Did anyone see the Obama half-hour infomercial last night?
Yeah, me neither.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wearin' Out
Both Jonnene and I are dealing with a few aches and pains right now, probably leftovers from all the activities we've done over the year. I'm still dealing with what I thought was a tendon problem in my left heel but she thinks it's more of a soft tissue issue under the tendon. She did some ultra-sound on it during a break at work and taped it up. Jonnene, meanwhile, is having a shoulder problem brought on when she picked up her bike with one hand to fix a chain during a bike tour. She's having one of the PT's at work look at her right now. It's really restricted her swimming and makes it difficult to sleep on her left side.
I can run with the heel the way it is, the pain goes away after a half mile but if I leave the foot in one position for a while it hurts to get it loose again. Doesn't happen all the time but often enough. I've just about decided not to do the half-marathon trail run on Nov. 8th and might just curtail all my running before our trip to Australia (I've already run for 8 miles this week). I don't want to have to deal with keeping my foot in basically one position during all the flights we have to take...especially the 13-hour one between Los Angeles and Melbourne...and try to loosen my foot up every time I try to stand up. So it looks like I'll be spending time trying to get the thing healed as much as possible. I'll play this by ear but The Wife is thinking I should try to see an ortho before the Oz trip if it's possible.
Busy last few days!! I spent most of last Monday in Little Rock doing a photo shoot with my friend Paul. We shot a bunch of pics of bicycle saddles being developed by John Cobb for his new company, Cobb Cycling. Yep, Blackwell Research has bit the dust and the remainder of their inventory is being sold off which is a shame. Their website is still up but most of the major players are doing other things. Dave is now doing sales for the ISM Saddle while JC is starting up his own biz with Cobb Cycling. Right now he'll start with two basic saddle designs and will expand that next year. One of his new saddles, the VFlow, which is a redesign of the Flow saddle that Blackwell used to sell and has been a popular saddle. Here it is with the new graphics:
We have three of the old Flow saddles on our bikes and I need to replace one of them.
Last Saturday we spent in Monroe, doing the Tour de Ouachita bike tour that morning...a cold ride with lots of hills! Showered at a friend's house and hit the mall that afternoon. Then went to the ULM football game where we watched my beloved Warhawks blow a 21-0 lead and lose in the last 22 seconds, 29-28, to Florida Atlantic.
I can run with the heel the way it is, the pain goes away after a half mile but if I leave the foot in one position for a while it hurts to get it loose again. Doesn't happen all the time but often enough. I've just about decided not to do the half-marathon trail run on Nov. 8th and might just curtail all my running before our trip to Australia (I've already run for 8 miles this week). I don't want to have to deal with keeping my foot in basically one position during all the flights we have to take...especially the 13-hour one between Los Angeles and Melbourne...and try to loosen my foot up every time I try to stand up. So it looks like I'll be spending time trying to get the thing healed as much as possible. I'll play this by ear but The Wife is thinking I should try to see an ortho before the Oz trip if it's possible.
Busy last few days!! I spent most of last Monday in Little Rock doing a photo shoot with my friend Paul. We shot a bunch of pics of bicycle saddles being developed by John Cobb for his new company, Cobb Cycling. Yep, Blackwell Research has bit the dust and the remainder of their inventory is being sold off which is a shame. Their website is still up but most of the major players are doing other things. Dave is now doing sales for the ISM Saddle while JC is starting up his own biz with Cobb Cycling. Right now he'll start with two basic saddle designs and will expand that next year. One of his new saddles, the VFlow, which is a redesign of the Flow saddle that Blackwell used to sell and has been a popular saddle. Here it is with the new graphics:
We have three of the old Flow saddles on our bikes and I need to replace one of them.Last Saturday we spent in Monroe, doing the Tour de Ouachita bike tour that morning...a cold ride with lots of hills! Showered at a friend's house and hit the mall that afternoon. Then went to the ULM football game where we watched my beloved Warhawks blow a 21-0 lead and lose in the last 22 seconds, 29-28, to Florida Atlantic.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Yesterday on the Set
Spent 14 hours on the set of "The Year One" on Monday....8 hours at the standard rate, 6 hours of overtime at time-and-a-half, and twenty-five extra dollars for being an "action extra" which meant we got placed closer to live explosive devices and ran a lot! It was fun! But I got really tired from all the standing I did. Here's some pictures:
This is outside the extras' dinner tent where you can see the "outside" of the city of Sodom. This was an entire city with alleyways, doors, streets, and a large city plaza. Once you were inside you were back in Biblical Days except for the film cameras and modern-dressed film crew members...and the LSU pop-up tent among the other tents in the corner of the plaza. The plaza featured a sacrificial platform in the center and a place of pagan worship with a giant bull's head with fire in its eyes and mouth...pretty cool! At one side was a royal palace and another side with a shopping bazaar.
Here I am the extras' tent in my costume as a lower level citizen of Sodom. I spent most of the day without my glasses and watch which they didn't have back then. It wasn't so bad...I can see well enough, just don't ask me to read a sign! You can see the week's worth of facial hair I grew for the part. It used to be darker when I was younger!
During a break in filming, I'm standing with a couple of other extras, Kate and Kim. There were over 300 of us "citizens of Sodom" and we were constantly being herded on and off the set...felt like we were leaving a sporting event sometimes! I was glad to return to the 21st century at the end of the day!
I drove to Minden at 5 o'clock in the morning and then got on a bus for a drive to a gravel and sand pit near the town of Sibley. It was dark and we went to a large tent where the extras would be set up for breaks and lunch (which was great!). After filling out our paperwork, we were sent to the wardrobe tent to be fitted for our costumes and makeup (which I didn't get). The place was full...there were a couple of rows of mirrors with people getting makeup, half the tent was rows of costumes on racks, and wardrobe people running around trying to get the slow rows of extras moving about. If you were a "slave" you got extra attention at make-up with whip marks on the back and a dirty, filty look. Some women got "kids and babies" to carry around, which were actually manikins.
