Goals

I run with a friend of mine from work several days a week.  I ride most of those days and lately I have had a lot my mind.  The result of this is that I have been less than enthusiastic about running at lunch. Once he prods me into getting out there we do well. I am in the Army and we have very effective ways of motivating people to do things; the most common is to insult the person, call them mean names and humiliate them until you get your desired result. It is very effective and he usually resorts to that.  They are mostly social runs vs a race, discussions range from politics to politics.  On the past few runs he has been suggesting that we run an ultra marathon. 

 

Really.....an ultra marathon, we run about 3-4 miles on average and you want to jump to 60+ miles in some exotic location or extreme condition.  I am not that fond of running but his reasoning is sound; while we may not be as fast or trim as we were when we were young we are still in very good shape.  In fact I would venture to say that while I may not be as fast as I was (or as trim), overall I am physically stronger and more capable than I was when I was 19.  While I may not recover as quickly or bounce as well, mentally and emotionally I am stronger now than I ever was.  

 

I have decided that while I am still young, I need to challenge myself more.  There are a number of events I would like to try, mostly casual but there are a couple of races.  I have missed out on some of the event registration so in an effort to continually challenge myself, I have made a list of events I will participate in, some hard and some not so hard.

 

May:  Spring Tailwind Century--I did the fall version of this.  I don't recall that it was a ton of fun but it is a great concept.  The QCBC has a number of routes pre-planned.  The night before the route is chosen based on the most favorable tailwind.  Again, I did the fall version a year ago, not so favorable wind.

 

June:  TOMRV--I am told this is a heck of a ride.  A two day ride with 106 miles the first day and 90 or so the second.  I am told that there is a lot of climbing and that most are challenged because it is early in the season.  I have been cranking a lot more this year than in the past.  I don't think I will suffer as much as those who don't ride all winter.

 

July and August going to have no scheduled activities due to other stuff.  Household 6 would probably flip out if I scheduled anything during those months. 

 

September:  Buffalo Bill Century Ride--Looks good to me, I really know nothing about this. 

 

October:  Tour de BBQ in Kansas City--This 62 mile ride with BBQ stops looks great but the cost could become prohibitive.  I do have four kids to feed.  I will have to do some research on this as it gets closer. 

As a long term goal, I would like to try a longer gravel race.  I am looking at the Dirty Kanza for 2014 while I am still living in the area.  This fits into our lunch time run discussion.  I am not getting younger but at least I am not getting worse...for now.  I need to do some stuff while I can. 

 

A Place of Solitude During Times of Stress

A bad day of fishing is still better then the greatest day at work!

 

It is way past my bed time. I have to get up very early. I am tired but I have a lot on my mind. Challenges with my work and family (not the Tsunami, I am mostly immune to their challenges). These are all things that will wear on a person. Normally I don't worry much past what I can control. Right now there isn't much I can control and the stress is there.

So here I am tired and having the thoughts that tomorrow is going to be a really long day and wishing that I was riding through the mountains or floating down a river.  No, I am in the Quad-Cities in February.

When it gets like this my brain seems to go to a default memory. While I don't remember the exact date, it was spring.  Maybe late March or early April.  It was a gorgeous spring day and the temperature was perfect for a stone fly hatch on the Bitterroot river. A good friend of mine and I were floating the river, I was rowing and he was fishing.  We came to a braided channel, a perfect place to pull the raft on the bank and we could both fish the braids. I had been rowing all morning and happy to do so as long as K caught fish, if he wasn't producing it was his turn to row.

K went to fish the channels I didn't really feel like fishing so I decided to soak up the sun.   I layed down on the tube of my raft which had dark green and material had been absorbing the warmth of the sun on that nice spring day.  I vividly remember how nice it felt on that afternoon.  Using a life preserver as a pillow I drifted in and out of consciousness.  I could feel the heat of the sun on my face and the refreshing sound of water running. I lay there and listen to the birds and the water, a little piece of heaven. 

K was surprised that I chose not to fish.  I am glad I did not because I know that had I fished, that day would have blended itself with every other day on the water.  Each fish caught that day almagamating with every other fish I have caught in life.

