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.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
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.Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Flats
Bummer on this morning's ride....I flatted twice and had to get a ride back home. The cause is a mystery because both tubes are punctured in the same relative place and we checked the inside of the tire casing before inserting the new tubes. I'll have to look the tire over later today to see what the problem is.
I wanted to ride Sunday but couldn't muster up the enthusiasm for it. We did some cleaning up around the house (well, Jonnene did most of it) and went shopping at Lowe's for new gutters and some Quikrete so I could repair the front walkway (which I did Monday). Monday morning's ride was a good, spirited one with seven of us showing up.
I wanted to ride Sunday but couldn't muster up the enthusiasm for it. We did some cleaning up around the house (well, Jonnene did most of it) and went shopping at Lowe's for new gutters and some Quikrete so I could repair the front walkway (which I did Monday). Monday morning's ride was a good, spirited one with seven of us showing up.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Ahhhh-so
Great ride this morning at the "Seize the Road" bike tour here in town. It's put on by the Epilepsy Foundation of Louisiana so it's a good thing to support. Like I expected, it was pretty fast almost from the get-go with LaS'port leading the charge ahead of the rest of the tour riders, with a few extra riders mixed into our group for interest. We spent a large part of the first 28 miles at race pace...there were a lot of breaks attempted and reeled back in. I only sniffed the front of the pack a couple of times, once dragging them up to a break by Bolt and Patrick (something I rarely do more than once) when we were near Blanchard. I remember one time where we were chasing DP and Patrick...for about 1/2 mile we were cruising above 30 mph. Most of the time we stayed between 24 and 27 mph which was pretty darn fast in the terrain we rode in. Finally, about 30 miles in I and a group of six lost the lead pack which was no surprise to me. I haven't been doing long fast training rides in 8 weeks and just wanted to hang as long as I could. Still, it was a good ride...our group ended up covering the 60-mile course at a 22.4 mph average, so a less than 3-hour effort. I'll take it.
Jonnene was with a group that covered the same distance with a 18 mph average but she dropped her chain twice and that cut back her chance to be a little faster.
As to last Thursday, I spent 12.5 hours on set (actually, two different sets) and didn't get in front of the camera ONCE! It was interesting to see the whole process and watch some of the acting but I ended up not getting my big show-biz moment. Just a lot of time standing around, sitting around, talking to some of the crew (one of the lighting guys was a Louisiana native from Lafayette...sounded like a true Cajun), and grazing at the food services table. We were not going to starve, that's for sure! The afternoon set was at a local park where there were several camera angles shot for the same basic scene. What's interesting here is how EVERYTHING would be moved from place to place to stay out of the camera's view...I mean, tents, tables, lights, reflectors, extras (including me), crew, anything was moved from one spot to the next in less than 10 minutes! The good thing of all this is that I do get paid for doing nothing. The check is supposed to come in two weeks. I might get called back since I didn't appear in front of the camera. Extras usually only work one day or one scene since the movie people don't want the same person showing up in the background repeatedly in a movie.
But my movie career is not over yet. I've gotten another callup to be an extra next Thursday in "Leaves of Grass" which has nothing to do with Walt Whitman's collection of poems. This one stars Ed Norton, Susan Sarandon, and Richard Dreyfuss. I'm supposed to be in a scene as part of the congregation at a local synagogue (yea! I get to sit down a lot!). I was also asked if I could use my truck in a scene showing traffic in front of the synagogue which means I get paid a little extra for using my vehicle. Dreyfuss is supposed to be in the congregation scene so I'll get to see him at work. Should be interesting. Depending on things I could be there all day again or it could be short and sweet.
Jonnene was with a group that covered the same distance with a 18 mph average but she dropped her chain twice and that cut back her chance to be a little faster.
As to last Thursday, I spent 12.5 hours on set (actually, two different sets) and didn't get in front of the camera ONCE! It was interesting to see the whole process and watch some of the acting but I ended up not getting my big show-biz moment. Just a lot of time standing around, sitting around, talking to some of the crew (one of the lighting guys was a Louisiana native from Lafayette...sounded like a true Cajun), and grazing at the food services table. We were not going to starve, that's for sure! The afternoon set was at a local park where there were several camera angles shot for the same basic scene. What's interesting here is how EVERYTHING would be moved from place to place to stay out of the camera's view...I mean, tents, tables, lights, reflectors, extras (including me), crew, anything was moved from one spot to the next in less than 10 minutes! The good thing of all this is that I do get paid for doing nothing. The check is supposed to come in two weeks. I might get called back since I didn't appear in front of the camera. Extras usually only work one day or one scene since the movie people don't want the same person showing up in the background repeatedly in a movie.
But my movie career is not over yet. I've gotten another callup to be an extra next Thursday in "Leaves of Grass" which has nothing to do with Walt Whitman's collection of poems. This one stars Ed Norton, Susan Sarandon, and Richard Dreyfuss. I'm supposed to be in a scene as part of the congregation at a local synagogue (yea! I get to sit down a lot!). I was also asked if I could use my truck in a scene showing traffic in front of the synagogue which means I get paid a little extra for using my vehicle. Dreyfuss is supposed to be in the congregation scene so I'll get to see him at work. Should be interesting. Depending on things I could be there all day again or it could be short and sweet.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
More lights, camera....acktion!!