When we were on the set, we saw lead actor Jack Black all the time. He looks exactly as you always see him, he's a nut, is a little on the heavy side, and entertained us sometimes between takes. The director was a character and briefly dipped into the political waters when he told the extras "How about that Colin Powell?" in reference to his endorcing Obama for president. He got mostly silence which I don't think he was expecting and it was funny to watch him get out of that hole. I liked him but it's obvious we wouldn't see eye-to-eye politically.
I mentioned explosions earlier....in the scene we shot from different angles and in different moments of the scene, the city of Sodom is being hit by meteors (getting it's just desserts from God) and there are impacts in certain spots around the plaza. In fact, we had four of them. One was initiated from an air gun at the sacrificial altar and the other three were genuine electric-blasting-cap-fired explosions that fired chunks of stone-colored cork into the air. These things sounded as loud as Civil War cannons and many of the extras wore ear protection (I didn't). One scene, with two takes, had double explosions for two meteors hitting the plaza...I think our "action extras" were called the X-Group (x-pendable?) because they placed us closer to the explosions but not as close as the stunt men were. That meant we ran a lot when the director yelled action. On the first take I had to run toward a gateway with about 30 other X-groupers and I could feel the concussion of the explosion followed about a half second later of being peppered with a rain of small and large pieces of cork! Lots of smoke everywhere and the wealth of confusion that the director wanted.
We waited until everything was cleaned up to do a second take and one of the assistant directors told me and two other guys to go to the right this time toward another gateway. We hit our marks and on "Action!" I turned to the right....except that the edge of my sandle got caught between two of the pavers and I went straight to the ground hitting my right elbow and hip (but not badly...just surprisingly). A female extra almost fell on top of me and I scrambled up heading for the gateway. So now I've got a bit of bruised hip and a scrape on my elbow. Oh, the things I do for my art. But, anyway, that's how my day went. Lots of running, lots of standing in the sun, a very tasty lunch (BBQ'd chicken, pasta, rice/beans, salad, and chocolate cake), met several new people, and I should be getting a check in a couple of weeks.
AND this time I got in front of the camera! If I make it into the movie's final cut, I'll have to see if I can find myself in the crowd. Might have to wait for the DVD to come out so I can go over the film frame-by-frame.
This is outside the extras' dinner tent where you can see the "outside" of the city of Sodom. This was an entire city with alleyways, doors, streets, and a large city plaza. Once you were inside you were back in Biblical Days except for the film cameras and modern-dressed film crew members...and the LSU pop-up tent among the other tents in the corner of the plaza. The plaza featured a sacrificial platform in the center and a place of pagan worship with a giant bull's head with fire in its eyes and mouth...pretty cool! At one side was a royal palace and another side with a shopping bazaar.
Here I am the extras' tent in my costume as a lower level citizen of Sodom. I spent most of the day without my glasses and watch which they didn't have back then. It wasn't so bad...I can see well enough, just don't ask me to read a sign! You can see the week's worth of facial hair I grew for the part. It used to be darker when I was younger!
During a break in filming, I'm standing with a couple of other extras, Kate and Kim. There were over 300 of us "citizens of Sodom" and we were constantly being herded on and off the set...felt like we were leaving a sporting event sometimes! I was glad to return to the 21st century at the end of the day!I drove to Minden at 5 o'clock in the morning and then got on a bus for a drive to a gravel and sand pit near the town of Sibley. It was dark and we went to a large tent where the extras would be set up for breaks and lunch (which was great!). After filling out our paperwork, we were sent to the wardrobe tent to be fitted for our costumes and makeup (which I didn't get). The place was full...there were a couple of rows of mirrors with people getting makeup, half the tent was rows of costumes on racks, and wardrobe people running around trying to get the slow rows of extras moving about. If you were a "slave" you got extra attention at make-up with whip marks on the back and a dirty, filty look. Some women got "kids and babies" to carry around, which were actually manikins.
When we were on the set, we saw lead actor Jack Black all the time. He looks exactly as you always see him, he's a nut, is a little on the heavy side, and entertained us sometimes between takes. The director was a character and briefly dipped into the political waters when he told the extras "How about that Colin Powell?" in reference to his endorcing Obama for president. He got mostly silence which I don't think he was expecting and it was funny to watch him get out of that hole. I liked him but it's obvious we wouldn't see eye-to-eye politically.
I mentioned explosions earlier....in the scene we shot from different angles and in different moments of the scene, the city of Sodom is being hit by meteors (getting it's just desserts from God) and there are impacts in certain spots around the plaza. In fact, we had four of them. One was initiated from an air gun at the sacrificial altar and the other three were genuine electric-blasting-cap-fired explosions that fired chunks of stone-colored cork into the air. These things sounded as loud as Civil War cannons and many of the extras wore ear protection (I didn't). One scene, with two takes, had double explosions for two meteors hitting the plaza...I think our "action extras" were called the X-Group (x-pendable?) because they placed us closer to the explosions but not as close as the stunt men were. That meant we ran a lot when the director yelled action. On the first take I had to run toward a gateway with about 30 other X-groupers and I could feel the concussion of the explosion followed about a half second later of being peppered with a rain of small and large pieces of cork! Lots of smoke everywhere and the wealth of confusion that the director wanted.
