hitting the hills. As you can see from the number of feet climbed - there were a lot of hills with plenty of crash and burn grades. Ron and Jim agree it was their hardest day climbing since Missouri last summer. Jim started to fall apart a couple times but fueled up and kept on riding and ended up feeling good at the end of the day. Patty gave in and walked up two of the hills; Derna and Ron sailed up them all.

Crown Point was a nice lift after seeing sad Port Henry - the bridge traffic must bring in some extra money. Of course, those last miles to the B&B (Sugar Hill Manor), would have been nicer without those cars racing to get down broken down Rte 9N and onto the bridge to Vermont. The B&B was antique filled, large rooms, with afternoon tea and hearty breakfast - highly recommended.

Sarah met us at the B&B. After today's ride, it was nice knowing some of our stuff would be traveling with her in the car for a few days.

Note: Picture taken going over Ausable Canyon NY - we ignored the bridge closed sign to stay on route.

Day 7 and 8

2009-08-12T10:00:00.005-04:00

Day 7 - Loop Day in Isle la Motte - 31.8 miles. We rode from and back to the Ruthcliffe Lodge, with its beautiful views of Lake Champlain. Our Tour Director made sure we got in a few miles of dirt road next to the lake. Then we stopped at the shrine for Saint Anne 'Our Lady of Lourdes' and a mile or so later had a snack (freshly made chocolate candy) at one of the many roadside gift shops you see in this part of the country. Since this is mainly a summer tourist area they do a good job of maximizing profits while the flowers are in bloom. About 10 miles out we went through Alburg headed for Swanton...THE BACK WAY. A couple of miles later, on a country road, we hit the Canadian Border and did a photo op in the no-man's land between the two countries. On our way back to the US we were followed by US Border Patrol for about 1/2 mile; we only hope this was done out of boredom by our national security and they aren't stupid enough to think that 4 old folks on the mighty bicycle were a threat to National Security. Then a little while later Patty and Ron - Ron has been promoted to Assistant Navigator - huddled up along the side of the road, point their hands in six or seven directions, and finally we hung a left. Derna and I followed along without mentioning the bridge-out sign - we know our place. By and by we ran into another Border Patrol, who in a very nice way let us know that our crack navigation team was lost - they claim the Lake Champlain Bike Map is wrong - that's their story and they are sticking to it. We never made it to Swanton. After a nice lunch at Kay's Cafe in Alburg we cruised back to the B&B. On the return trip, Ron noticed Patty's bike was grinding due to the chain being too long. Immediately, on the spot, Jim promoted him to Assistant Mechanic to go all with his navigation duties. He only accepted the job after we promised to double his pay. Here is his new pay schedule; 2X0=0. Back at the B&B we took links out of Patty's chain and adjusted the seat. I can say that Ron earned his pay. We had a nice dinner and drinks by the lake and called it an early night.

Day 8 - Isle La Motte to Plattsburgh - 44.4 miles.Turns out today was easier than yesterday's loop ride! After breakfast by the lake, we headed out early and pedaled back up the island to Alburg, then across wetlands to the bridge to New York. Patty and Ron did a little hand waving out of Rouses Point NY, which ended up as a left turn on Lake Shore Road to Chazy Landing. There are some fine homes on the lake in this area; it seems more up-scale than what we passed in Vermont. We had a snack lunch in Monty Bay at a campground/store/marina. The weather couldn't have been nicer, we had light winds and 75F today. Since meeting Bike Vermont Tours a few days ago, we been pretending to be our own tour company with Patty being the Tour Director, Jim as Head Mechanic and Ron as Deputy Tour Director and GPS whizz. Derna is the only customer - which means she pretends to be impressed when Ron and I work on bikes and Patty does route rap. So far she has done a good job controlling her smirks, snide comments and hasn't broken down laughing. It's probably unrealistic for us to expect a big tip, though. We're at the Comfort Inn, right by Route 89, surrounded by every chain restaurant and motel in the NY area. A big change from the quiet B&B at the end of the road on Isle La Motte but we are looking forward to a Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi meal tonight.