Instead I have a totally different memory, one separate from any other day.  One that has brought me comfort throughout life.  When the conditions are right or I feel the warmth of the sun, I find myself transported back in time to that place with the warmth of the sun and my raft and the sound flowing river. 

These have brought me comfort countless times and will do so as far into the future.  

Embrace the Suck: Riding in crazy January weather.

Monday was a pleasant surprise, the weather was improving from Sunday's ice storm. I was able to run 3.5 miles at lunch and ride home in shorts with the 40 degree weather. Tuesday was flat out amazing. The high was 60 degrees and since I drove (my kids schedule isn't always conducive to riding) I went for a 4 mile run at lunch. Down right amazing for the end of January. 

Then we got a dose of reality. Wednesday I woke up to an odd situation; rain in the morning turning to a major snowstorm and 37 mph winds by the end of the day. What was I to do? Drive or ride? That is an easy question.....I opted to ride.   Warm in the morning and freezing at night, two very different scenarios in one day.  The challenge was clothing.  

For the morning commute I decided some Pearl Izumi tights with a water proof front would be a great option.  They also have some insulation so it would be a little warm in the morning but just right for the ride home.  This turned out to be a failure of near epic proportion. It began to rain so hard that the water merely ran down the front waterproofing and filled my boots with water.  One great thing about the Mukluk is that with the fat tires I get a lot of stability on a variety of conditions, on the flip side, the Endomorph on the rear is similar to the stern-wheel boats that once travelled the Mississippi I ride along.  

Stern Wheel Tread Design

This meant that the non-water proof side of the tights worked like a Sham Wow and absorbed most of the water thrown by the tires.  There was a lot of water and since goretex does just as good of a job holding water in as keeping it out and by the time I got to work my feet were sloshing around in my boots.  I spent the day trying to dry them out for the ride home in the blizzard.

While sitting at major intersections, I got a lot of odd looks.  I am all right with that, even though I was somewhat miserable, thanks to the Army I have learned to embrace and enjoy the suck.  The hard part is getting wet, once the boots are full of water you have no choice but to enjoy life anyway.....or be miserable.  

I think there are a lot of miserable people in this world.  I am not one of them.  

Then came the snow....and the wind.  Ruthless wind.  

Fortunately for me all of my stuff was dry after spending hours in front of fans with constant rotations.  While the ambient air was not that cold, the wind and blowing snow was a challenge.  The remainder of the week was just flat out cold, lows in the single digit negatives with wind chills taking them further down.  Not to mention a miserable head wind.

 What happened to nice happy 60 degrees?  

Reality! 

The Greatest (and only) Race I Have Ever Participated In

I don't race. I am not sure why I have never tried, I guess it just never occurred to me. However, the other day I found myself participating in a race of near epic proportions.  At first I didn't realize I was racing but it soon became evident that the other guy was on the attack and racing to the top of the hill as if it were the Alpe d'Huez and he was Fausto Coppi.  I was in no position to counter that attack as I was riding the Panzer with fully loaded panniers and 6 psi in the tires.  The Mukluk is not an agile bike nor does it respond immediately to the mashing of the cranks especially with low psi.   

I saw the man riding towards me, then I turned right.  I paid little attention to him since I see people on bikes regularly.  But then he blew past me as I started up the hill, looking back as if to say "let's see what you got."  Without trying to sound judgemental he did not strike me as the racing type. He was somewhat shabby in his appearance wearing cheap white sneakers that were well worn.  His blue jeans were dirty and worn.  His coat was clearly wrong for racing, a long parka gray, dirty, and dingy. It was unzipped flowing like superman's cape as he reversed the rotation of earth to turn back time in order to save Lois Lane. He is clearly a risk taker based on his choice to go without a helmet.  His steed......a trusty Schwinn Varsity!  Ironically, this bike probably weighs as much as my Mukluk with out panniers, but that is neither here or there.

I briefly thought about pursuing him but settled on the "little engine that could" strategy.  It quickly paid off, about 200 meters into this brazen attack, he pulled off into a parking lot, dismounted and began to walk.  "Slow and steady wins the race" I thought as I passed him.  Then no more than 60 seconds later he blew past me cresting the hill a mere second before I did, glancing over his shoulder as he passed as if to say "take that."  I did and I thought it was over......but it was not. 