We waited until everything was cleaned up to do a second take and one of the assistant directors told me and two other guys to go to the right this time toward another gateway. We hit our marks and on "Action!" I turned to the right....except that the edge of my sandle got caught between two of the pavers and I went straight to the ground hitting my right elbow and hip (but not badly...just surprisingly). A female extra almost fell on top of me and I scrambled up heading for the gateway. So now I've got a bit of bruised hip and a scrape on my elbow. Oh, the things I do for my art. But, anyway, that's how my day went. Lots of running, lots of standing in the sun, a very tasty lunch (BBQ'd chicken, pasta, rice/beans, salad, and chocolate cake), met several new people, and I should be getting a check in a couple of weeks.
AND this time I got in front of the camera! If I make it into the movie's final cut, I'll have to see if I can find myself in the crowd. Might have to wait for the DVD to come out so I can go over the film frame-by-frame.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Early to Bed
Early night tonight! Gotta get up at 4 am to prep for my drive to Minden to be an extra in "The Year One". I was checking online for the list of extras for tomorrow's shoot and there must be at least 300 people who have to be there! I think I've mentioned before that I will be one of the "citizens of Sodom" but I'm in a list of about 30-40 guys who are called "action extras"...I guess I will be doing something different than the other couple of hundred extras. I dunno...do I run around the set or something? I'll let ya know what happens. Another day, another 58 dollars or so.
Today was a slow day. Jonnene had to work again, working on three open wounds and a new patient. It didn't sound like a lot of fun to me but that's the nature of the job on a weekend. I did some work in the yard and cleaned up some stuff. Jonnene did some housework after she got back along with a bit of shopping for things we needed and in short supply of. About mid-afternoon, I met with Blake B, a high school senior going to a rural school near Shreveport since I am mentoring him for his senior project. It's a cartoon strip about a close encounter between the sun and the moon, with human personas. I'm to help him put the script together and show him techniques on drawing the strip for his presentation in mid-November. We've put in a total of five hours on the project and he's doing a pretty good job so far. I meet with him again on Wednesday and we should get the bulk of the art done at that time. I didn't want to do this mentoring thing at first but it's not been all that bad. He's a skinny kid, way thinner than I was that age...and I was skinny back in 1973!
Wish me luck...I'm about to be one of a few hundred faces out of focus in the background of some movie!!
Today was a slow day. Jonnene had to work again, working on three open wounds and a new patient. It didn't sound like a lot of fun to me but that's the nature of the job on a weekend. I did some work in the yard and cleaned up some stuff. Jonnene did some housework after she got back along with a bit of shopping for things we needed and in short supply of. About mid-afternoon, I met with Blake B, a high school senior going to a rural school near Shreveport since I am mentoring him for his senior project. It's a cartoon strip about a close encounter between the sun and the moon, with human personas. I'm to help him put the script together and show him techniques on drawing the strip for his presentation in mid-November. We've put in a total of five hours on the project and he's doing a pretty good job so far. I meet with him again on Wednesday and we should get the bulk of the art done at that time. I didn't want to do this mentoring thing at first but it's not been all that bad. He's a skinny kid, way thinner than I was that age...and I was skinny back in 1973!
Wish me luck...I'm about to be one of a few hundred faces out of focus in the background of some movie!!
A Good Run
I don't think I've ever been this relaxed going into a run as I was for this year's Autumn Breeze 10K yesterday. I had not been running as much as I had wanted because of my Achilles tendon soreness, trying to take it easy and not make things worse because I could have run on it too much. I had decided to just run the way I always had, with 8-minute miles, and if the heel flared up I would just bow out of the run and walk back to the truck. Basically no pressure to perform...just a workout as part of getting ready for the Louisiana Trails half-marathon in three weeks.
It was a great morning for a run...cool, lots of people talking and laughing. I heard there were over 500 registered by Friday afternoon for the various runs of 10K, 5K, and a 5K walk. I spoke to Frank, or as we know him by his nickname "Deuce", who is 57 years old and races on our bike team. He had crashed at last weekend's Tour de FireAnt ride...you probably read about that in my earlier post...and was still sporting the scabs from the skin he lost on his left arm and knee. Like me, he was wanting to do a relatively easy run so we both decided to try for that 8 minute pace and not get too eager to go too fast when the gun goes off.
When we started the pace was kinda what I wanted: just above the pace I wanted but not that fast. In fact, I felt pretty comfortable for the first mile while I was weaving between and around the slower runners in front of me on the jogging trail alongside the Fant Parkway. I figured I was in the first 40-50 runners making my way up a bit at a time. Of course, there was no way I could catch the leaders...those guys are just too fast and were already a couple of hundred meters ahead of me. When we passed the Mile One marker, my watch said 7:22 which surprised me because I didn't feel I was going that fast. I thought I better slow it down to last for the entire 6.2 miles. At two miles I caught up to Daniel who is training for Ironman Florida coming up in three weeks. He was probably going to do more miles after this particular run so he wasn't exactly pushing it. We talked a minute and I let him set the pace through this neighborhood the course took us through. Then Deuce caught up to us and the three of us had put a really good gap on the runners behind...we were probably in the top thirty by now. Deuce and I ran behind Daniel, and I decided I was going to try to keep up for as long as I could. But the pace still didn't feel that particularly hard...I was feeling no pain at all from my Achilles which was very good.
At three miles, I told Deuce that we were at a 7:15 pace...we had gotten faster! He said he didn't know if he could hold that and I replied I wasn't sure I could either. But we kept going, following Daniel who was only 10-15 feet in front. We got to a turnaround near downtown at 3.5 miles back onto the jogging trail, heading on a return to the start at Stoner Boat Launch. Now we could see who was behind us as we passed each other on the trail. When Daniel's wife Elka came past, he dropped off to run in with her so that left Deuce and I on our own. The only runner we could see in front was about 150 meters ahead and I figured the two of us were about an equal distance in front of whoever was behind us. He stayed about 10 feet in front of me and I never could close the distance but I really didn't care if I did or not. When we got to the finish, he came across 3.5 seconds before I did and we were really pleased with our runs!