Okay, to ease the anticipation from the previous entry, I no longer have the baby flying squirrel. When I went out for my bike ride Tuesday night, I put my cat in the house and left the little squirrel in the soft cloth it was sleeping in out next to the tree outside where I found it that morning. My reasoning was that maybe...with the cat gone...that maybe the mother might come back to look for its kid. That's what I was hoping for anyway. I gave the little guy a good long drink from the mixture I had and he gulped it down pretty good, then he went back to sleep. I hated doing this but I felt that he might not last very long if I didn't improve his diet real soon. I didn't have the 30 or so days to support him until his eyes opened up. AND I had a cat in the area. Nothing else was coming up as far as handing him off to someone who could care for him. I felt this was the best (but not great) way to handle it. So I left him at the tree, cuddled up, and went for my ride.
I got back about two hours later and I went to the tree to check on him. He was gone, as in he wasn't there anymore. The cloth looked like it hadn't been touched and I picked it up, noting nothing was there. I looked around carefully in a 3-4 circle around the tree as it got dark and couldn't see any evidence of him around at all (I would check again the next morning and find nothing). So that was it. I am going to think that his mom found him and took him in and that he's fine. There are no other cats in the neighborhood so I know that wouldn't be a reason for him to be gone. But as to birds, owls, or other predators, I don't know. I hope he's home or if he's not....that it happened quickly. Of course, I had second thoughts about leaving him out there and that maybe I could have taken care of him. But too late now. I'll just hope he's fine and will be flying above my head someday in the trees. I won't forget him and I'll feel some guilt about the whole thing for a long time.
Thursday I'll be an extra for the "Front of the Class" Hallmark movie. I have to show up at 6:30 am and could be there until 6 pm. I hope they have a decent food cart!! I need to make sure I have a good breakfast before I leave...and walk the dogs...
Jonnene made it to Kansas City and should be back sometime after I finish my movie star work. The trip up there was uneventful and that's the way we like it! I spent most of today working in the yard. I'm also a mentor for a high school student on his senior project...that might take some work but our first meeting was this afternoon. He has lots to learn and I hope he pays attention!
I got back about two hours later and I went to the tree to check on him. He was gone, as in he wasn't there anymore. The cloth looked like it hadn't been touched and I picked it up, noting nothing was there. I looked around carefully in a 3-4 circle around the tree as it got dark and couldn't see any evidence of him around at all (I would check again the next morning and find nothing). So that was it. I am going to think that his mom found him and took him in and that he's fine. There are no other cats in the neighborhood so I know that wouldn't be a reason for him to be gone. But as to birds, owls, or other predators, I don't know. I hope he's home or if he's not....that it happened quickly. Of course, I had second thoughts about leaving him out there and that maybe I could have taken care of him. But too late now. I'll just hope he's fine and will be flying above my head someday in the trees. I won't forget him and I'll feel some guilt about the whole thing for a long time.
Thursday I'll be an extra for the "Front of the Class" Hallmark movie. I have to show up at 6:30 am and could be there until 6 pm. I hope they have a decent food cart!! I need to make sure I have a good breakfast before I leave...and walk the dogs...
Jonnene made it to Kansas City and should be back sometime after I finish my movie star work. The trip up there was uneventful and that's the way we like it! I spent most of today working in the yard. I'm also a mentor for a high school student on his senior project...that might take some work but our first meeting was this afternoon. He has lots to learn and I hope he pays attention!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Just Great....
I found a baby flying squirrel in the side yard this morning. It was in the same place where we chased off my cat when it caught a full-sized flying squirrel as it tried to land by the base of a tree. The adult took off up the tree when we got Taz away from it and I thought all was fine then. I came back out about 15 minutes later and found the baby on the ground. It must have been hanging on to its mom and fell off in the brief attack.
The poor thing is young, its eyes aren't even open yet but it has a healthy coat of fur on it and seems to be unhurt. It's alert but sleeping a lot. When it's curled up it's about as big as the circle I can make with my thumb and forefinger. I'm giving it a mixture made up of water, salt, and sugar based on a website I found about these things. But I can't take care of it in the long run. I've called around to see if someone or place can take it in but no luck so far. Mom's thinking there's a place north of Bossier City that might be good so I'm waiting to hear if we can hit the jackpot there. But if that doesn't work, I'm not sure what to do. I might have to take it somewhere and let nature takes its course although it certainly helps to have more flying squirrels around. We've got more than enough regular squirrels, that's for sure!
Jonnene's going to be out of town for a couple of days so I'll be batching it here. I got another call from casting to be an extra in the "Front of the Class" movie on Thursday so I'll be out there all day in about 3-4 scenes. I have no idea what I'll be doing, outside of being an adult in the background or something like that. We're doing scenes based in 1996 and 1985, and I have to bring clothing somewhat appropriate for those periods. Too bad I don't blow-dry or feather my hair anymore!
