Okay, tonight's Tuesday Night Worlds was brutal...at least to me. I got to the church a bit after 4:30 this afternoon and saw Jason in the parking lot getting ready to ride, so I hitched along with him for the warmup before the Worlds ride began at 5:30. He could give me the scoop on how the Tour de Louisiane race went down while we rode. Well, I said it would be a "warmup" since I hadn't stretched yet but we hit the road and were already going 22 mph, getting up to 23-24 into a nice strong crosswind. Easy for Jason, a little tougher on an old guy like me. But I was determined to stay with him and converse like nothing was wrong. So we rode side-by-side for 12 miles on the out-and-back to the Crossroads and with the crosswind it felt like we were battling a headwind the entire ride! Sweat was literally pouring out of my helmet when we got back to the parking lot to meet up with everyone else. I could tilt my head forward and watch a steady stream of sweat pour to the concrete!
A storm was off to the east with thunder but it wasn't coming to us. However, the wind picked up as we started south on Ellerbe Road and our pack was being buffeted about the whole way. It was quite a strong breeze, not unlike your normal gale force wind. I rode strong, I thought, and closed a few gaps as well as taking my pulls. Bolt looked like it wasn't fazing him at all. Russ, the overall winner at the TDL last weekend, just sat in while riding his time trial bike, disc wheel and all. All this effort was going to cost me...I'm riding stronger than before but my endurance is still not up to snuff. Anyway, let's just say that after a ton of effort to get to Frierson I finally got dropped but kept up the effort the rest of the ride. I hope I can walk when I get out of bed in the morning! It was just a brutal ride but good for fitness...cranked out 42 miles in all.
Jonnene accompanied Bridget on her Ironman training today, putting in 2.5 hours on the bike, followed by a 20-minute "brick" run. She's a bit knackered tonight, too.
Most of today was painting a second coat on the entertainment shelving unit, a little more work on the dirt pile in the front yard, and the usual errands and jobs around the house. I'm waiting to finish up another helicopter paint scheme from Metro but who knows when that'll be. Their clients are always in a hurry but they take their sweet time in the process.
Wow, comedian George Carlin died yesterday. Another part of my wonderful college years has moved on to history. I remember listening to his comedy albums over and over in my college dorm, and remember when he hosted the very first Saturday Night Live in 1975 (which, if you didn't know, had a regular bit created by Jim Henson of the Muppets...I was always in stitches when it was on...I was laughing so hard during the accupuncture skit that I was crying...don't know why they stopped doing it after six shows). Anyway, Shreveport got mentioned in the news stories since that was the place George got his start as a radio DJ at KJOE when he was stationed at Barksdale AFB in the mid-50's. I admired him for the wordsmith he was (I wish I was remotely as well versed) and his observations of life in general (NOT his politics). His routine on "A Place for My Stuff" was one of my favorites and I have to admit that his "Seven Dirty Words You Can't Say on Television" was one of his best. Be aware, there's language on this links! See ya later, Mr. Carlin.......
Went to Waco, Texas last Saturday for a meeting of the South Central Collegiate Cycling Conference (SCCCC) to talk over race schedules, conference rules, and whatnot for competitive college bicycle racing. There were guys from UTexas, Texas A&M, Texas State, Midwestern State, and Baylor there. Took a couple of hours but some things got done. It's the first long drive by myself I've taken in a long while, a little over 8 hours roundtrip behind the wheel and I enjoyed it. Jonnene was doing a long bike ride to Jefferson, Texas with a group of cyclists that morning and she said it was nice but plenty hot.
We volunteered to be volunteers at the Sunrise Triathlon #3 on Sunday but spent much of the rest of the day around the house. I did some painting on a piece of furniture and she worked on some things for the bike club regarding training and diet for century rides. Yeah, basically we were pretty useless much of the day!
LaS'port did well for itself at the Tour de Louisiane over the weekend. Russ won the overall in the Cat. 1-2-3's while Bolt took second. LaS'port only had four guys in the race but did a fabulous job of dominating the stage race against a couple of larger teams including an 8-man squad from Herring Gas. Russ ended up winning the overall by the largest margin in at least the last ten years of the tour and his solo win by two minutes in the 80-mile road race helped a lot in that regard.