I finished the 6.2 miles in 45:13.7 which is about 26 seconds slower than I did it last year when I was running more! I came in 28th overall out of the 168 folks who did the 10K distance. I was fairly happy and my Achilles didn't complain once although it would be aching later in the day. Got 6th place in the 50-54 age group (there's a lot of older fast distance runners around here...17 of the top 30 were over the age of 40!). The pace for the entire distance turned out to be a 7:18 per mile, way faster than I intended but I'll take it!
Jonnene had to work this weekend but we went out later in the day to do some shopping and rent a DVD to watch. Pretty much a mellow day after the run.
It was a great morning for a run...cool, lots of people talking and laughing. I heard there were over 500 registered by Friday afternoon for the various runs of 10K, 5K, and a 5K walk. I spoke to Frank, or as we know him by his nickname "Deuce", who is 57 years old and races on our bike team. He had crashed at last weekend's Tour de FireAnt ride...you probably read about that in my earlier post...and was still sporting the scabs from the skin he lost on his left arm and knee. Like me, he was wanting to do a relatively easy run so we both decided to try for that 8 minute pace and not get too eager to go too fast when the gun goes off.
When we started the pace was kinda what I wanted: just above the pace I wanted but not that fast. In fact, I felt pretty comfortable for the first mile while I was weaving between and around the slower runners in front of me on the jogging trail alongside the Fant Parkway. I figured I was in the first 40-50 runners making my way up a bit at a time. Of course, there was no way I could catch the leaders...those guys are just too fast and were already a couple of hundred meters ahead of me. When we passed the Mile One marker, my watch said 7:22 which surprised me because I didn't feel I was going that fast. I thought I better slow it down to last for the entire 6.2 miles. At two miles I caught up to Daniel who is training for Ironman Florida coming up in three weeks. He was probably going to do more miles after this particular run so he wasn't exactly pushing it. We talked a minute and I let him set the pace through this neighborhood the course took us through. Then Deuce caught up to us and the three of us had put a really good gap on the runners behind...we were probably in the top thirty by now. Deuce and I ran behind Daniel, and I decided I was going to try to keep up for as long as I could. But the pace still didn't feel that particularly hard...I was feeling no pain at all from my Achilles which was very good.
At three miles, I told Deuce that we were at a 7:15 pace...we had gotten faster! He said he didn't know if he could hold that and I replied I wasn't sure I could either. But we kept going, following Daniel who was only 10-15 feet in front. We got to a turnaround near downtown at 3.5 miles back onto the jogging trail, heading on a return to the start at Stoner Boat Launch. Now we could see who was behind us as we passed each other on the trail. When Daniel's wife Elka came past, he dropped off to run in with her so that left Deuce and I on our own. The only runner we could see in front was about 150 meters ahead and I figured the two of us were about an equal distance in front of whoever was behind us. He stayed about 10 feet in front of me and I never could close the distance but I really didn't care if I did or not. When we got to the finish, he came across 3.5 seconds before I did and we were really pleased with our runs!
I finished the 6.2 miles in 45:13.7 which is about 26 seconds slower than I did it last year when I was running more! I came in 28th overall out of the 168 folks who did the 10K distance. I was fairly happy and my Achilles didn't complain once although it would be aching later in the day. Got 6th place in the 50-54 age group (there's a lot of older fast distance runners around here...17 of the top 30 were over the age of 40!). The pace for the entire distance turned out to be a 7:18 per mile, way faster than I intended but I'll take it!
Jonnene had to work this weekend but we went out later in the day to do some shopping and rent a DVD to watch. Pretty much a mellow day after the run.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Movie Time Again
So I've been growing facial hair since Tuesday because I got another call-up to be a "Background Artist" (also known as an Extra) for some reshoots this Monday of a movie called "The Year One" which stars Jack Black. Apparently I'll be one of the citizens for the city of Sodom which is located at a sand pit in Sibley, LA south of Minden. I think the film is a comedy about an apocalyptic time or a time in ancient history or something like that. Anyways, the male extras were asked to grow their facial hair and I'm four days into it...and Jonnene is not amused with it! She'll be happy to see it gone after I get home Monday night!
Made it to TWO morning rides this week! Haven't done that in a while and I noticed that it is getting darker longer..surprise, surprise...so the lights on my bike are finally getting some good use. The pace is generally slowly this time of year, going about 21-22 mph on the parkway. I guess everyone is feeling the cool of the air and thinking of the change in seasons and how that affects your energy levels. Tuesday morning we had eight riders show up and the temperature was about 72 degrees with nearly 100% humidity...a regular Louisiana morning for most of us. This morning there were seven of us who showed up and the change in weather was a bit more dramatic: mostly cloudy with temps hovering around 60 degrees!
Toward the end of last Tuesday's ride, around 6:40 am.
Saturday I'll be at the Autumn Breeze Run doing the 10K (6.2 miles) and I don't know how well it'll go. I haven't been running as much as I'd like because of a tender tendon in my left ankle...even took two weeks off from running to give it a rest. That helped and I've already put in over 12 miles this week including a 4-mile run last night that I think I could have stretched it to 6-7 miles if I had wanted to. I'll be happy to get my time under 50 minutes (had a 44:47 last year) but I'm not expecting much this time out. Jonnene has to work this weekend so she won't be trying the 5K run.
Made it to TWO morning rides this week! Haven't done that in a while and I noticed that it is getting darker longer..surprise, surprise...so the lights on my bike are finally getting some good use. The pace is generally slowly this time of year, going about 21-22 mph on the parkway. I guess everyone is feeling the cool of the air and thinking of the change in seasons and how that affects your energy levels. Tuesday morning we had eight riders show up and the temperature was about 72 degrees with nearly 100% humidity...a regular Louisiana morning for most of us. This morning there were seven of us who showed up and the change in weather was a bit more dramatic: mostly cloudy with temps hovering around 60 degrees!
