Back to the beginning

I began biking just over five years ago. Well, biking regularly. A friend talked me into riding in the Tour des Lacs bike ride which goes from Spokane, WA to Coeur d' Alene, ID. She and her dad had done it the year before, and they talked me into going with them this time. Naturally I was on the deck with a drink in my hand. I believe this was the first of many drunken promises to come.

The ride we were signed up for was 84 miles. They had previously done the 40 miler, and were looking for more of a challenge. The ride was rated "Intermediate", so it didn't sound too bad. I dug my bike out and did a few rides along the Burke-Gilman trail. I think the farthest we went was about 30-35 miles. I reasoned that I could do 84 miles, it would just take me longer. There was also a 2 hour boat ride up lake Coeur d' Alene at the end of the ride. With beer. Powerful motivation.

This was my first biking event. My first athletic event of any sort. Running wouldn't start for at least another year. Unfortunately it was also my first "did not finish" (DNF).

It turned out that the route was pretty darn hilly. We started climbing after 2 miles, and it never seemed to end. By the first water stop at mile 30, I said to my friends that I wasn't sure I was going to be able to finish in time to catch the boat. By the second water stop at mile 47, I wasn't sure I was going to finish at all. I encouraged them to take off, but they stayed with me to suffer in company.

By mile 60 we were pushing our bikes up another hill. At the top was the SAG wagon. SAG stands for Support And Gear wagon. Most events have a SAG wagon that looks out for riders and helps with mechanical issues. They will also pick you up and get you to the next stop if you are hurting. It is your responsibility from there, but they get you off the side of the road. It was clear we weren't going to make it, so we hopped aboard. They were kind enough to not only take us to the next water stop, but on to the pier so we could catch the boat. There were actually lots of us packed into that RV.

The following year they started publishing a elevation chart of the route so you can see ahead of time how hilly it is. They also upgraded the route to "Advanced". The full RV may have had something to do with it.

First ride, first DNF. Not a great start, but I was hooked none the less. Maybe defeat made me more determined to conquer these goals. It certainly made more diligent about preparing. So I was back to the Tour des Lacs again this year. The route we rode this year was only 64 miles, but the first 47 miles were the same as the 84 mile route. I was curious to see if the route was as difficult as I remembered, or if it was just that difficult since it was my first real ride. My experience is continued in the next post.

Biggest dog in the world

A friend forwarded this e-mail to me. Nice doggy. Stay off the couch.

Hercules: The World's Biggest Dog: According to Guinness World Records Hercules was recently awarded the honorable distinction of Worlds Biggest Dog by Guinness World Records. Hercules is an English Mastiff and who has a 38 inch neck and weighs 282 pounds.

With "paws the size of softballs" (reports the Boston Herald), the three-year-old monster is far larger and heavier than his breed's standard 200lb. limit. Hercules owner Mr. Flynn says that Hercules weight is natural and not induced by a bizarre diet: "I fed him normal food and he just "grew"... and grew, and grew, and grew.

Need a fix man!

The wife and I had occasion to be at the hospital recently (everything is fine). While we were waiting for some test results, we heard a teen next door talking to the doctor. The doctor had prescribed some extra-strength Tylenol for whatever the injury/problem was. The kid says something like “When I was in here a couple of months ago with injury X, I was prescribed Percocet, and my pain level is similar now.” The doctor restated he was prescribing Tylenol. When the kid started to argue, the doctor got in his face and told him to get out. The kid tried to argue again, and the doctor started yelling for the kid to get out or he was calling security.

The doctor had escalated things pretty quickly, but I’m sure he was expecting it. I’m sure he has to put up with a lot of this crap, people coming in with phantom injuries just looking for drugs.

A bachelor for a bit

So the wife has been in and out of town for the last week or so. I was vaguely productive last week by making a DVD recapping our first 6 years together as an anniversary present. I have more respect for the work that goes into those “year-in-review” DVDs you make Sean. Part of what took so long was scanning old photos (damn pre-digital days), but part of it was the software I’m using. It kept resorting the photos after I had them in order. I’m sure there is an easier way with the program, but it is trial and error at this point.