I'm looking to do the stage race in Lafayette near the end of July and I'm being optimistice because my riding has been going very well lately. It's not there yet but I'm getting more confident that I'll be ready to race by then. The first Saturday of August I'm going with some other guys to Katy, Texas near Houston to do the Texas State Time Trial Championships as a prelude to the Louisiana-Mississippi TT's in September. We'll see if the Guru is as fast as I think it can be with me on it.
Guess where Jonnene and I will be this November before we cross the Big Water late in that month? In a local movie theater, seeing "AUSTRALIA" starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. Check out the trailer at the movie's website:
http://www.australiamovie.com/
Finally, I had a terrific ride today! Covered about 66 miles and got rained on to boot. But I couldn't complain because I had a good day out there on the road. We were going hard, going fast, and there were times I was wondering if I could keep up. Then there were times when it was easy to keep up and close a gap if I had to.
Found out I will be going to Waco, Texas next Saturday for a meeting of the South Central Collegiate Cycling Conference, the competitive organization for cycling in this part of the country which is part of the National Collegiate Cycling Association. It looks like I'm going to be director for the new cycling team being formed at Centenary College, so I need to get familiar with all that's going on in this type of racing. There's lots to learn and several people I need to get to know. Hopefully my part in all this with Centenary will be in motion in a couple more weeks. It'll be a part-time paying gig with my main concern to keep a recreational and competitive cycling program active for those associated with the college (students and faculty).
Saw the new Indiana Jones movie tonight. Really enjoyed it! It wrapped up a few loose ends and Indy finally gets the girl! Set in the late 1950's, Indiana Jones is now a much older archeology professor but we find out about a bit of his life since we last saw him in the 1930's. He didn't spend ALL that time in front of a blackboard! Check it out if you get the chance.
We had a small group on the 5:50 ride this morning, five of us, and I'd gotten used to seeing 8-9 riders the last few times I've been out. Although it didn't seem like it, we covered the distance about 5 minutes faster than we usually do. I had plenty of spare time to do my hill repeats near the house as I returned. I got in a set of 8 repeats, both standing and sitting, and I try to do that after every morning ride to help improve my climbing skills or lack of.
I'm taking out the Guru for its first real test ride this afternoon. I've put on my own aerobar setup, the fast wheels, made a few tweaks in the position and we'll see how it rides on the original seat. I'll probably end up putting my Blackwell seat on it but I'll give the other one a chance first. It's hot outside but I shouldn't be out there more than a couple of hours.
We're keeping a friend's chocolate Lab, Chip, for the week and it's always interesting to have three larger dogs in the house at the same time. Chip got out the back door yesterday afternoon while I was working on a drawer in the laundry room and I chased him about 4 houses down and around the street! But I caught him and dragged him back home via his collar. We'll keep an even CLOSER eye on him from now on! Taz tolerates Chip and is only scared of him if Chip tries to play "hunting dog" on him. Farley and Sophie have known Chip a long time so they get along pretty well.
We had another really hard thunderstorm last Monday night and, for the second time in three weeks, we found our patio underwater again. But it wasn't as bad as the last storm and nearly all the water's drained off. Makes it harder to deal with the wet dirt in the front yard but I'm knocking that off bit by bit.
Just a thought....Over the weekend a man in Japan went on a killing rampage where he rammed his car into a group of people on a pedestrian mall in Tokyo's Akihabara district. He then jumped out with a knife, slashing everyone near him, and killing seven while injuring ten. He only stopped when police threatened to shoot him. He was heard saying that he "was tired of life."
What? If he's so tired of life then why doesn't he just "off" himself? Instead it somehow makes sense (to him) to kill other people who probably aren't as tired of life as he is, and probably had plans for the coming week involving work, other activities, and family. They're made to pay for him being depressed. He gets to live....and I kinda doubt that he'll consider that to be much punishment.