The poor thing is young, its eyes aren't even open yet but it has a healthy coat of fur on it and seems to be unhurt. It's alert but sleeping a lot. When it's curled up it's about as big as the circle I can make with my thumb and forefinger. I'm giving it a mixture made up of water, salt, and sugar based on a website I found about these things. But I can't take care of it in the long run. I've called around to see if someone or place can take it in but no luck so far. Mom's thinking there's a place north of Bossier City that might be good so I'm waiting to hear if we can hit the jackpot there. But if that doesn't work, I'm not sure what to do. I might have to take it somewhere and let nature takes its course although it certainly helps to have more flying squirrels around. We've got more than enough regular squirrels, that's for sure!
Jonnene's going to be out of town for a couple of days so I'll be batching it here. I got another call from casting to be an extra in the "Front of the Class" movie on Thursday so I'll be out there all day in about 3-4 scenes. I have no idea what I'll be doing, outside of being an adult in the background or something like that. We're doing scenes based in 1996 and 1985, and I have to bring clothing somewhat appropriate for those periods. Too bad I don't blow-dry or feather my hair anymore!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Almost in the movies again
I got a call this afternoon from Glorioso Casting to be an extra in a movie this Monday. I would play a professor in a banquet scene in a Hallmark TV film called "Front of the Class". It had been almost two years since I last worked in a film so it was a surprise to get a call.
But I had to turn it down. I had a meeting scheduled with the new cycling club at Centenary College to get that club off the ground that evening and the filming was set for all day into the night. Since I'm being paid to direct this club then that was the priority. The guy who called asked me to update my information at the website and that they may call me again. I told him, please do, that just wasn't a good day for me to come out. He said he understood, that we do have lives outside the film world.
But I had to turn it down. I had a meeting scheduled with the new cycling club at Centenary College to get that club off the ground that evening and the filming was set for all day into the night. Since I'm being paid to direct this club then that was the priority. The guy who called asked me to update my information at the website and that they may call me again. I told him, please do, that just wasn't a good day for me to come out. He said he understood, that we do have lives outside the film world.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
And the story takes place in a faraway land...called Oz
Just found out the release dates for AUSTRALIA (link). It opens Down Under on November 13th and in the States on November 26th. We'll be in Oz when it opens state-side, so I guess we'll see it in Perth! I hope this is good....the music already sounds fantastic. When I watch the trailer all I can think about is Jonnene.
On another note, AN AMERICAN CAROL (link) opens on October 3rd and this should be funny. I think I'll like this one.
Monday, September 15, 2008
The Second Hurricane...Here's Ike!
I'm working backwards to catch up to what's been going on here. This past weekend we had our second hurricane blow thru the Ark-La-Tex when Ike passed by Tyler, Texas (about 100 miles west of us) after making landfall on the southeast Texas Gulf coast between Galveston and Houston earlier that morning. I was expecting a lot tougher time with this storm than we ended up getting. Shreveport was going to be on the northeast side of the hurricane which is the worst side to be on...expect plenty of wind and rain and spun-off tornados, the usual stuff. All we got were wind gusts up to 40 mph and a steady diet of light-to-medium rain all day into Saturday night. It was interesting to see some folks running in the neighborhood during the brief dry spells to get in some kind of workout! We also heard about a couple of friends who did a 100-mile ride in this weather as part of their training for Ironman! Not many folks can say they've ridden 100 miles during a hurricane...well, okay, it was down-graded to a tropical storm by the time they rode but it was still a wild ride!
It doesn't look too bad here but loose and rotten branches were blown out of the trees and all over the yard and the house. We'd hear loud sounds like someone was stomping around on the roof but it was really tree limbs raining down on us! This photo is during a break in the rain and Tropical Storm Ike is about 100 miles away to the west.
Looking down the driveway at the branches and pooled-up rain water. The fun part was cleaning all this up on Sunday!
The only "real" damage we suffered was losing our cable TV connection! We finally got some of it back today but we can only get basic since it looks like our cable box died over the weekend. It won't power up or anything, so it'll be returned to the company for a new one. But, seriously, we did quite well compared to other parts of Shreveport where trees fell on some houses, there were plenty of power outages, and some other damage was inflicted here and there.
When I did the 5:50 ride this morning, I noticed a few houses in certain sections of our neighborhood with no power and I could hear generators running here and there. But generally, it looked like everyone was okay. However, when I crossed 70th Street heading north I saw that Gilbert Street was completely dark. I was having to navigate down the road with the little headlight I had and by my memory of the road layout. Not really a problem but I realized how much I relied on the street lights to ride out there. The highlight was almost hitting a barricade that some kids (I assume it was dumb teenagers) placed across the street and, hitting the brakes hard, stopped about three feet from it! I saw it at the last minute in the dark and was pretty proud of how I stopped so quick without skidding. There were a few other barricades on the side of the road blocking excess to a downed power line. Some people think they're being cute doing sometime that they can't fathom could actually hurt someone. After the ride, I came back the same way and the barricade was still out in the street...cars were just driving around it. Nobody had moved it yet and you could tell from its position that it wasn't supposed to be there.