2009-08-12T09:45:00.003-04:00

Day 4 - Lake Bomoseen to Vergennes 55.2 miles. I was joking around with Derna this morning about taking the direct 30 mile route to Vergennes and having cold beers ready for Patty and Ron when they arrived late afternoon. We couldn't understand why Patty thinks getting into the motel before 1pm is a bad idea. Our idea gained traction during the day, particularly when we found ourselves walking through loose gravel on the unpaved road we unexpectedly had to take. I've got a thing about loose gravel that the guide book promised we would NEVER see. Patty checked with a local farmer who assured her the dirt ended at the town line, 3 or 4 miles later, and luckily he knew what he was talking about. We caught our first glimpse of Lake Champlain this morning after about 20 miles. Our route was up and down Vermont hills except for a few flat miles (with a tail wind pushing us just when we needed it) towards the end of the day - we climbed over 3000 ft today. The hills were alive with the smell of dairy - can't even count how many red barns we saw today. We had a long haul today (which we had cut from 68 to 55 miles, thank goodness) but with the scenery, the great weather and the "interesting" road conditions, its a ride we won't soon forget. We're staying at beautiful B&B - the Strong House in Vergennes - and had our best meal so far at the Black Sheep Bistro.

New England trip..

2009-08-12T07:52:00.006-04:00

Day One; It took me nearly 30 hours to get door to door from my house in Charleston to Patty's house in Boston. Even though Delta was screwing around with me in Charleston, Ron charged me for the dinner I did not eat in New England. Fair is fair, right? I figure it's another notch in Delta's 'let's screw the customer belt.'

I was so late getting in I missed the first days ride with Derna and Ron--based on their scarry hill stories probably not a bad thing. Patty met me at the airport and with Sarah's help we caught up by driving to Brattleboro and got in just in time to go to bed. DELTA!!!!!

Day 2; Brattleboro VT to Manchestter Village, Vt., 48.1 miles if you believe that piece of crap odometer Patty has on her bike which by the way won her the closest to correct milage and a free drink for the day. Derna and Ron kicked butt on the hills today and believe me, there were plenty of hills..probably over 2,500 ft in climbing, says Ron. We're staying at the Inn at Manchester.

We saw several covered bridges, lots of green hill and met some nice folks. Picture is of Patty at one of the many river crossings.

Barefoot runnning update

2009-07-16T15:51:00.003-04:00

I'm running/walking a couple miles a day barefoot or in sandals. So far I feel great and have not taken any Motrin yet. People seem concerned about my well being-- particularly my mental well being-- and bring up all kinds of objections to this newest activity. Apparently, there is a least a 99% chance I'll step on a needle and get AIDS followed closely by broken glass and rusty nails wounds--I never knew drugs and trash were that big of deal on the Greenway. Then there are all those dog siht fears. The only thing I can figure is some people don't siht otherwise it seems like they would know by now that a little of the stuff won't kill you or maybe dog siht is just different in some way from human siht? Anyway I'm so worked up about all this that last night I laid awake for 2 seconds worrying.

Today the a guy a the running/bike shop told me it wasn't natural to run barefoot. He said that people have evolved to run in shoes. I was damn near speechless. Let's see, the modern running shoe was developed less than 40 years ago and the evolutionary processes kicked in and now we can't run properly without them? I'm not surprised a guy making money selling over priced shoes would not be a objective about barefoot running. It's about the money and the list of money makers includes all those orthopedists making beach house payments off running injuries. Do you think your going to get honest answers from the Running Industry?

My advice? If you want to runner faster with less injuries start getting away from those expensive shoes. Do what I did, take a barefoot run on grass, I think it will change your thinking.

They can't even regulate tricycles...