It reminds me of those two idiots, Dillon and Kleibold (sp?), who killed all those kids at Columbine High School (CO) in 1999. When you see all their videos and read their online blogs, they mostly complain about being bullied about at school and getting no respect from the "in crowd" - the athlete studs and stylish types - and how they're going to get their revenge by killing them all.
And what do they do? They head straight to the school library, where we know all the "in crowd" hangs out...athletes are in there all the time, right?....yeah, right....and they go after the same kids who are like them. The geeks, bookworms, and kids out of the mainstream. All of whom are defenseless and innocent, who did NOTHING bad to these two killers all their lives. Dillon and Kleibold were cowards, not the brave avengers they liked to think they were, and went after those who could not hit back at them, not the ones they were truly angry with.
I have absolutely no sympathy for those who think the answer to their problems is to attack the innocent. Hey, put the gun to your own head and solve the problem that way instead of putting it to the head of someone else who doesn't even know who you are or what your problem is. They have enough problems of their own and their's just might actually be worse than yours. But they've found a way to deal with it and it doesn't involve denying someone else of their life.
Well, we headed out to Natchez, Mississippi around 6:15 Saturday morning to get to the Louisiana/Mississippi Bicycle Racing Association (known as LAMBRA from here on) District Road Race Championships. It's held at Natchez State Park on a 5.2 mile loop into and out of the park with a nice series of steep hills and windy shady roads to go fast on after you've gone slow on those hills. The plan was for Jonnene and I to do the races and come back home that night. All went according to plan which is a good thing.
We registered when we got to the race site but it was already hot and humid...typical weather in the South....unloaded our bikes and got set up. Jonnene was doing the Masters Women 35+ race and it would be her first USCF event, and not a bad one to get your feet wet in. I had modified her Orbea for road racing by taking off the aerobars and other things that had been previously attached to the frame. While we got her ready we were informed by one of the race officials that she was the only entrant for the race! He told her that they would line her up with the Men's Category 5 race (5's being the entry level for beginning racers) but score her separately...she still had to do the distance to win the event. I think that worked out to 36.4 miles or 7 laps of the course. 
Jonnene (center) starts near the back with the Category 5 men.
Cruising past before the first climb to the top of the lake dam.
Like I said, I was lined up for the Masters race which was a combination of the 30+, 35+, and 45+ age groups...about 30 of us, I think. It was a small group compared to past years probably because of the gas prices making this a relatively expensive trip for some, and, since this was the third year to hold the race at the park, a lot of folks knew if they could or could not do well on this course. It is NOT my kind of course but it's a good place to get a good hill workout!
In these Masters races it doesn't matter what category you are, just the age. I'm a Cat. 3 but there are guys here who are 1's and 2's, and have raced against the pros before...a lot of stud hosses in this group. I already know I don't have much of a chance here so my goal is to complete the 9 laps (46.8 miles) and get some points for my team in the district team competition. The gun went off and so did we. We popped the first climb up to the top of the lake dam and I was finding myself in the front ten riders. I hadn't raced in about a year but it was feeling pretty comfortable in the group with the speed already over 26 mph across the dam. My teammate, Russ, shot off from the start taking three other riders with him and by the time we crossed the 400 meters of the dam, they were already a quarter mile ahead! Our first decent off the dam had us going at 30 mph and approaching that series of three consecutive hills that I really hated to climb but we popped over them pretty quick and I was happy to still be in the pack. But it looked like the faster guys in the front wanted to chase after the four escapees way off the front so the pace ramped up really hard. I was hanging on in the back as we leaned into tight curves in the road and screamed out of the park in a right turn that went downhill immediately into an uphill. We topped that and I started losing my hold on the group. I was going 35 mph, getting tired rapidly and couldn't hold on!
I latched onto two guys who had also dropped off the back...a teammate, Brian, and a guy from the New Orleans club...and the three of us managed to stay within 10-15 seconds of the pack but it was hard work. We finished the first lap 10 seconds down and covered the first 5.2 miles in 13 minutes! Brian took himself out of the race because he was feeling sick, so the NOBC rider and myself almost caught the pack at the top of the dam. However, I was so winded that I couldn't get my speed back up and had to let everyone go. At this point I was riding by myself for the rest of the race.