It didn’t take long to revert to my bachelor ways. Dinner became whatever was in the fridge, and sometimes it was chips, dip, and a cocktail. I made some mac-and-cheese tonight. Now the box says there are three servings in the box, but that equates to one “bachelor serving”. I at least didn’t eat out of the pot.

What really makes it special is a spice my brother found a while back. It is called Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning. The tag line below the name is GREAT ON EVERYTHING. And it is. Especially on eggs. Now if there were only some eggs in the fridge…

9/11

I am sure everyone will always remember where they were when they learned of the disaster and saw the horrific images of 9/11/01. The wife and I were in the air between Dallas and Miami on our way to Jamaica for our honeymoon when it all began. We landed in Miami as scheduled, but did not leave the ground again.

As the time for our connecting flight passed, someone over the PA system said that all planes were grounded. Those originating in Miami should go home. Those connecting, sit tight. The televisions were on a loop playing the history of the Miami airport. People jumped on their cell phones trying to find out what was going on. The wife and I had left ours at home as our honeymoon was the ultimate time to unplug. We heard bits and pieces of one side of a conversation. When the news started filtering through, I assumed it had to be an exaggeration. It was all too similar to a Tom Clancy book I had read recently. When it became clear that something was gravely wrong, we bought phone cards and called our parents.

When I reached my Mom, she asked if I was already in Jamaica, then wondered why I was calling from Miami. I asked if she had turned on her TV yet and she hadn’t. OK, first of all we are safe and sound. Now turn on your TV, as the world has changed since last night. We called another friend who was nice enough to act as a telephone tree for us to pass news along to our friends.

We waited in the airport for four hours or so to get our luggage. The place was jammed with stranded passengers, but it was eerily calm. Everyone knew for once that their problems were insignificant. One couple was carrying around their wedding dress and tuxedo as they were on their way to Jamaica to be wed.

I called a hotel as soon as we went to baggage claim. It turned out to be the nastiest I have stayed in. It smelled of bleach to the level that it seemed they were engaged in germ warfare. We spent most of the evening in the bar getting our first glimpses of the images people had been witnessing. There was no denying it anymore, it was all too real.

We went back to the airport again the next day. Chaos had resumed after the quiet of the day before. I spoke to someone official and I could tell he was ready to snap. I said “I’m not here to yell and scream, I just want to know what is going on”. Tension released, he told me that flights were unlikely to resume for a couple of days. He was nice enough to give us a hotel voucher as I explained we didn’t wait around for one yesterday.

When I returned to tell the wife, I broke down. My first real decision as a new husband was to abandon our honeymoon. Silly, but that is how I felt. We went to the hotel which was a vast improvement and tried to figure out what to do. Calls to trains and bus lines revealed either full or cancelled schedules. I called a few car rental companies. The first one I reached was Nationwide, and they turned out to be the best. Each subsequent rental company seemed to be doing some serious price gouging.

The next morning we picked up the car and after stopping by AAA for a trip map, we started our journey from Miami to Seattle. We both wanted just to get home, and a honeymoon in Florida was much less attractive as a tropical storm was imminent. It hit in full force as we were driving across the panhandle. That ridiculously fast speed on your windshield wipers – not enough. 15 miles an hour just tracking the taillights of the car ahead.

Our course home took us across the southern US on Interstate highway 10. We drove about 10 hours a day, mostly listening to NPR. When I wasn’t driving I read the paper to learn more about what was going on. It wasn’t an all out sprint to get home, but we didn’t stop to look around either. We did plan an overnight stop in Tucson to see a friend who had been in the wedding a few days earlier, and it was great to see him.

Five days later and we were home. I wonder how different our experience was from others. We weren’t home with our family and friends, yet we weren’t forced to resume our normal lives like others had to. It left us with not much to do but think about the tragedy. The wife cheered when we saw the first airplane in flight just outside of Phoenix. We checked in with our folks every night or so. The joke was if we could drive across the country together, our marriage was going to be alright. The beach would have just made us soft.

We are fortunate to not have been personally touched by the events of 9/11. We had a couple of friends flying in and out of New York surrounding that day. That is where our thoughts went that morning and we were glad to hear they were alright.