I spent the rest of the morning doing more yard work, cleaning up the leaves and such from the storm. This afternoon I got a real live massage from Amy, who Jonnene uses for her massages once a month. I had figured I needed some work on these tired muscles (I ran last night and biked this morning, for instance) and Amy put the hurt on me! She worked on my right shoulder that's been acting up lately and my left heel on the Achilles tendon which has gotten tender in the last couple of weeks. It should do some good if I get into a regular habit of this.
It doesn't look too bad here but loose and rotten branches were blown out of the trees and all over the yard and the house. We'd hear loud sounds like someone was stomping around on the roof but it was really tree limbs raining down on us! This photo is during a break in the rain and Tropical Storm Ike is about 100 miles away to the west.
Looking down the driveway at the branches and pooled-up rain water. The fun part was cleaning all this up on Sunday!The only "real" damage we suffered was losing our cable TV connection! We finally got some of it back today but we can only get basic since it looks like our cable box died over the weekend. It won't power up or anything, so it'll be returned to the company for a new one. But, seriously, we did quite well compared to other parts of Shreveport where trees fell on some houses, there were plenty of power outages, and some other damage was inflicted here and there.
When I did the 5:50 ride this morning, I noticed a few houses in certain sections of our neighborhood with no power and I could hear generators running here and there. But generally, it looked like everyone was okay. However, when I crossed 70th Street heading north I saw that Gilbert Street was completely dark. I was having to navigate down the road with the little headlight I had and by my memory of the road layout. Not really a problem but I realized how much I relied on the street lights to ride out there. The highlight was almost hitting a barricade that some kids (I assume it was dumb teenagers) placed across the street and, hitting the brakes hard, stopped about three feet from it! I saw it at the last minute in the dark and was pretty proud of how I stopped so quick without skidding. There were a few other barricades on the side of the road blocking excess to a downed power line. Some people think they're being cute doing sometime that they can't fathom could actually hurt someone. After the ride, I came back the same way and the barricade was still out in the street...cars were just driving around it. Nobody had moved it yet and you could tell from its position that it wasn't supposed to be there.
I spent the rest of the morning doing more yard work, cleaning up the leaves and such from the storm. This afternoon I got a real live massage from Amy, who Jonnene uses for her massages once a month. I had figured I needed some work on these tired muscles (I ran last night and biked this morning, for instance) and Amy put the hurt on me! She worked on my right shoulder that's been acting up lately and my left heel on the Achilles tendon which has gotten tender in the last couple of weeks. It should do some good if I get into a regular habit of this.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
I know, it's been awhile....
Yeah, yeah, I know. I haven't posted any entries in over two weeks. I just haven't had the urge to write anything down but I know I need to update what's been going on the past 18-20 days. Right now, I'm leaving a couple of pictures to tease you with and tomorrow I'll get up to date on what's been happening.
We did our little trip to Montana two weeks ago during the Labor Day weekend. Above is Jonnene and myself standing at around 11,000 feet above sea level at Beartooth Pass (in the Beartooth Mountains, natch!). It was a nice place to go and maybe we'll do it again but for longer than two whole days! 
Hey, we had a hurricane come through yesterday! Here's some of the branches and leaves that fell in our driveway Saturday, as well as all over the yard, and we spent today picking it all up. That's my cat, Taz, walking around at the bottom of the picture. He was outside during all the storming going on and he didn't seem too keen on the whole thing. This was actually our second encounter with a hurricane in two weeks but I'll tell more about that tomorrow. In the meantime, keep the folks in Houston and Galveston in your thoughts and prayers. Monday, August 25, 2008
Blazin' Bunnies!
Saturday morning I was out doing my intervals on Harts Island Road. I had just started and had cranked up my speed to 26 mph with the aim to hold that for 2 miles (had to do this six times with 2-mile breaks inbetween) when I took a quick glance toward the one o'clock side of the road. In the sorta tall grass I saw an eye with two tall ears above it. By the time I had analyzed the data to determine it was a rabbit, that sucker came shooting out across the road, darting by my front wheel, missing it by 3-4 feet right in front of my eyeballs! Now, when you're zooming along at 37.84 feet per second, a rabbit that's 3-4 feet from your front wheel is awful darn close! If that rabbit had decided to run out on the road about a micro-second later, it'd have probably been killed and I'd have been tumbling along the road hoping not to break anything or jar any organs or lose too much skin. I kept cruising along since it happened so fast I didn't have time to reach my brakes. It DID wake me up for the rest of the morning!