Most of the time I pushed as hard as I could, had good laps and bad laps while I was riding. About the middle of the fifth lap, Russ came up alongside me and he was by himself which meant two things; one, he was in the lead solo, and; two, he was lapping me! He said, "Hey, Alan" as he came by and I replied "Go get 'em, Russ!" In a couple of minutes he was out of sight again and about five minutes later, two more riders came by who were chasing him. One was Ryan Boudreaux of Herring Gas and the other was Danny Bennett who was in town from New Mexico riding for Cycle Science. At this point I was feeling decent and jumped on their tails for a while...in a road race I can't interfere with riders who are ahead of me so I just rode behind them for the next three miles. It was fun. We were going pretty fast and those two guys looked so relaxed, sitting up to drink at 30 mph, taking the turns so smoothly. I rode better just following them but I let them go once we got to the top of the dam to begin my seventh lap. The main pack would catch me toward the end of that lap and eventually I would finish, coming in 10th overall in the men's 45+ classification. A decent finish and I got points for my team so I was happy with that. Plus I got a kiss from Jonnene at the end!
I ended up getting that Guru TT bike, too. After some adjustments and switching out the aerobar/handlebar arrangement, it should be a pretty fast bike for me.
We packed up everything, including the new bike, and headed home. Got to see a really nice sunset, too.
Most of Sunday has been spent cleaning up most of our stuff from the bike races, washing clothes, and cleaning some of the house. We spent a couple of hours working on the flight schedule for our trip to Australia later this year and got the tickets...we weren't confident that the prices would be any better later. So I guess we're flying halfway around the world again! I have no problems with that concept!
2007: Here I am (in the red jersey) with my little chase group...it was HOT!
I'm doing my first race of '08 down in Natchez tomorrow at the LAMBRA District Road Championships, being held in the Natchez State Park....a tough 5.2 mile loop with short but steep hills, lots of shady spots, long stretches on a tall spillway by the lake, and good road surfaces. It kicks my butt every year and I have no doubts it'll do the same this time. I'd be happy if I manage to stay with the pack the first three laps out of the eight we have to do. There is a series of three hills that take it out of everyone each lap and I'm not really looking forward to it. But I gotta get my feet wet and I'm viewing it as a training race.
Jonnene's doing the race, too, in the Master Women's 35+ grouping. Attendance in that particular race is usually pretty sparce. She could be the only lady lining up or be one of only 3-5 other racers. With the cost of travel nowadays you can't really tell who'll show up. Last weekend was a great race in Alexandria but the attendance overall was not what it should have been. We had spent most of our money in Hot Springs the weekend before that so we were kinda tapped out for the following weekend.
While we're in Natchez I'll be picking up a time trial bike that Jonnene is helping me to purchase, a kind of birthday present. A guy in Brandon, Mississippi is selling his 2004 Guru Cron Alu TT bike (see photo above) and from what I can tell from the photos and description it is a good deal. I've had a local bike shop look over the info and he thinks it's a very good deal. Not all the components are high-end but they'll do the job. I've already converted my K2 bike back to its road racing version for this weekend and I'll test-ride the Guru Saturday. After we pick it up, I'll be making some changes...switching out the aerobar setup with my old one (I like it better), make some minor changes in positioning, and putting on the FAST wheels. I can sell the other bars and use the new wheels for training wheels. But now I'll have a true TT bike. BTW, Jonnene's looking for a new bike herself for triathlons and is drooling over the Orbeas on the market.
In the meantime, I'm slowly getting the front yard smoothed out and a small but growing dirt/clay pile is building behind the shed near the back yard. The verge is looking very good...just needs grass to start growing...and an area near a group of trees is looking good, too. The main ditch needs to be dealt with and that's a LOT of dirt I have to move. I need to keep much of the dirt as fill when the ditch starts to settle with the rains and time coming on. I'm also going to start back on the small jobs that need to be done around the house. With all the guests we've had, those jobs had to be put on the back burner.