We returned to Jamaica six months later. When we made it to our delayed honeymoon, I was the most depressed/out of sorts I have ever been. I’m not sure what all was weighing on me. 9/11 may have made me look at my life more closely. It may have been the jarring switch from the happiest week in my life to the worst for the country. Maybe it is the clearest manifestation of hatred I have ever seen. I’m not really sure. I haven’t put those feelings entirely behind me. This day remains a cold little corner of my heart.

Where did my childhood go?

I was driving over to a wedding shower recently. It was held at a house not far from where I grew up. I figured I’d swing by the old house and show my wife and friend where I grew up. I had heard the house was now an adult home. The garage had been converted to extra bedrooms, and the home was bumped out in back. I wanted to see how different things looked.

As we were driving there, we passed by my high school and grade school (they were across the street from each other). “So to our right is my high school and up ahead is…what the!? The grade school was gone! It looks like it happened pretty recently since it was a now just a dirt field and there were still some bulldozers there. Childhood home now an adult home, grade school a dirt field that will probably soon be a sub-division. I guess you really can’t go home.

Drinking, Politics, and Open Discussion

I was at a party a while back. I somehow fell into a discussion of politics. Not a terrible situation on the surface. However, unless you mostly agree at the outset, I have not found many enriching discussions. Drinking of course does not help for level-headed discourse. Neither does talking to a Libertarian about capitalism and taxation.

I assume it has always been this way, people separated in corners and coming out swinging, but it seems most things I see or read these days is just vitriol spewed from both sides. I wonder if it is always been so polarizing. Probably, but I hope not.

I try to keep as open of a mind as possible. Some beliefs are pretty engrained, and there isn’t a likelihood of changing my mind, but I am always fascinated to hear why people think the way they do. And there are certainly plenty of issues where my opinion is malleable. Discussing and debating issues is what our government is based on. “Always stay away from religion and politics” – I just don’t find that satisfying since those two issues seem to make up a big part of people’s psyche. Unfortunately they often live up to their powder keg reputations.

Brian Baird a Democratic Representative from Vancouver Washington recently said that even though he has opposed the Iraq war from the beginning, he has visited Iraq recently and thinks pulling out now would be an even graver mistake. When he spoke to constituents at home, he was ripped apart for “betraying” them. Republicans may say “even he’s on our side” or ridicule him for “flip-flopping” when he comes up for re-election. I think his statements shows hope. He hasn’t changed his feeling about the war, but in assessing the current situation, he feels it makes sense to continue our efforts. Opinions can evolve as situations evolve.

I appreciate that I live in a country that encourages freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the freedom to speak out against things you don’t believe in. The system is a bit broken, but it is the best there is. It could always be better, though, and that is up to us. I would love if the change started at the personal level.

Not so regular running note

5.0 miles / 48:00 minutes / 9:36 mpm

Out for a run this evening. Weather was pretty warm today, so I waited until later in the evening to head out. Glad I brought the sunglasses because the sun was really low in the sky. My field of vision was pretty limited heading west. I also forgot the IT straps I wear on every run. I went 5 miles tonight and so far no unusual pains. Fingers crossed.

I ran a slightly different route tonight. I wanted to check out a house that was recently listed. After checking it out I got back on a more normal loop, but in reverse. It is odd how different things look even just being on the other side of the road and heading in the opposite direction.

I missed a few workouts last week. Life has intervened, some biking events have interfered, and I have been a bit lazy. I am kind of stumbling toward a half marathon in October. I am not expecting a great performance. It is a pretty hilly route anyway, so I probably wasn’t going to break any records anyway. It is still going to be a fun event with some friends.

I am reminded of some coaching advice I read somewhere: “training plans should be made of clay so they can be molded if necessary, not written in stone so you can beat yourself up with it if you miss a workout.” Probably a good life plan as well.

Six Years Ago Today

was the best day of my life. The wife and I were married at an outdoor wedding at Lord Hill Farms. We were actually supposed to have the wedding indoors in a converted barn. In a twist of luck, the fire department did an inspection a couple of weeks before the wedding, and found that the barn did not have adequate fire sprinklers. All turned out for the best as it was a beautiful September afternoon. We both had wanted the wedding outdoors, but didn’t want to risk it with our Seattle weather. Another reason to thank your local fire department!