The rest of the ride didn't go so well. My first, second, and fourth intervals were good, achieving what I wanted but the third, fifth, and sixth intervals were ugly...especially that sixth one. I couldn't get past 23 mph to save my life. The legs felt like they had no power although I was still turning the cranks at 96 rpm in a lighter gear. I'm hoping it's because I'm only into the second week of my TT training and that the legs are still getting used to the idea of being pushed hard. I still have two more weeks of this followed by a taper-down week leading up to the time trial on the 14th. The TT bike is getting serviced at this time, getting a new chain (to replace the gunky one that came with the bike when I bought it) and readjusting the gears. I'm also hoping to borrow a disc wheel for the race which would let Jonnene use my 100mm rear wheel. Maybe that will help.
There were only five of us at this morning's ride where we got the scoop from Mike and David about their experience at the Hotter'n'Hell bike tour over the weekend. Mike did pretty good, covering the 100 miles non-stop in 4:41. My personal best at that ride is a 4:18 in 1996 during the race portion...with one stop when I ran out of fluids.
The rest of the ride didn't go so well. My first, second, and fourth intervals were good, achieving what I wanted but the third, fifth, and sixth intervals were ugly...especially that sixth one. I couldn't get past 23 mph to save my life. The legs felt like they had no power although I was still turning the cranks at 96 rpm in a lighter gear. I'm hoping it's because I'm only into the second week of my TT training and that the legs are still getting used to the idea of being pushed hard. I still have two more weeks of this followed by a taper-down week leading up to the time trial on the 14th. The TT bike is getting serviced at this time, getting a new chain (to replace the gunky one that came with the bike when I bought it) and readjusting the gears. I'm also hoping to borrow a disc wheel for the race which would let Jonnene use my 100mm rear wheel. Maybe that will help.
There were only five of us at this morning's ride where we got the scoop from Mike and David about their experience at the Hotter'n'Hell bike tour over the weekend. Mike did pretty good, covering the 100 miles non-stop in 4:41. My personal best at that ride is a 4:18 in 1996 during the race portion...with one stop when I ran out of fluids.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
You Don't Know Me
So, I'm out tonight doing my one-kilometer interval workout with Tim, my "coach". He's worked out my training schedule and was out to see if I needed any help. He would be training, too, but his left hamstring has been causing him all kinds of trouble so he's just riding easy for now. Tonight I did six "kilos" and I was pretty satisfied with them, averaging 29-30 mph with a slight tailwind. Tim had me roll up to my start line, pause for a second in a track stand, and then head out as fast as I could. The point being that the two worse spots in a time trial are (1) the start, and (2) getting back up to speed after the turnaround. These intervals are as much for learning to get up to speed as they are for being speedy. I should feel these in the morning.
Tim also told me, "Now, Alan, if you break an hour in that time trial, I want you to call me as soon as you can and tell me about it. Be sure to let everyone know that I coached you and that I take all the credit. However, if you don't break an hour or have a lousy ride that day, don't call me. Don't even tell anyone you know me or have ever heard of me. I will also deny that I know who you are."
I think Tim was kidding. I'm going to call him anyway. Maybe I'll wake him up.
I think my truck's alternator is going bad. I've ruled out any problems with the battery and I'm still not totally sold that the alternator is the cause of my anxiety but it's the next place to look. I tend to lean toward the possibility of a loose connection between the cable clamp and the battery post on the positive side. I hate it when the truck's not right. I'm just glad I'm not using it for a long trip this weekend...that's usually when things go wrong. And usually on a Friday. I'm taking the truck to the dealership and see what they have to say...hopefully, it'll be "That'll be five bucks and you're good to go, sir!" Uh-huh....
We go to Montana in a week! I'm about to get excited to go on a trip again to "someplace else" with my beautiful wife and hang out with her "someplace else". In three months we'll be on our way to Oz and I'll really be excited about that!
Tim also told me, "Now, Alan, if you break an hour in that time trial, I want you to call me as soon as you can and tell me about it. Be sure to let everyone know that I coached you and that I take all the credit. However, if you don't break an hour or have a lousy ride that day, don't call me. Don't even tell anyone you know me or have ever heard of me. I will also deny that I know who you are."
I think Tim was kidding. I'm going to call him anyway. Maybe I'll wake him up.
I think my truck's alternator is going bad. I've ruled out any problems with the battery and I'm still not totally sold that the alternator is the cause of my anxiety but it's the next place to look. I tend to lean toward the possibility of a loose connection between the cable clamp and the battery post on the positive side. I hate it when the truck's not right. I'm just glad I'm not using it for a long trip this weekend...that's usually when things go wrong. And usually on a Friday. I'm taking the truck to the dealership and see what they have to say...hopefully, it'll be "That'll be five bucks and you're good to go, sir!" Uh-huh....
We go to Montana in a week! I'm about to get excited to go on a trip again to "someplace else" with my beautiful wife and hang out with her "someplace else". In three months we'll be on our way to Oz and I'll really be excited about that!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
One sentence at a time
It's been raining the last two days and I've not been on the bike at all and that sucks.
In the Olympics tonight, the girl from Bahrain in the full-body running suit because of her religion doing the 200 meters has the talent to go fast but needs technique which I doubt she'll ever get.
Had to get the battery in my truck recharged so I didn't drive it anywhere for a couple of days and had to use Jonnene's car in the meantime but it's fixed now.