We're starting to plan for our trip to Oz in November. It will not be cheap due to the rising fuel costs but we're going. Probably by ourselves, too...it might cost too much for anyone else to come along with us. All of Sunday will be dedicated to looking at flight combinations, places to go, available time...the whole shebang.
Knocked out 70 miles this morning....I don't feel beat up but I feel beat. With most of the guys down in Alexandria for the Racing Rapides stage race, we had a small group of fast guys heading for Keatchie to get 100 k's in (oh, no, I don't consider myself one of those fast guys...yet). David and Jimi did most of the driving for the six of us who kept going past I-49. RW1 was on his TT steed but said his legs weren't up to snuff today...which was good because it was tough enough to stay with him as it was. He'd drop off to stop somewhere...for personal business or to eat....and he'd come motoring back up to us real soon. Arnold and I just did our best to hang on but we weren't doing a good job of it on the way to Keatchie, getting dropped in the last 6 miles or so. When we got there, arriving at the store, everyone else was inside getting refueled or using the facilities. We all sat around too long letting our legs get cold so when we started off again it was like a new ride.
After a handful of miles out of town, we hit the smooth pavement on the Keatchie-Keithville Road with a slight tailwind and we were moving more-often-than-not at 28-30 mph for the next 7-8 miles. I like smooth pavement...it makes you feel fast. I felt pretty good, too, and took some pulls. But it took a lot out of me, and with the heat/sun I fell off the back a couple of miles before we got to Linwood Avenue but still kept everyone in sight. I had planned to get in 3 hours but was only at 150 minutes so when I got to Linwood I turned right instead of following everyone to the left. That took me back to I-49, into the village of Frierson, and eventually back to where I was parked. Of note was that I covered virtually the same distance I did a couple of weeks ago in the Tour de Goodwill but did it 30 minutes quicker! Overall, a good ride, quality saddle time, but my legs are aching!
I remember being awakened by Jonnene around 5 am, saying "There's a new hole under the new sidewalk out front." Whaaaat? She had walked Sophie before leaving for swimming workouts at LSU-S and spotted a sinkhole that had developed where we had the sewage line replaced last week and it was directly under the sidewalk. I put on a robe and walked out to take a look, saw water in the hole and I was immediately curious as to what I was looking at and what caused it.
I went back inside and got ready to do a run. It was foggy out and I decided a bike ride wasn't a good idea. Plus I wanted to do a run that several guys I knew did every Wednesday morning from a nearby tennis club. I had been invited to join in before but hadn't been out there yet. It's an easy 4-mile run they do, easy to converse at about a 9:30 or so pace. Counting my run to and from the house, I got in 4.5 miles all told.
Called the plumbers and they came out. Thanks to all the extra dirt I had in the yard, they were able to fill up and pack the ground under the sidewalk so we'll see how that goes. They also fixed the front sprinklers that weren't working after the sewage line had been replaced. Our theory is that one of the sprinkler supply lines wasn't sealed up well enough and the escaping water might have caused the sinkhole. Well, we'll see what it looks like later this week and if the repair worked like it was supposed to.
Spent much of the day working for a T-shirt design and then got a call to do another helicopter design...actually, I already had the design done for a Ranger 407 aircraft but they wanted to see the layout on an EC-135. Here's how the Ranger paint scheme I did last month turned out in real life:
It looks pretty good and was exactly what the client wanted. Click on the image to see it bigger. I probably have 12 or 13 helicopters around the country sporting paint schemes that I designed. Flying right now. There have been about another 20 I've done over the last fifteen years...don't know if any of them are still spinning their blades.
Here I am zooming into transition after dealing with the bike course.
Nicely organized, flat out-and-back run courses, and a bike course that keeps you interested...that was the Du For The Parks duathlon (Arkansas State Duathlon Championship). About 121 individual finishers and 18 teams on a hot and sunny Memorial Day morning, starting from the old train station in downtown Hot Springs.