Toward the end of last Tuesday's ride, around 6:40 am.Saturday I'll be at the Autumn Breeze Run doing the 10K (6.2 miles) and I don't know how well it'll go. I haven't been running as much as I'd like because of a tender tendon in my left ankle...even took two weeks off from running to give it a rest. That helped and I've already put in over 12 miles this week including a 4-mile run last night that I think I could have stretched it to 6-7 miles if I had wanted to. I'll be happy to get my time under 50 minutes (had a 44:47 last year) but I'm not expecting much this time out. Jonnene has to work this weekend so she won't be trying the 5K run.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
In the Hills of East Texas
Did the Tour de FireAnt in Marshall, Texas yesterday, covering the 62 miles in 3:04 for a 20.2 mph average. Not all that fast but there's a number of false flats out there that'll slow you down as well as a new twist in how they started the tour. All the cyclists were part of the morning parade thru downtown! Took us about 10 minutes to cover 1/2 mile over those slick brick streets in downtown Marshall...trying not to fall over on anyone since we were going so slow behind the motorcycle cops and the lead truck. I think I got plenty of track stand practice! That pretty much killed anyone's overall average if they included it as part of their overall ride. We had a marching band behind us and floats and stuff like that. It was a neat idea but I hope they don't make the riders do that again next year. It was kinda scary in some spots since I didn't know the skill levels of most of the riders around me...I kept waiting for someone to fall over on me! There was a big turnout this year, probably around 150+ bike riders which is not bad at all for this tour. I've been there when we've had 50-60 max. I think the organizers are really trying to grow it now instead of letting it float along like it had been all these years.
My ride was good overall considering how much I've been on the saddle the last week. My back was fine (still felt a few twinges sometimes) and I was as prepped as I was going to be. There were about 25-30 folks from the Shreveport area including 12 or so of Team LaS'port. Once we got out of town we formed a front group but kept it civil at 20 mph for a couple of miles. But it didn't take long after that to pick up the speed and we were down to a 20-man grouppo going 26 mph thru some of the low rollers southeast of Marshall. About 22 miles in, David P took off on a nice hill after we had passed a combine on the road and I couldn't respond to the jump and fell off the lead group that now had 8-9 riders left. They disappeared and I joined in with Joe, Jon, and Frank. Eventually we had three other riders join us which helped a lot in keeping a nice paceline going. About 40 miles in we lost Jon and one of the other riders so it was just five of us going at a fairly fast pace. The big challenge was going up FireAnt Hill which has a 7-8% grade for 1/2 mile (which is a long way up for most of us in Louisiana!) but we crested that well enough though it did take some real effort to climb.
Eventually, Joe, Frank, and I dropped our other ride companions as we headed into the last five miles of the tour. Frank was plenty exhausted but Joe and I weren't going to leave him at this point. It wasn't a race so we weren't going to knock ourselves out to get to the finish line! Then about two miles from the end I heard Frank crash behind me...Joe turned around to look at me and I said "He didn't hit me." So we turned, seeing Frank on the ground in pain...it didn't look good initially. He had some nice road rash on his right arm but he had landed on his left hip...had hit a piece of wood that slid his front wheel out from under him. I remembered seeing the wood on my right as I passed by it but I thought Frank was on my left. Apparently he had swung over to the right without me knowing and went directly into that chuck of wood. We got him up and he insisted on riding in....his bike was okay (thank goodness!). I said let's get going then, because his hip was going to stiffen soon and it was better to ride while it was still loose. It was only two miles and we stayed with him all the way to the finish. We let him finish ahead of us and he headed home soon after.
Jonnene did the 45-mile route, getting a trophy for being the first finisher in her age group, covering the distance in about 2:20. We ate the pizza provided and hung out with the Shreveport crowd for a couple of hours afterward. I won a door prize of energy gel packets (although I really wanted to win the bike that was being offered!).
One of my oldest buddies, Dale, was in town for the weekend and wanted to talk to me about doing a cover for his second book. He also wanted to see the house. He and his wife live in Birmingham, Alabama and hadn't been by this way yet this year. We had visited them last year for the ULM-Alabama game and we also got together for his mom's funereal a couple of months ago (see earlier posts).
Action from the ULM (white unis) vs. Arkansas State game.
Last night I was in front of the flat-screen watching the ULM-Arkansas State game (won by ASU 37-29...we had three turnovers that killed us) and sometimes switching to the LSU-Florida game which Florida won 51-21 (and tickled me since I don't really like LSU).
My ride was good overall considering how much I've been on the saddle the last week. My back was fine (still felt a few twinges sometimes) and I was as prepped as I was going to be. There were about 25-30 folks from the Shreveport area including 12 or so of Team LaS'port. Once we got out of town we formed a front group but kept it civil at 20 mph for a couple of miles. But it didn't take long after that to pick up the speed and we were down to a 20-man grouppo going 26 mph thru some of the low rollers southeast of Marshall. About 22 miles in, David P took off on a nice hill after we had passed a combine on the road and I couldn't respond to the jump and fell off the lead group that now had 8-9 riders left. They disappeared and I joined in with Joe, Jon, and Frank. Eventually we had three other riders join us which helped a lot in keeping a nice paceline going. About 40 miles in we lost Jon and one of the other riders so it was just five of us going at a fairly fast pace. The big challenge was going up FireAnt Hill which has a 7-8% grade for 1/2 mile (which is a long way up for most of us in Louisiana!) but we crested that well enough though it did take some real effort to climb.