It was actually the end of the best week of my life. We had a great week with friends both local and from out of state. I am extremely fortunate to have a wonderful family and some very special friends. The wedding week felt like a reunion of sorts, and we both had a fantastic time. The wedding day seemed to fly by, and I am grateful we spread the festivities out over most of the preceding week.

I can’t believe it has been six years already. That day in September does seem distant, but the past six years are a bit of a blur. We were jarred awake by events a couple days later, so that little island of time is even more special.

Thank you my love for continuing to make me a very lucky man!

Window update

Well, the windows are in. The installers were great, and have been the only competent people I have dealt with in the last 4 months. They tore out the old windows and installed the six windows and sliding glass door in less than a day. We are happy with the new look for the home, and hope that the windows make a difference in our heating bills this winter.

Unfortunately one of the widows had a crack in it. It is pretty small, and it sounds like it happened in the factory. The installers said they would call in a report and get a replacement pane ordered. The windows were installed on August 9^th. Now it was back to dealing with the inept office.

I waited until Monday to call in, both to make sure that the order was placed and to see if they would start taking some initiative now that I owed them money. Yeah right. So I called to check on the ordering and to talk about holding back some money until the repair was done. They shuttled me off to the “repair” woman. Several messages, then they said it would be two weeks.

I called in two weeks and left a message, no call back. I’ve been calling all this week, and it took them three days just to find my file. Now they say the glass “may” be in 9/19 or 9/26, over a month and a half after the order date. I of course expressed my displeasure and let them know that I expected a discount for putting up with their ineptitude. I told them the only saving grace is that they haven’t bothered to ask for any of the money I owe them.

There are times when I kinda wish I was still in construction. We really stood out above the rest, but I am finding out how easy that was.

Where the hell have you been?

I’ve been slacking a bit. I’ve been tied up in a project that has taken up the last couple of days. The project has had me in front of the computer all day, and I just haven’t had the desire to stare at a screen in the evenings. I was actually so deep into it, that I totally forgot to run yesterday. The wife is out of town, so my routine is a little thrown off.

Writing and running are such a process of habit - all too easy to fall out of. I've also found that it is a lot easier to get inspired when you are out and about. It is all about moving forward, both physically and mentally.

And for the anti-exercise lobby

There was an article published that stated that walking to the store causes more environmental damage than driving there. The theory is that by walking you burn more calories that if you drove. If you replace those extra calories burned by eating beef, more CO2 is released into the atmosphere. It is pretty sketchy math, and makes a lot of assumptions. The article here does a pretty good job of ripping it apart.

The real point of the article is that far too much energy is used in the production and transportation of beef and other food. The walking vs. driving was just a nice attention grabber.

Man, how forgetful would I be…I lost my train of thought

A recent study seems to indicate that exercise helps boost memory and cognitive speed. Testing has been done on both mice and humans. Tests show an increase in blood flow to the hippocampus, neurogenesis (creation of neurons), and improved scores in memory tests in the groups that exercise more. I hope the running and biking help stave off the dementia.

Check out the article. There is a nice surprise at the end which may help me out even more.

Sticking it to the Man on Labor Day Weekend

Some State lawmakers are considering legislation that would give workers grounds to sue their bosses for being jerks. New Jersey’s bill would give workers the right to sue for as much as $25,000 if their superior created “an abusive work environment”. California is also trying to revive a similar bill that died in committee in 2003. Of course there is no definition or guidance as to what an “abusive” environment might be.

Jerk bosses have been around since there were bosses. The legal system is already jammed with frivolous lawsuits, and this would only add to the number. There are obviously some ridiculous bosses out there, and plenty of horror stories, but I’m sure the majority of lawsuits would come from the “It's not my fault I spilled coffee on myself” crowd.

A Rare Peek at Bush’s Heart

That was the headline of a story on the front page of the Seattle Times this morning. I normally head straight to the sports section and save the front page world news for later. The headline caught me.

Robert Draper is coming out with a book on Tuesday that is the product of six roughly hour-long interviews with our President. The title of the book is “Dead Certain”. I will have to read the book. I am hoping to find some insight into what goes on inside our President’s head and heart. There has to be something behind a friend’s recent 8.5 out of 10 rating for his presidency. I hope there is something I’m just not seeing.