As much as I wanted to be the first Louisianian to do this race in about 4 years, I found myself joined by Richard Cottrell from West Monroe along with Curtis Scrugham and his son, Kyle, from Barksdale AFB. Kyle did the kids' duathlon. Other folks were from Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas, and the expected large contingent from Arkansas.
The bike course didn't give us much of a chance to relax. Lots of curving roads, including an S-turn that you can hit 30+ mph on. It's also out-and-back but the thing is that the elevation drops as you leave town resulting in some fast speeds. The return is just the opposite...you have to gain elevation as you get back into town. Somewhere in the last three miles was a long section of road that was the most perfect false flat I've ever seen. I thought I was going downhill but was curious as to why I was struggling to go 20 mph! I thought my brakes were rubbing against my rear wheel but, nope, that wasn't it. I passed quite a few racers on the uphills which helped my position tremendously.
Mixed up in the middle of it all.....
I finished third in my 50-54 age group but got the first place "hat" because the two guys ahead of me and another in the 55-59 age group were placed 1-2-3 in the Grand Masters finish order. So I won my age group by default but I can say I was the 4th fastest Grand Master. I was 23rd overall, 20th male and finished with a time of 1:05:37 over the 2m run-12m bike-2m run distance. My bike average was 20.9 mph but it was the 12th fastest of the day...the bike return killed my average speed but I know I can improve on that now that I know the course. Fastest average was 23.8 mph if that gives you any idea. You can find all the results HERE.
My good pal, Paul...that's him at left posing as the Angry Photographer, came down from Little Rock to see the race and take his usual quality pictures. We had lunch with his parents and niece afterwards before we had to return home. There was no rest once we got back to Shreveport. Had to change and go to a small party for a couple we know who are going to spend the next two years in Saudi Arabia in connection with the Air Force's liason office. It was real nice and lots of food as well. Can't beat that!
Just a short note...we're up here in Hot Springs, Arkansas enjoying the Memorial Day weekend. Jonnene's friend, Elena...who's in from Oz...is here and getting a look around the countryside. We got in Saturday evening, staying at the local TravelLodge because we're cheap and it's very close to the duathlon race site where I'll be knocking myself out Monday morning. I picked up my packet this afternoon at the Arlington Hotel at the head of Central Avenue in historic downtown Hot Springs, then we headed out to scout the bike course. Essentially it's a 12-mile out-and-back ride with a few rollers, good surfaces (generally speaking)...nothing I shouldn't be able to handle. With luck I should do this duathlon in under 1:10 and maybe place in my age group. I'm not counting any chickens yet. The main thing is to get my third race out of the way so my ranking in the region (2nd in my age group last time I checked) will be official for 2008. I wouldn't mind having a good race either!
Earlier today, we went up to the Observation Tower for the view, toured the Fordyce Bathhouse on "Bathhouse Row" along Central, and did a bit of souvenir shopping. Elena said it was the most walking she's done in quite some time! Tonight we ate at the Embassy Suites...we ended up sitting at the same table where Jonnene and I sat back in October and we had the same waitress...although she looked like she was a few months pregnant this time. But same great service and food.
Well, I'll let you know how the race worked out. Hopefully, I'll do a halfway decent job out there.
Here are two pictures of the same house. However, there are differences between the two pictures. Can you spot the differences? Look closely, some are not that easy to spot.
Have you found the differences yet? Take your time....
That's right, the grass was mowed between the time the two pictures were taken!
Okay, I'm funning with you. We're having major sewage line work done at the homestead this week. We had standing water in our shower and tub last week so we called the plumbers to come out and clean out the line, which they did and things were draining great...for a bit over two days. Then the water backed up into the house again and we called again. It was determined that the huge rains we had last week weren't really the cause but it seemed that our connection to the city main line was knocked off kilter enough over the years to allow seepage into and out of our line. This allowed roots and debris to gather up, and you know what happens next...no flow!! So now we've got our front yard dug up from stem to stern (house to street), getting the entire line replaced...we figured since we were there that we might as well...