Eventually, Joe, Frank, and I dropped our other ride companions as we headed into the last five miles of the tour. Frank was plenty exhausted but Joe and I weren't going to leave him at this point. It wasn't a race so we weren't going to knock ourselves out to get to the finish line! Then about two miles from the end I heard Frank crash behind me...Joe turned around to look at me and I said "He didn't hit me." So we turned, seeing Frank on the ground in pain...it didn't look good initially. He had some nice road rash on his right arm but he had landed on his left hip...had hit a piece of wood that slid his front wheel out from under him. I remembered seeing the wood on my right as I passed by it but I thought Frank was on my left. Apparently he had swung over to the right without me knowing and went directly into that chuck of wood. We got him up and he insisted on riding in....his bike was okay (thank goodness!). I said let's get going then, because his hip was going to stiffen soon and it was better to ride while it was still loose. It was only two miles and we stayed with him all the way to the finish. We let him finish ahead of us and he headed home soon after.
Jonnene did the 45-mile route, getting a trophy for being the first finisher in her age group, covering the distance in about 2:20. We ate the pizza provided and hung out with the Shreveport crowd for a couple of hours afterward. I won a door prize of energy gel packets (although I really wanted to win the bike that was being offered!).
One of my oldest buddies, Dale, was in town for the weekend and wanted to talk to me about doing a cover for his second book. He also wanted to see the house. He and his wife live in Birmingham, Alabama and hadn't been by this way yet this year. We had visited them last year for the ULM-Alabama game and we also got together for his mom's funereal a couple of months ago (see earlier posts).
Action from the ULM (white unis) vs. Arkansas State game.Friday, October 10, 2008
Still Sorta Aching
Saturday morning we're going over to Marshall to do the Tour de FireAnt bike tour and I don't know what to expect out of me. I still have a couple of pinpricks of pain in my back (almost reminds me of a kidney stone, like the one I had in 1985...hated that one) but I'm much better than I was Wednesday. At least I can bend over to tie my shoes and it doesn't hurt!
But the Thursday night ride was a bust for me. We were zooming down Ellerbe Road around 26-28 mph and my legs were killing me, plus my bike was acting up...shifting was erractic and it was messing with my rhythm. I'd have to overshift, sometimes by two gears, to make it go down a single gear. I finally had enough of it and bailed out of the paceline only three miles into the ride. I ended up with just 15 miles. I'm supposed to go 62 miles on Saturday....
Took the bike to the shop Friday but it was difficult to recreate the problem...figures...and the mechanic made a few minor adjustments. I'll just have to ride it in the tour and see if it continues like Thursday, noting the conditions present when the shifting acts up. Maybe I'll be lucky and not have any problems? Yeah, right.
Finished up the constitution/bylaws and membership form for the Centenary College cycling club today. This Tuesday night is the first "real" meeting and then the club becomes a reality. Some of the students are very interested in it and I hope that energy carries over the winter into next spring's racing season.
But the Thursday night ride was a bust for me. We were zooming down Ellerbe Road around 26-28 mph and my legs were killing me, plus my bike was acting up...shifting was erractic and it was messing with my rhythm. I'd have to overshift, sometimes by two gears, to make it go down a single gear. I finally had enough of it and bailed out of the paceline only three miles into the ride. I ended up with just 15 miles. I'm supposed to go 62 miles on Saturday....
Took the bike to the shop Friday but it was difficult to recreate the problem...figures...and the mechanic made a few minor adjustments. I'll just have to ride it in the tour and see if it continues like Thursday, noting the conditions present when the shifting acts up. Maybe I'll be lucky and not have any problems? Yeah, right.
Finished up the constitution/bylaws and membership form for the Centenary College cycling club today. This Tuesday night is the first "real" meeting and then the club becomes a reality. Some of the students are very interested in it and I hope that energy carries over the winter into next spring's racing season.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Sore Back
Arrrrgh...the sound I make when I bend around or over the wrong way. Last night I did one of the hardest rides I've done in a long while. It was Tuesday Night Worlds, which is always fast, and we had a wind out of the northwest at 12 mph, gusting to 21. Jonnene wasn't motivated to ride that evening and with the wind as it was she elected to stay home and relax. I needed to get some miles in since I did NOTHING over the weekend and there's a tour ride in Marshall, Texas this Saturday...might need to train up a bit.
The usual route for Worlds is a 29-mile loop southwest of Shreveport we call the Linwood Loop. The first six miles go due south which meant we had a sweet tailwind starting out but the rest of the ride was pretty much into the wind which wasn't so sweet. As we entered into the final four miles of that six-mile stretch, the speed never went below 30 mph...I remember moving up to the front at 32 mph one time to get around another guy and somewhere out there I maxed out at 35.2 mph. And I still got dropped! I ended up with four other teammates and we kept the pace as lively as we could until we had to turn into the wind. The rest of the time we mostly kept a 20-24 mph speed into that wind and we didn't enjoy it one bit. We caught JP halfway thru so that gave us one more guy to help with the paceline. But it was hard, pushing a lot of big gears, climbing hills with a headwind, going slow on downhills with a headwind, and trying to get back before it got dark. Including the cool-down part of the ride we averaged a tad over 21 mph for the night. I went home feeling really tired but generally pretty good. I woke up this morning with one heck of a pain in my lower back and I knew it was from the ride...pushing big gears bent over pulls on the gluts and those muscle go into the lower back. So there you go. Still hurts now but it'll be fine tomorrow.
I ran 4.7 miles this morning at an 8-minute per mile pace and my back let me know that it wasn't pleased. But my Achilles tendon in my left leg handled it pretty well (I've been dealing with a sore tendon the last few weeks and that's not pleasant either). Right now it feels very good, almost normal, but we'll see how it is 24 hours from now.