I am now the official club director of the cycling club at Centenary College so that's a few extra dollars a month...guess I need to get the club up and running now!
Made some significant progress on the local bike club jersey for 2009.
As much as I'd like to have Mike's job in "Dirty Jobs" on the Discovery Channel, I don't think my nose could handle it.
The women's marathon was AWESOME!
I might do more of these one sentence entries in the future.
In the Olympics tonight, the girl from Bahrain in the full-body running suit because of her religion doing the 200 meters has the talent to go fast but needs technique which I doubt she'll ever get.
Had to get the battery in my truck recharged so I didn't drive it anywhere for a couple of days and had to use Jonnene's car in the meantime but it's fixed now.
I am now the official club director of the cycling club at Centenary College so that's a few extra dollars a month...guess I need to get the club up and running now!
Made some significant progress on the local bike club jersey for 2009.
As much as I'd like to have Mike's job in "Dirty Jobs" on the Discovery Channel, I don't think my nose could handle it.
The women's marathon was AWESOME!
I might do more of these one sentence entries in the future.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Cool Weather
It's a great weekend! Weather-wise, that is. A front came through Friday night with some rain, it has stayed cloudy, and the temps are probably 10-15 degrees F below what it normally is. Nice preview of the coming Fall but it'll get hot again soon.
The weather made for some good riding. Jonnene got in 60 miles riding with a friend who's preparing for her first Ironman triathlon in two weeks up in Kentucky. We would have liked to go up there to watch but we'll be in Montana during the Labor Day weekend visiting friends J knew and worked with when she first came to the States back in '92. And I've always wanted to visit Montana. There's a connection we have to make in Denver both coming and going which will be my first visit to the Denver International Airport since 2001. Hard to believe that "new" airport is almost 8 years old now. I kinda miss the old Denver Stapleton airport...I was last there in 1999 before they closed it...it had some character and had its short-comings, but I liked it.
I did long intervals on my time trial bike Saturday but my legs were tired. Last week was my first "real" training sessions and six straight days on the bike really wore me out. I could barely stay in the 25 mph range in any of the six intervals I did although I did keep my cadence up to work on leg speed. Tim has adjusted my sessions for next week, replacing my kilo intervals on Wednesday with an easy ride and putting the kilos in place of the group training ride on Thursday. That should help keep my legs a little fresher.
I forgot to mention that Jonnene and I saw "The Dark Knight" last weekend and I was greatly impressed by the performance of the late Heath Ledger. He played the latest incarnation of The Joker in this Batman tale and it was dark, scary, and convincing. It is rumored that his performance will be a shoe-in for an Oscar nomination which would be unusual for a "super-hero-style" action movie (usually they get costume, special effects, music, and editing nominations). I think it's totally deserved. Heath was a native of Jonnene's hometown of Perth, Australia where this famous movie star was treated as a regular guy whenever he came home to visit family. The last time Ledger was in Perth, just two weeks before his death, he wrote a letter to his hometown thanking everyone for the good treatment he always got and for letting him be just a boy from Perth. I hope he gets the nomination and I hope he wins.
"Here's my card."
The weather made for some good riding. Jonnene got in 60 miles riding with a friend who's preparing for her first Ironman triathlon in two weeks up in Kentucky. We would have liked to go up there to watch but we'll be in Montana during the Labor Day weekend visiting friends J knew and worked with when she first came to the States back in '92. And I've always wanted to visit Montana. There's a connection we have to make in Denver both coming and going which will be my first visit to the Denver International Airport since 2001. Hard to believe that "new" airport is almost 8 years old now. I kinda miss the old Denver Stapleton airport...I was last there in 1999 before they closed it...it had some character and had its short-comings, but I liked it.
I did long intervals on my time trial bike Saturday but my legs were tired. Last week was my first "real" training sessions and six straight days on the bike really wore me out. I could barely stay in the 25 mph range in any of the six intervals I did although I did keep my cadence up to work on leg speed. Tim has adjusted my sessions for next week, replacing my kilo intervals on Wednesday with an easy ride and putting the kilos in place of the group training ride on Thursday. That should help keep my legs a little fresher.
I forgot to mention that Jonnene and I saw "The Dark Knight" last weekend and I was greatly impressed by the performance of the late Heath Ledger. He played the latest incarnation of The Joker in this Batman tale and it was dark, scary, and convincing. It is rumored that his performance will be a shoe-in for an Oscar nomination which would be unusual for a "super-hero-style" action movie (usually they get costume, special effects, music, and editing nominations). I think it's totally deserved. Heath was a native of Jonnene's hometown of Perth, Australia where this famous movie star was treated as a regular guy whenever he came home to visit family. The last time Ledger was in Perth, just two weeks before his death, he wrote a letter to his hometown thanking everyone for the good treatment he always got and for letting him be just a boy from Perth. I hope he gets the nomination and I hope he wins.
"Here's my card."Friday, August 15, 2008
Interesting Point
"And for those paying attention, since President George W. Bush rescinded the Executive Order banning offshore drilling on July 14th, oil has dropped from $147 a barrel to $113. That’s not a coincidence."