2009-07-04T08:10:00.005-04:00

Years ago the city of Charleston passed laws to regulate pedicabs. Right from the start, when they used the name rickshaws to describe these vehicles, they got it wrong--a rickshaw is a two-wheeled vehicle pulled by hand; what they were regulating was a 3-wheeled tricycle, a pedicab. Naturally, rather than allow the FREE market to determine the number of cabs, the city put a limit of 15 cabs and then created a bureaucracy to enforce the rules. For a time none of this really matter since no one from the city seemed to know what was going on with the pedicabs or didn't care or where too lazy to do anything about it. In this unregulated vacuum the free market did its thing and pedicabs became part of the landscape. The number of bikes on the street fluctuated based on demand for the service. Even in the busiest of times it was rare to wait over 10 minutes for a cab. Everyone was happy: the hotels, the cab companies, the riders and especially the customers---tax payers.

Wouldn't you know it? Since everything was working great the city decides to get back involved by enforcing the law regarding the number of cabs on the street. Probably caused by the new guy from the city charged with pedicab harassment--I'll bet the family farm this guy has never even been for a ride in a pedicab. Of course, they pulled this stunt at the worst possible time...the start of Spoletto. Waiting on a cab went to 30 minutes or more and in some cases NEVER. Now we have a system where there are cabs in the barn, kids eager to ride the cabs and customers wanting to ride and a big fat bureaucracy parked on it's ass right in the middle of the free market. Anyone out there surprised?

Starting all over...

2009-06-24T12:13:00.007-04:00

With all the bicycling, I haven't done any running for years, then a few weeks ago I listen to a book on my Ipod called Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. Boy, did he ever do a good job of convening me that we truly are born to run. Lots of new interesting stuff in this book. Did you know that statically from 19 years of age to 27 years of age marathon times improve? That the best times for a marathon are posted by people in their late 20's? then it's not till 64 years of age that you get back down to the 19 year old running level? That's modivation for us older guys.

This book also makes a good case that modern running shoes are not preventing injuries and may contribute to injuries by limiting the flexibility of the foot. Runners World found that the number one predictor of running injuries was how much you paid for your running shoes: people who bought cheap shoes had less injuries.

Anyway...I've started to run again and this time I'm starting at the beginning: barefoot trail running with some homemade sandals to use for running to the trail. Of course, nearly everyone thinks I'm crazy and you should see the looks I get on the Greenway. My 2.5 year old grandson Jack is my only supporter, he liked Papa's new running shoes so much I made him a pair. When we went outside to try them out he ran like the wind while laughing and didn't stop for a quarter mile--this whole project has me feeling a little like Jack.

Did it rain or what?

2009-06-16T07:49:00.002-04:00

2009-06-01T09:01:00.010-04:00

My bike taxi turned over 1,000 miles just in time for the city to crack down on the number of pedicabs allowed on the streets. Since I try not to take rides from the kids I'm off the taxi for awhile. In the mean time the tourons have a 20-30 minute wait for a taxi on Friday and Saturday nights. Just another good example of our tax dollars at work, God forbid we let the free market work.

Planning a New England ride with Patty and Ron, in August, so with all this spare time I've started training. My plan to take my folding bike on this trip--it's easy to ship-- went to hell after the first training ride. Not even a real training ride. I rode to the bike shop to purchase a new odometer and got a bad case of the sore butt, pain in the shoulders and hand cramps. So it's back to the recumbent...my first training ride on it was to the drug store to get a new battery for it's odometer. My life is one big ass circle, which I ride on different bikes.

The picture is the 2029 Auburn fullback who scores eight winning touch downs to beat Bama 120 to NOTHING--this is the game where the Bama radio announcers leave at half time and ABC Sports switches to Colgate vs Temple.

Move em out...

2009-05-17T17:08:00.003-04:00

Riding my bike taxi across the James Island Connector is almost always a challenge. The prevailing winds out of the south make going home hard. The fiberglass seating area of the cab acts like a parachute and going home I'm usually tired, plus the steepest part of the bridge is also homeward bound. Doing 3 mph is a heart racer. I look forward to the occasional day when we get winds out of the north making things a little easier.

This bad news picture was taken looking west from the top of the bridge into a storm front. Big black clouds and lightning. The good news: wind and hills seem easy if your worried about being struck by lightning.