Got a new radio put in the truck today. How come new stuff always sounds so good? Like when I have the truck serviced it seems to run so well...or when you put new tires on the steering is like when it was new. Then you get used to it and take it for granted until the next time something else is done, and then it's all good again.
The usual route for Worlds is a 29-mile loop southwest of Shreveport we call the Linwood Loop. The first six miles go due south which meant we had a sweet tailwind starting out but the rest of the ride was pretty much into the wind which wasn't so sweet. As we entered into the final four miles of that six-mile stretch, the speed never went below 30 mph...I remember moving up to the front at 32 mph one time to get around another guy and somewhere out there I maxed out at 35.2 mph. And I still got dropped! I ended up with four other teammates and we kept the pace as lively as we could until we had to turn into the wind. The rest of the time we mostly kept a 20-24 mph speed into that wind and we didn't enjoy it one bit. We caught JP halfway thru so that gave us one more guy to help with the paceline. But it was hard, pushing a lot of big gears, climbing hills with a headwind, going slow on downhills with a headwind, and trying to get back before it got dark. Including the cool-down part of the ride we averaged a tad over 21 mph for the night. I went home feeling really tired but generally pretty good. I woke up this morning with one heck of a pain in my lower back and I knew it was from the ride...pushing big gears bent over pulls on the gluts and those muscle go into the lower back. So there you go. Still hurts now but it'll be fine tomorrow.
I ran 4.7 miles this morning at an 8-minute per mile pace and my back let me know that it wasn't pleased. But my Achilles tendon in my left leg handled it pretty well (I've been dealing with a sore tendon the last few weeks and that's not pleasant either). Right now it feels very good, almost normal, but we'll see how it is 24 hours from now.
Got a new radio put in the truck today. How come new stuff always sounds so good? Like when I have the truck serviced it seems to run so well...or when you put new tires on the steering is like when it was new. Then you get used to it and take it for granted until the next time something else is done, and then it's all good again.
Friday, October 03, 2008
More waiting time....
Just like last week, I spent most of Thursday as an extra for a movie being filmed here. Just like last week, I didn't get in front of the camera! The good thing is that I'm getting paid the same either way. This was for "Leaves of Grass" and the 70+ other extras I hung out with spent time at either Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (as our holding area) or at the Agudath Achim Synagogue (where the scenes were being filmed). I got to wear the yamika and a Tallis (prayer shawl)...I was Jewish for a day! Maybe 45 or so of the extras were chosen to be in the scenes with actors Ed Norton and Richard Dreyfuss but I wasn't lucky enough to be one of them. I sat in a backroom with the other extras and some of the crew while we watched the takes on monitors set up in the room. A friend of mine, Michael (who runs an ad agency), was an extra and he got to be in one of the scenes. It was his first time to be an extra and he seemed thrilled to get some face time...and, even though he's not, he looks extremely Jewish when he's got the gear on! He said he couldn't get "If I Were a Rich Man" out of his head all day long.
This was a much bigger production than others I'd seen. Lots of trucks and equipment, very hi-tech monitoring equipment and cameras. I only got to see Norton on the monitors...I wasn't in a position to see him in person. However, I did pass by Richard Dreyfuss when I took a break to the loo. I was going down the hall and, as I passed the Rabbi's office, Dreyfuss was standing there in the doorway looking very relaxed and smiling. I nodded to him as I passed by and he nodded back. He's about as tall as Jonnene...I don't why we think actors and other famous people are taller except that maybe the TV or movie screens make them look that way.
We wrapped at 4 o'clock so I got to go home way earlier than last week, about 9.5 hours this time with the pay rate at $58 for an 8-hour period (which means $68.88 for me BEFORE taxes). You can't make a living as an extra or background but it's fun to see how the industry works and get some compensation for it. Jonnene and I went to the evening bike ride and decided to ride on our own instead of with the groups. We kept the pace around 20 mph but neither of us were highly motivated and just a little tired before we even started the ride. But we knew it would be good to loosen the legs a little bit and get a few miles in, about 20 miles in an hour.
I intended to do the morning ride but I couldn't make myself get up. Too tired, too sore but mostly I didn't want to drag all the gear out and prep my TT bike (the road bike's in the shop). So I did a workout here at the house and Jonnene went to the studio for a solo pilates workout after we walked the dogs.
Farley and I "hugging up"...he always likes a good face-to-head rub!
It's nice to walk Farley at 5:30 in the morning. It's dark and quiet, very peaceful in the neighborhood. You'll see some runners, a few of the older folks out getting their walks, and others walking their dogs, too. But mostly you're by yourself with your best friend, watching him sniff everything and bagging up his "deposits" from the yard of a neighbor. Farley will be 13 years old this January and that's getting up there for a Labrador. I know I don't have a lot of time left with him and I always get teary-eyed when I think too much about that. I've known him since he was three months old as a terrified little (30 pounds?) puppy with those small brown eyes. I've tolerated his growing up years...I only spanked him a handful of times but not for the last 10 years...and I marveled at his strength as he matured. He could knock me down when we played in the back yard and, fortunately, didn't know he had the power to jump over the chainlink fence if he had wanted to. He doesn't have that strength anymore and his hind legs are weak, but we go out and do the 1/2 mile or longer walks every morning. He is so excited to do them and is anxiously waiting at the carport door to get outside when I'm finally dressed. It's no problem to keep up with him on the walks as compared to how he pulled me when he was younger.
Farley on alert in the old back yard in Bossier.
I mostly let him go where he wants while on leash...I figure he's earned the right to choose his own path...and nearly every morning he surprises me with a new direction or new method to his madness. It's never the same-old same-old. I can always tell a new story about the morning walk because of something different he did. I'm figuring that the day he doesn't want to go for that walk will be the day I have to decide what the future holds. If he doesn't have the enthusiasm or doesn't wag his tail to go outside on his leash, and stays in the house....if he can't walk for any appreciable distance or not at all...