We were stopped at a four way stop and when it was our turn to proceed, he sprinted looking over his shoulder to see if I was going to pursue him.  I did not, the Panzer doesn't sprint.  The street narrowed some and there were cars parked which made it difficult to race and we found each other at a major intersection with a stop light.  I travel this route regularly and I have found that it is safest to stay in the lane with traffic, otherwise there can be problems with traffic turning right.  So there I was in the middle of the road, waiting for the light to change when I glanced over and saw Fausto at the crosswalk.  He looked at me as if to say "I got you now sucker" and  before the light changed he bolted through the cross traffic.  When he crossed he looked back at me and I know he was thinking "you lose!"

By the time the traffic light changed and I crossed through the intersection he was gone and the 1.5 mile race was over.    After 36 years of not racing I was out cranked, out gunned, and out maneuvered......defeated by some dude on a Schwinn Varsity.  I have been thinking about this lately, looking for some sort of lesson.  A message about life or the world at large. 

I can't find one.

Success

Fly Fishing in Montana.  I did most of the fishing but they did a great job keeping up and being patient.  

Lately I have been focusing on teaching my kids about success and having high standards when it comes to achievement. Whether it is in school, sports, music, or whatever they attempt I want them to give it their all.  We have a couple of sayings in the house. My wife uses "champions adjust." I have been teaching the kids that they need to "breath excellence." While I love Ricky Bobby I don't necessarily subscribe to the "if you ain't first your last" mentality and I certainly do not subscribe to the every body is a winner atttitude.  I hate the idea that everyone gets a trophy for participating. Life does not give participation awards. The harsh reality is that some don't "win" whether it is there fault or not. Even good hard working people come in last sometimes, they don't get a ribbon. This is where being a parent and raising kids becomes a challenge; how do you teach success and a winning attitude without creating a sore loser or a person that resents me as a parent for to much pressure.

While I don't want to put so much pressure on them that they become resentful, I definitely don't want them to accept a standard lower than they are capable.  I think competition can be healthy; win or lose, a person can gain a lot from challenging himself/herself. Of course each kid is different and responds to a different motivation. Even kids in the same age group have different maturity levels that allow them to be good at different things.

As for my children, I want them to have the same opportunities. Swimming is an excellent example. Our two oldest have been on swim teams for several years. Most nights (especially in the winter) it is a struggle to get them ready and out of the door. The biggest complaint comes from the Chick is always about the water temperature. She is getting better, much better. Digga is easy to bribe. I have no qualms with "bribes," I see them as rewards for success just as I get a paycheck for working. He gets a slurpee on the way home (he is cheap).

All of my kids will be on a swim team and compete, as well as, learn to play the piano.  There is no guarantee that they will love these activities and make them life long pursuits.  How long each will do it will probably depend on any number of factors and will probably be determined by how hard household 6 and I want to fight the issue. They will at least be able to swim and read/play music at some level. Which is more than I can say for myself (I know nothing about music theory or how to read music).

What I can guarantee is that they will have better opportunities to excel than I did and I want them to know that nothing comes with out hard work. Sometimes you wipe out and get tangled up and there is no one to help you (or in this case you remain tangled until the father of the year puts the camera down). The teaching point in this is that it would have been easier to pedal a little harder to get over this obstacle than quit when you are halfway over.  I am not sure if she got the point or not.  I can say that we are out there, living life and learning.   

Christmas Ride and Doing Stuff with Some Success.

I am an active person.  I have a hard time sitting and doing nothing.  The other day I decided that I wanted to make top tube bag that I could put some quick access items in.  I pulled out an old uniform top and pulled the zipper, cut out the back, and went to work designing.  All in all it was a fairly smooth project for a hack and it only occupied a few hours of my life. 

The pattern worked out well and the pieces went together as designed.  

The zipper is a little off center but I can put stuff in it and it zips shut.  That is about where the functional aspect of it ends.  Christmas Day I decided to get out and enjoy the balmy 19 degrees and sun on the banks of the Mighty Mississippi.  The day was great but the top tub bag was a flop.....literally.  As I rode it flopped to the side.  I need to beef up the Velcro and make it so I can tighten it better.  Hopefully I can retro-fit this otherwise it will serve some other function.  Not an epic failure, but a failure just the same.