Cycle Chic...big success

2009-05-16T14:11:00.003-04:00

As mentioned a few days ago my friend Kristan organized a Charleston Cycle Chic ride for the ladies. She put this thing together in the insanely short period of two weeks. I would have bet big money not more than 8-10 folks would show up.

Shows what I know. With the organizational help of Twitter the word spread fast and there ended up being over 50 folks on the ride, mostly ladies dressed to the nines--the most high heels King Street has seen on Friday at noon in years.

Okay, everything didn't go perfect. Toward the end of the 4 mile ride a couple of the ladies decided to take a short-cut back to work and a bunch of the folks followed them. We got a little scattered out. This ended up being kind of cool and seemed to fit the spirit of the event.

Two of a kind...sort of.

2009-05-11T08:13:00.004-04:00

We both slobber a lot and naps are a big deal. We both like to wave our hands around when we talk but no one listens to us anyway. If we had a barber it would be the same one. He has 3 rolls of fat under his chin and I have a few --but who is counting.

On the other hand he hasn't found a job yet but we're working on it. My butt is hairy and his is pink. With a little luck he'll get out of diapers in a few years and I'll never have to wear them.

Cool bikes...cool concept..

2009-05-06T07:23:00.004-04:00

My friend Kristan is putting on a Cycle Chic ride on May 15th in downtown Charleston. The concept is simple: a bunch of ladies get together and ride their bicycles down King Street...the really cool part is they dress to kill including high heel shoes. You can get more information on the event: http://charlestoncyclechic.wordpress.com/

For more bicycle pictures:

http://www.copenhagencyclechic.com/2009/04/gentlemen-prefer-bicycles.html

Bike commuter

2009-04-30T08:59:00.002-04:00

Jim Wallace

Commutes 8 miles per day from West Ashley to downtown.

Retired/Charleston Bike Taxi rider.

Bicycle tours include 4 over 2,500 miles, 4 over 1,000 miles and 4 over 500 miles.

2009-04-22T08:43:00.002-04:00

This picture was taken from my cab when we did a 4-cab ride from Embassy Suites. These ladies were in town for Home & Garden Tours.

Business has been steady for the last week and it's good to be making some bucks again. Our biggest problem this year has been global cooling....I have not left the house without long sleeves yet this year. In our business when the warm sunshine comes out it's like turning on the ride switch.

Bike Taxi

2009-04-21T08:13:00.003-04:00

My new bike taxi turns over 600 miles this week. I took a lot of flack for my pig horn--you have to look close at the picture--from the kids at first, until I started asking them for their moms phone number. Notice the Brooks Seat which was designed by the Devil as his premium product and intended as a introduction to Hell. In addition there is a 1.4" front tire--standard is 2"--which works fine since most of the weight is on the fat asses in the back. I've been riding this girl across the James Island Connector most days so that I get a good work-out even on slow days.

Happy Easter

2009-04-13T14:15:00.003-04:00

My best little buddy turns 2.5 years old and enjoyed Easter Sunday this week-end. We took 7 kids that were visiting or live in the neighborhood for a bike taxi ride, walked the dogs, ate too much and took a nice long nap. Next week we start Potty Time.

Say it ain't so...

2009-04-05T17:01:00.001-04:00

A little history.

2009-04-01T08:02:00.004-04:00

Marshall Wright spent over 20 years working for the US Foreign Service. He was Assistant Secretary of State under Presidents Nixon and Ford.

Mr. Wright had a meeting scheduled with then Minority Leader of the House Gerald Ford. The day before Representative Ford had been appointed Vice President by President Nixon after the resignation of Spiro Agnew. It was assumed, by State, that Ford would not attended the meeting on the day he was to be sworn in as Vice President but when asked Gerald Ford said "I don't have anything else to do before noon."

We all know that Gerald Ford when on to be President of the United States. He was branded by the Democrats and the media as a do nothing President. A lot of us believe that four more years of do nothing Gerald Ford would have beat the hell out of Jimmy Carter.

In my book Gerald Ford and Marshall Wright are gentlemen cut from the same cloth.