If he heard an ambulance or police car, Farley would go to the back fence and howl. Now he howls if the house phone rings too long!
He follows me between my studio and the living room, and I think it's because he wants to know where I am. I also think I sense some fear in him, that's he's scared, probably because he realizes he can't do all the things he used to do and is confused by it. Other times he's his old self, wagging his tail and getting in my way on purpose. I love it when he's like that! He's still got some zip but there are times you can tell he's just tired. He sleeps a lot (well, that's what dogs do). He goes out into the backyard a couple of times a day but not for long.
I remember reading an article on how to know when to put your dog down. There were three points, any of which is a sign: 1. If your dog can't walk; 2. If your dog can't eat; 3. If your dog can't express pleasure at seeing you or being petted by you. If any of these conditions are present, it's time. It also mentioned that if you think you'd feel relief if you found your dog had died overnight when you woke up in the morning, that might be a sign, too. So far, Farley hasn't given me any of those signs but right now it would probably be the walking part that'll make the difference. He walks gingerly but he can still get around. Once he gets the stiffness out of his legs he can walk for a long distance.
But we'll see how it goes. I'm going to spoil him at this time of his life and he'll know he's lived a good one. He's a good dog and that's the best compliment you can give.
Farley, aka Farley-Dog, FarBar and Good Boy.
This was a much bigger production than others I'd seen. Lots of trucks and equipment, very hi-tech monitoring equipment and cameras. I only got to see Norton on the monitors...I wasn't in a position to see him in person. However, I did pass by Richard Dreyfuss when I took a break to the loo. I was going down the hall and, as I passed the Rabbi's office, Dreyfuss was standing there in the doorway looking very relaxed and smiling. I nodded to him as I passed by and he nodded back. He's about as tall as Jonnene...I don't why we think actors and other famous people are taller except that maybe the TV or movie screens make them look that way.
We wrapped at 4 o'clock so I got to go home way earlier than last week, about 9.5 hours this time with the pay rate at $58 for an 8-hour period (which means $68.88 for me BEFORE taxes). You can't make a living as an extra or background but it's fun to see how the industry works and get some compensation for it. Jonnene and I went to the evening bike ride and decided to ride on our own instead of with the groups. We kept the pace around 20 mph but neither of us were highly motivated and just a little tired before we even started the ride. But we knew it would be good to loosen the legs a little bit and get a few miles in, about 20 miles in an hour.
I intended to do the morning ride but I couldn't make myself get up. Too tired, too sore but mostly I didn't want to drag all the gear out and prep my TT bike (the road bike's in the shop). So I did a workout here at the house and Jonnene went to the studio for a solo pilates workout after we walked the dogs.
Farley and I "hugging up"...he always likes a good face-to-head rub!It's nice to walk Farley at 5:30 in the morning. It's dark and quiet, very peaceful in the neighborhood. You'll see some runners, a few of the older folks out getting their walks, and others walking their dogs, too. But mostly you're by yourself with your best friend, watching him sniff everything and bagging up his "deposits" from the yard of a neighbor. Farley will be 13 years old this January and that's getting up there for a Labrador. I know I don't have a lot of time left with him and I always get teary-eyed when I think too much about that. I've known him since he was three months old as a terrified little (30 pounds?) puppy with those small brown eyes. I've tolerated his growing up years...I only spanked him a handful of times but not for the last 10 years...and I marveled at his strength as he matured. He could knock me down when we played in the back yard and, fortunately, didn't know he had the power to jump over the chainlink fence if he had wanted to. He doesn't have that strength anymore and his hind legs are weak, but we go out and do the 1/2 mile or longer walks every morning. He is so excited to do them and is anxiously waiting at the carport door to get outside when I'm finally dressed. It's no problem to keep up with him on the walks as compared to how he pulled me when he was younger.
Farley on alert in the old back yard in Bossier.I mostly let him go where he wants while on leash...I figure he's earned the right to choose his own path...and nearly every morning he surprises me with a new direction or new method to his madness. It's never the same-old same-old. I can always tell a new story about the morning walk because of something different he did. I'm figuring that the day he doesn't want to go for that walk will be the day I have to decide what the future holds. If he doesn't have the enthusiasm or doesn't wag his tail to go outside on his leash, and stays in the house....if he can't walk for any appreciable distance or not at all...
If he heard an ambulance or police car, Farley would go to the back fence and howl. Now he howls if the house phone rings too long!He follows me between my studio and the living room, and I think it's because he wants to know where I am. I also think I sense some fear in him, that's he's scared, probably because he realizes he can't do all the things he used to do and is confused by it. Other times he's his old self, wagging his tail and getting in my way on purpose. I love it when he's like that! He's still got some zip but there are times you can tell he's just tired. He sleeps a lot (well, that's what dogs do). He goes out into the backyard a couple of times a day but not for long.
I remember reading an article on how to know when to put your dog down. There were three points, any of which is a sign: 1. If your dog can't walk; 2. If your dog can't eat; 3. If your dog can't express pleasure at seeing you or being petted by you. If any of these conditions are present, it's time. It also mentioned that if you think you'd feel relief if you found your dog had died overnight when you woke up in the morning, that might be a sign, too. So far, Farley hasn't given me any of those signs but right now it would probably be the walking part that'll make the difference. He walks gingerly but he can still get around. Once he gets the stiffness out of his legs he can walk for a long distance.
But we'll see how it goes. I'm going to spoil him at this time of his life and he'll know he's lived a good one. He's a good dog and that's the best compliment you can give.
Farley, aka Farley-Dog, FarBar and Good Boy.
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