Aside from my flopping top tube bag, the remainder of the ride was amazing.  I have not lived in the Quad-City area for a long time so I don't know what the usual river levels are but there is no doubt that the summer drought has left it pretty low.  This allowed for a wide range of riding opportunities and the Salsa Mukluk has far exceeded my expectations.

I dropped onto the river bank below the old railroad swing bridge and rode most of the way around Credit Island.  There was a wide range of riding conditions from drifting snow to ice, sand, and larger rocks and boulders.  The width of these tires provide a lot of stability in all of those conditions.  I am particularly surprised with how they handle on the baseball size rocks, these wheels eat them up versus sliding off the side of the rock.  While my 29ers would handle it but it would be rough.   

I found the ice on the rocks and logs to be very interesting.  I am not sure what would cause ice to freeze like this, but the banks were lined with it and it was beautiful.

The top tube pack was not my only failure of the day.  As I rode around Credit Island I came upon a fallen tree with root ball.  I was presented with three options; left through the water, right through the snow, or over.  The water was clearly out of the question and the snow looked to be deep enough to cause problems.  Since the tree was only waist high I decided to lift the bike over.      

As I lifted my 35 pound Panzer over the tree I suddenly found myself in desperate need of traction.  I don't know if the ice broke and then I slipped or I slipped and fell breaking the ice under me.  Either way, I found myself lying on the ground trying to brace an awkward bike and get up off the frozen ground.  This was an epic failure. 

I decided on the return that I would ride around the tree and had far greater success.  Over all it was a great way to enjoy a quiet Christmas afternoon.  Much better than laying on the couch feasting on left overs.

Is it Global Warming or I am I Trying to Hard to Have Fun? You Decide.

It is the 10^th of December and the grass is still very green even though the trees have shed their leaves.  While the temperatures are getting cooler, it is not frigid.  In fact a week or so ago we had a 70 degree day, in December!    I keep telling my wife that I need to get out and go for a ride because it will be the last decent day of riding this year.  She is beginning to get skeptical and is growing tired of hearing this reason to abandon responsibility for a couple of hours.

 I keep waiting for the weather to really go to heck and it looks like I may have to wait longer.  That sounds odd I am sure.  Who doesn’t want beautiful weather?  I for one would like some snow, snow can be beautiful to.   When I found out that I would be moving to the good old Quad-Cities all anyone would tell me is how harsh the weather is.  I would respond with “I have spent a few winters in Alaska, -58 degrees is pretty cold.”  The common response would then be “yeah, but the wind blows really hard here.”  I would respond with “well, I think that at a certain point cold is cold.  By the way, I am from Montana, there is wind there too.”  Apparently Montana wind is different than Iowa/Illinois wind.......whatever.

My point (yes, there is one) is if it is going to be cold and dark, there might as well be a whole bunch of snow.  It seems as though the weather is always a topic of discussion, and it always sounds like this "This is the strangest weather I can ever remember I don't ever remember it being this hot/snowy/dry/cold/rainy!"  If it is too hot.....global warming!  If it is too rainy.....global warming!  If it is too dry.....global warming!  Last but certainly not least, if it is too COLD.....that's right, Global warming!!! 

I am not sure that anyone (except for Al Gore maybe) knows exactly what the cause of global warming is.  I have read about cows producing to much gas or volcanoes and industry spewing stuff.  All I know is that when I was told I would be moving to Iowa/Illinois that I should expect horribly cold conditions.  Quite frankly, I don't think this place is any more extreme.  

I do have a theory about global warming.  While it may not be based on scientific data, I have a much more simple reason; I bought a fat bike and I want to have fun!  While this may sound silly it falls in line with a similar situation in the same line of reasoning last year with my boss.  My boss was told to buy a snow blower when he moved here.  He did and it did not snow much last year making the snow blower useless!  This year I bought a Salsa Mukluk........coincidence?  I think not.  While this may seem completely coincidental and somewhat lacking in scientific research, the proof is there!  Snow bike....no snow.  Snow Blower.....no snow.

Think about it, I believe there is something there!