New guy..with Grandpa

2009-03-24T20:14:00.003-04:00

William Baker Wallace, 8 pounds 13 oz. and 22" long. Born Medical University of South Carolina at 1:53 today. Mother and baby doing fine.

Since the little guy was about a week late they induced labor. When one of the nurses looked under the sheet and said it was time to get to work I ran like hell for the waiting room. Forty five minutes later I was invited back for a visit and by then Bobo was washed up, dressed up, open eyed and plugged in for his first meal. The kid can eat. This picture was taken when he was less than one hour old and right after I counted the toes and fingers--10 each. Tomorrow he gets the old cut pee pee trick and comes on home. We're all excited and thankful for a health baby.

New rules for Tour-ons..

2009-03-12T14:42:00.006-04:00

I've come to the conclusion that what we need downtown is not MORE tour-ons but RICHER tour-ons. We need a city ordinance that demands tour-ons maintain an ass pocket full of cash at all times. I'm thinking about a 2 inch roll of cash and forget those dollar bills, we want twenties, fifties and hundred dollar bills--and no getting testy about change. Penalty for non-compliance is immediate deportation back up north. We'll put parking cops in charge of enforcement--these guys haven't missed a illegally parked vehicle in years .... spotting broke Yankees should be a piece of cake.

On another note: This nice picture was taken by my friend Kristen Walker. She plans to sell Real Estate by taking her clients around on bicycles to view properties. A few years ago Kristen rode for us at Charleston Pedicab. She also worked for Back Roads Bicycle Touring Company and helped do their tours in Italy--cool stuff.

Bad Doggy

2009-03-11T15:23:00.006-04:00

Charleston has a new leash law which Scooter and I break at least twice a day. However, in a effort to comply with the spirit of things I have been keeping him on a close verbal leash. Which means that if he strays over 30 feet away I growl and he stays close. Trouble is I end up stopping to talk and the boy sneaks off our little reservation, usually to steal cat food or visit. One neighbor has a couple fuzzy long haired white dogs. I was being careful not to let Scooter run over for a look-see but got distracted so he took the opportunity to visit. My neighbor was turn away from us, talking to another guy, and didn't notice. I figured we got away with one until a little later when we ran into each other again and I notice black dirt--lots of it-- all over his white dogs caused by them scratching up dirt on themselves from pulling on the leash when Scooter stopped bye.

Comes around, goes around.

2009-03-10T18:45:00.004-04:00

USA Today reports that the the per-capita consumption of meat and poultry is over 217 pounds--which shows what I know since I always consider poultry a meat. In addition we consume 205 pounds of milk/cream, 31 pounds of cheese, 5 pounds of butter and 252 eggs. That would be 458 pounds of flesh and animal by products and 252 aborted chickens times about 230 million people.

Thinking about all the pain and suffering factory farm animals have to go through to produce all this crap is mind boggling. Maybe you don't give a rats ass about brutality to animals? I'll bet you are one the majority of Americans who gives a rats ass about their own pain and suffering? In that case you might want to do a Google search on "high protein diets and cancer" or "high protein diets and diabetes" or "high protein diets and heart disease". The good news is all the kids are getting plenty of steroids and growth hormones....FOR FREE.

Keeps on ticking..

2009-03-10T16:14:00.004-04:00

Anything that I carry in my pocket will--sooner or later--end up in the wash. I've washed pocket knives, keys, belts, maps, billfolds, books and money. I've never washed my cell phone but it's been in the river and survived, it's also been in the ocean where it died. Yesterday, I heard something in the dryer banging around and figured it was probably a bike tool. Later I discovered it was my I-Pod. DOA from a super wash and 45 minute drying cycle. I would have sold it to you for a buck. I started to go over to Radio Shake and buy a new one but was watching Jack and didn't want to do the car seat thing. This morning it still looked dead but I plugged it into the computer where it came back to life and even did an update including loading a book I purchased a few days ago.

New plan....