– The Patriot Post, August 15, 2008
– The Patriot Post, August 15, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Into the Week
It's been a tiring week here at mi casa (my house). We're watching a lot of the Olympics, actually more than I thought we would. I was wowed by the opening ceremonies that the Chinese put on but my favorite is still the Sydney Olympics of 2000. It felt a little more genuine (if you take out the modern pop music they tossed in) and was of a more hearty style. The competition has been pretty good, wished they showed more of the cycling (of course!) and I saw nothing of the time trials. I doubt NBC will show much, if any, of the track cycling.
I've spent this week doing my workouts for the time trial in September following a workout plan that a friend here put together for me. The first week is always the worst and I can feel it in my legs. Last night was five single-kilometer efforts to get my top-end speed up. After Tuesday night's speed-fest with the team, I could never get my legs spinning fast enough to get past 27 mph on any of the efforts. With this workout I only get Sundays off with easy, high cadence rides on Mondays and Fridays. The rest of the week is speed and endurance work...oh, joy. Tuesdays and Thursdays are on my road bike on the team rides where I'm supposed to sit in and treat it like a motor-pace training effort, leaving Wednesdays and Saturdays as solo go-fast rides.
The Wife got the new triathlon/time trial bike she'd been wanting for quite a while. A nice Kuota K-Factor (you can see one here - click on #3 in the selection box and you'll see the color she got) and it's a sweet looking bike. She test-rode it for a week and decided to go with it, but got the aerobars changed out for something she liked better and a different saddle. She's now in the process of getting the kinks worked out on fit and other little things so that it rides perfectly. That usually takes a few rides to several months to get it right but it'll be ready to go by the time triathlon season comes around next year. It'll get it's first taste of action when we go to the TT championships in a few weeks.
I've spent this week doing my workouts for the time trial in September following a workout plan that a friend here put together for me. The first week is always the worst and I can feel it in my legs. Last night was five single-kilometer efforts to get my top-end speed up. After Tuesday night's speed-fest with the team, I could never get my legs spinning fast enough to get past 27 mph on any of the efforts. With this workout I only get Sundays off with easy, high cadence rides on Mondays and Fridays. The rest of the week is speed and endurance work...oh, joy. Tuesdays and Thursdays are on my road bike on the team rides where I'm supposed to sit in and treat it like a motor-pace training effort, leaving Wednesdays and Saturdays as solo go-fast rides.
The Wife got the new triathlon/time trial bike she'd been wanting for quite a while. A nice Kuota K-Factor (you can see one here - click on #3 in the selection box and you'll see the color she got) and it's a sweet looking bike. She test-rode it for a week and decided to go with it, but got the aerobars changed out for something she liked better and a different saddle. She's now in the process of getting the kinks worked out on fit and other little things so that it rides perfectly. That usually takes a few rides to several months to get it right but it'll be ready to go by the time triathlon season comes around next year. It'll get it's first taste of action when we go to the TT championships in a few weeks.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Me in Texas
Here it is...PROOF positive that I did the time trial in Texas last weekend. Obviously this is a proof from a photographer's website that a friend sent to me.
Don't know who took it but, hey, I look good!
Don't know who took it but, hey, I look good!
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Sickly....yet not sickly
J finishes her bike and heads into transition for the run.Jonnene and I are going thru our own ills right now. She's dealing with the remnants of an apparent gastric bug so she stayed home from work today. I seem to have contracted some allergic reaction to all the dust and stuff I blew around when I cleaned the patio and driveway this morning, using the blower and picking up debris around the house. Plus we're getting the effect of the edges of hurricane E'douard and it's probably blowing some crap around here to dig at my sinuses. Anyway, we're both going in slow motion right now but we should get over it soon.
Last weekend was full of activity to some degree. I went to Katy, Texas (about 36 miles west of Houston) on Friday to participate in the Texas State Time Trial Championships, which were actually being held in Pattison. I shared a ride with Tim, who picked me up on his way there from Monroe, and we got to our hotel in Katy after about 5 hours of driving. We went out to the course for a recon ride. It was nice...wide shoulders that were CLEAN so we didn't have to ride on the road itself (since the course would not be closed to traffic). Good surfaces. We covered about 3/4's of the route but I noted the wind...the course was among all that open land and that invites the wind. The 40-kilometer (24.8 miles) out-and-back course seemed to feel friendly to me and I began to think I could do pretty good out here if I can push my TT bike solidly for around an hour. My whole goal was to see what my fitness level was for the Louisiana/Mississippi time trial championships in LaPlace in five weeks. After a leisurely check-out of the course, we went back to the hotel, cleaned up, and met a couple of Tim's friends who had arrived from Monroe and went out to eat.