2009-02-25T11:36:00.004-05:00

Question: let's see, we're bailing out the banks, dead beat home owners, auto industry and spending trillions on other government programs? What's in for me? What's in for you? [We know what's in for children but NO ONE gives a siht about the kids.] ANSWER: all this spending for special interest groups has one thing in common....the only folks happy about any specific spending are the one's getting the money and politicians that are repaying their election debt with our tax dollars. Even this happiness is tempered because no special interest group EVER gets big enough piece of the borrowed pie. Bottom line: even with all this spending no one is happy. Solution: Affordable automobiles. By affordable I mean FREE. Have the soon to be national car companies get together and design a national car...call it Government Car. Then have the soon to be national banks make financing available for Government Cars to all Americans, aliens and miscellaneous dead beats. No one has to make a payment since we all know the government will bail out the banks.

New Bike Taxi..

2009-02-24T16:26:00.007-05:00

My new bike taxi is scheduled to ship from Denver tomorrow or the next day. That's right...American Made, except for the wheels, tub, chain, cassette, cranks, brakes, fork and pedals etc. Mine will look like the one in the picture but without the top and seat. We have plenty of spare tops in the shop and I'll use my own seat--I might not be much on underwear but having my own bike seat seems important. Uncle Bill seemed to think I was spending too much money until I reminded him it was a better investment than the Marriott Hotel stock he owns. Now all I have to do is make room in the garage for my new baby.

Public housing...

2009-02-18T14:16:00.005-05:00

The chart on the right show the amount of money that has been and is being printed. Talk about going through the roof?

The latest deal announced today is a $79 billion home mortgage bale out of people who owe more money on their home than the home is worth. Here we go again: taking responsible tax paying citizens money and giving it to people who made bad decisions. What's the lesson? Sounds like the lesson is buy a house you can't afford and the Federal Government will kiss the bobo and make it go away. The problem with housing today is inflated prices caused by artificial demand from so many of these stupid loans. A bale out will only service to prolong the afforability problem and keep some responsible people from owning their own home.

Bottomline: those morons over at Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, with the help of Congress, opened the door...a bunch of dumb ass bankers jumped on the bandwagon and now irresponsible buyers who signed up for more money than they are willing to pay back are being baled out with money we have to borrow. BORROW.... AND a lot of these loans included second mortgages that people used to buy $100 bottles of wine and take cruises so we not only bale them out we provide vacation money.

INSANE!

Where is the money?

2009-02-16T15:16:00.006-05:00

There is plenty of money available to buy homes!!!! If you have good credit, a 10% down payment and the house cost is no more than 2.5 times your annual salary. In other words it's back to the old business model. The problem is people aren't making enough money to afford homes. This is due to the hyper-inflation of home costs over the last 10 years caused by creative financing. The affordability gap widened as house price when up10-15% per year and salaries only went up 5-6%. In Charleston the mean household income in 2007 was $46k and the mean house cost was $365K. You already know what happened.... some folks were buying houses they couldn't afford using loans that did not have a chance of being paid back. Make no mistake about it, these excessive loans were a major cause of the hyper-inflation. Now it's time to get back to the real world of supply and demand. No one want to hear this but that 2007 mean housing cost of $365K is going to have to get down to the $175K range before most families will start qualifying for loans again. The only thing that will stop this cycle is the if the Federal Government throws enough money into housing and the bad loan practises are continued. AND..why wouldn't the feds get involved? AMERICANS ARE PERFECTLY HAPPY TO STAND AROUND WHILE THE GOVERNMENT BANKRUPTS OUR CHILDREN.

8% unemployment..What's the problem?

2009-02-07T10:09:00.012-05:00

I don't know why folks get so fired up over a little unemployment when the Internet is so full of opportunities? Just start your own business working from home...it's easy. Here are just a few opportunities that nice people have emailed me in the last week:

1. You can make $3,500 a week doing Google Searches from home and no experience is necessary. Even if your not unemployed why not quit that stupid job and go for this one?

2. BUT..what if your have a government job and 2 hours on the computer a day, doing Google searches, sounds like too much work? Here is the deal for you. In just two easy steps you can get a government grant. Over 15 billion in funding available.

Once you have all that cash flow you'll want to improve your life. Again the Internet is the place to go. Here are just a few opportunities:

1. Live to be 150 with America's number one anti-aging pill.

2. Flush out extra weight with Belly Bulge Be Gone. Guaranteed 10 pounds a week weight loss.

3. Get Magic Jack and never pay for phone service again. NEVER.

4. Never Scrub Toilet Bowl Cleaner.

Then again, you may just want to wait till until my new product hits the market? Your very own $100 dollar bill printing press. It's free with the standard terms and a 30 day money back guarantee. Note: Part of the GREEN Movement, they only run on hot wind power--you can buy some of mine if you run out.

I know most of you aren't going for any of this stuff. Your thinking why go to the trouble? All you have to do is wait for the millions Microsoft and Yahoo are sending you for forwarding all those emails to me! Right? Fess up, you know you did it.

Global Warming...

2009-02-04T08:42:00.003-05:00

Is it just me? Every time I see Al Gore in the news along with the ensuing discussions on Global Warming we get record cold weather. We took a bicycle trip from Jacksonville to Key West in January, Al was in the news and I nearly froze my ass off. Al Gore lives in a 20,000 square foot house, rides around in limos and a private jet...give us a break. The man is just not green, you know that Humpty Dumpty ass of his is putting out more fumes than the Hummer he drives? I want the man to shut up and the movement to get another spokesperson.

No negative feed back about this from the tree huggers out there! You want to discuss Global Warming? Get your ass off the couch and out the door. We can talk the talk while walking the Greenway or riding our bikes downtown. You want green? It's outside people--not that I'm going out in this cold ass weather.

A can of worms...

2009-02-03T10:15:00.001-05:00

Do you have a better term?

2009-02-02T09:23:00.005-05:00

Our past President, current President and US Congress, all elected by us, have been or are going to spend money like a bunch of drunk sailors. Most of this money is being borrowed. The current 800 billion spending bill in congress will increase the National Debt by 800 billion and cost over 1.1 trillion before it is paid back. That's $8,700 for every person paying taxes today, but today's tax payers aren't paying this money back. It's the kids, stupid. Maybe it's just me, but I don't see the end game here other than they are passing the buck to our children and grandchildren? Seems like we are a bunch of cowards who's motto is "The bucks stops after we're dead or stick it to the next generation." I'm outraged about this situation and don't understand why more folks aren't up in arms? In an effort to make my point, I will in the future call the free spending politicians what they are......................................... Financial Pedophiles.

Change.........

2009-01-12T11:23:00.004-05:00

Lots of change coming this year. Over 2,500 years ago Buddha started a religion based on the fact that the only thing a person can depend upon is CHANGE. Nothing remains the same. People are fearful of change and worrying about change causes more stress than anything else in our life. His solution to this dilemma is to live in the present...no worrying about tomorrow, no fretting over the past. To bad this is the hardest thing in the world to accomplish. Good luck to you and yours on this adventure in 2009.

Life of Riley......

2009-01-04T17:30:00.003-05:00

Everyone should be a 2-year-old for a day. Life is simple for these guys. Take math, for example, you only have 2 numbers to worry about--one and two. One equals one and two equals everything else. Want to be cute? Just repeat something stupid an adult said and smile. Want the moon? Just bat those baby blues and say pleeese. Don't know what you want? Just say some words they don't understand, and they will start offering you stuff till you see something you do want. Tired of riding your trike? Just get off and somehow it'll get back home. Need a nap? Any place any time, master. Want to stay out of trouble? Do whatever you want, and if they get mad, just put on that siht-eating-grin and keep it there till it cracks them up.

Indians swarm Fort Bama...

2009-01-03T17:31:00.002-05:00

The Utha Utes took out Fort Bama in the Sugar Bowl last night. Earlier this fall Bama beat Auburn for first time in 6 or 7 years and were number one in the nation. Either they couldn't stand the pressure or were so overwhelmed by FINALLY beating Auburn but in either case might as well stayed home for the last two games.