Saturday morning we got up, got our gear together, and headed back to the venue to check in and get our race numbers. There were over 380 registered riders in the various categories and age groups. I was in the 50-54 age group with Tim and he was a favorite to win it since he won the 45-49 group last year and had aged up for 2008. I was just hoping for a good showing! I was feeling pretty good and had a good warmup along with getting everything done with time to spare. My start time was 9:09:30 am, so I got there with seven minutes to go, got in line, and eventually rolled up to the start line. The starter counted me down and off I went. The wind was coming out of the west on this north-south course but it was going to be tougher coming back than heading out...that proved true for me. I was doing a conservative ride but I got to the 10-kilometer mark (6.2 miles) in 15:05 and I was very pleased with that. My breathing and heartrate had settled down by then and I felt pretty good. I was out of the rolling hills and now on flat roads, getting to the turnaround 20K mark in 30:11 (my second fastest 20K ever). But the wind was harsher after the turn and the next 10 kilometers saw me lose a lot of time...I think my 30K time was 46:17. I started getting some rhythm back in the last 10K and attacked the hills but I still was losing some time.
When I finally crossed the finish line, I knew I had set a new personal record for the distance. My fastest had been a 1:02:24 that I set back in 1995 in Baton Rouge. But the official time had me at 1:02:01, a 24.05 mph average. I was quite happy with that and it gave me hope that if I train well enough the next five weeks, that I might have a shot at breaking an hour in LaPlace! I'd love to break an hour in a 40K at least once in my life. Tim didn't have such a good ride and managed a 3rd place finish in our age group with a 57:26 (I wish I could get 57 minutes with a good day!). My time, as much as I liked it, was only good enough for 22nd place in a field of 36 riders. That's okay, I didn't seem to mind too much.
During all this, Jonnene was prepping for the River Cities Triathlon on Sunday. Saturday she volunteered to work a few hours to help hand out the race packets and swag bags to race participants. Other than that she stayed home and rested, getting her gear together. I finally got home around 5 pm Saturday and we got her ready for an early wakeup for Sunday.
Four o'clock Sunday morning came early but we popped out of bed, walked the dogs, ate breakfast, and got on our way to Cypress Lake in Bossier Parish. As is our custom, we got to the park 25 minutes before it opened...mainly to be one of the first 50-70 cars allowed to park in the smaller parking lot that's closest to the transition area. If you don't get into that lot you end up in a large field that's a fairly good hike. I don't really like that, so getting there early is definitely worth it.
Jonnene, by-and-large, had a great triathlon. She didn't beat her personal best from almost ten years ago but she was about 3 minutes faster than last year and finished 9th out of 72 women in her age group! The great thing was that it wasn't as hot as it could have been. Later in the day the temperatures reached 104 degrees but that morning there was a steady breeze blowing across the lake that really made the morning quite pleasant...still hot but not nearly as bad as it could have been. Her swim and bike legs were faster (20.9 mph average on the bike!) than I think she was expecting. I'm very proud of her!
Tonight's ride was tough. I thought I was going to just sit in the back and take it easy, but I couldn't do it. I chased a couple of breaks and then attacked the entire pack about a mile from Frierson. Joe called it a "hard move". JP caught me about a third of a mile later and I jumped on his wheel. About a minute after that the rest of the field caught us and we charged into Frierson rather quickly. All that took a lot out of me but it was fun.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
837
Momentus day today...for the first time...ever....I got over eight hundred miles on my bike(s) in a single month! I totaled out to 837.1 miles for all of July. Even back when I was racing a lot I rarely got over 700 miles each month. So now I'm nearly at 3,400 miles for the year and I think I may get six-thou-plus if I keep to a steady schedule. If I hadn't waited until March to really start riding................
Easy ride with Bridget and Jonnene tonight. Bridget's training for an Ironman triathlon at the end of August in Kentucky. Jonnene has been riding with her most of the time to keep her company and help her with the training. Tonight she had to do ten 5-minute intervals, so I tagged along, did several at her pace and one time I did a nice steady 25 mph effort on my own to keep my legs loose. I leave tomorrow morning to do the Texas State Time Trial Championships in Pattison and I hope I do okay. This ride is more to get an idea of where my fitness is for the Louisiana TT in September, so I'm not too concerned with my placement but I hope my effort is decent. Then I'll have five weeks to get better!
Easy ride with Bridget and Jonnene tonight. Bridget's training for an Ironman triathlon at the end of August in Kentucky. Jonnene has been riding with her most of the time to keep her company and help her with the training. Tonight she had to do ten 5-minute intervals, so I tagged along, did several at her pace and one time I did a nice steady 25 mph effort on my own to keep my legs loose. I leave tomorrow morning to do the Texas State Time Trial Championships in Pattison and I hope I do okay. This ride is more to get an idea of where my fitness is for the Louisiana TT in September, so I'm not too concerned with my placement but I hope my effort is decent. Then I'll have five weeks to get better!
Monday, July 28, 2008
Withdrawal pain
Aaaaakkkk! After three weeks of enjoying hours of coverage of the Tour de France on Versus, suddenly today and tonight there is NOTHING!!
I don't know what to do.
Is there anything else worth watching on the flat-screen?
I don't know what to do.
Is there anything else worth watching on the flat-screen?
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