We had to bring two different backhoes, on two separate days, to make the hole deep enough to reach the city main, almost 12 feet down! I didn't imagine our sewer line was that deep. I had a chance to view the inside of the old line when a supervisor ran a video camera inside. Kinda reminded me of those National Geographic shows where they run a small robot inside the Egyptian pyramids. We got to see where the stoppage was (kinda gross but interesting at the same time). Anyway, we're getting an entire new line replacing the old one and it's a thicker PVC pipe which should thoroughly repel any invading roots. Plus it's stronger and shouldn't be messed up by any ground movement since the land in this neighborhood is clay-based and tend to contract and expand a lot depending on conditions. Hopefully by tonight, we'll be able to run the showers, toilets, and washers at the same time and have no problems with drainage. Then I'll have to spend some time smoothing out the front yard with all the dirt that'll be spread around. I'm so looking forward to that.
This is our brand-new lap pool! We're going to have a diving board installed in the deep end.
During tonight's ride, I made my every-once-in-a-while patented hero move that gets everyone's attention. It mostly gets noticed because everyone, including myself, is surprised by something good I do in the training ride. Tonight we had a group of us flying back home from Frierson thanks somewhat to a tailwind we had (though it was still mostly us) and I was in the back sucking air big time. I was on my TT bike to get some time on it with the duathlon coming up in 10 days. I was tired and my legs hurt...I was still feeling the Tour de Goodwill ride from last Saturday in them.
JP was off the front, having motored past us with aw-thor-ra-TIE and had pretty much gapped us. We had some stud hosses in the bunch with RW1, Bolt, Calbo, and Doc along with Frank, Duce, and Frenchy (don't you just love all these nicknames?). Bolt was in front and slowly closing the gap but doing it REAL slowly as everyone was tucked in behind. I had slid off to the left to see what was going on, wondering why Bolt wasn't putting on the blasters to put the kabosh on JP's breakaway. Suddenly I had the stupid thought of trying to catch JP myself and, like an idiot, I quickly convinced myself to do it. I was pretty sure I could get to the front of the group...but catch JP? I wasn't that confident, especially the way my legs were aching. So I wound 'er up, jumped out from the back of the line and....crawled past the first couple of riders at around 27 mph. But I got faster, beginning to move, finally blowing by Bolt and finding myself between the group and JP....I had to do something now or the move would have looked pretty silly. I shifted a gear and went for it.
Now, admittedly, JP looked like he was starting to slow as I came upon him but I was going nearly 30 and I decided to pass him instead of settling in his draft. So I put Alan's Move Of Intimidation on him (I wonder if he noticed?) and flew past. For about 10 seconds I was clear of everybody since I saw no shadows of the other riders behind me but that didn't last long...RW1 led a long string of riders past me and I sucked it up to jump into the tailend of that thing, hanging on the best I could to the Crossroads. That was tough to do since my legs were definitely fried. Later, RW1 would recognize my move as a high point of the ride. Thanks for the compliment, Russ. It is appreciated.
Now I wonder what my legs will feel like in the morning?
Well, we're in a situation here at the house. We had plumbers come over Tuesday, before the rains, to clear out the lines since our bathrooms had backed up. Since then everything worked fine until we got home from the rides and took our showers. Everything is solidly backed up AGAIN! Standing water in the tub and in the shower stall...looks like I'm calling the plumbers again in the morning. Since we're having company for the next two weeks it might be good to have the pipes clear...ya think?
At about 8:00 last night, we got nothing but rain and lots of it. The precipt kept coming down all night with little relief and it was interesting to watch the entire back porch disappear under a 1-2" layer of water. The carport was full of water as was the back half of the driveway and the street wasn't doing too good either. Jonnene expressed some concern about water getting into the house but I was pretty sure it wouldn't happen. At least I felt that I felt pretty sure about it....
Now all the rain is gone but there are still plenty of areas dealing with flood water, but we're not one of them. My mom's house lost its power early this morning and water got into the patio room so they'll have to deal with that and get it dried out. I'm not going to bother with my usual Wednesday time trial ride since I have gotten the impression from the radio and weather channels that Ellerbe Road around Wallace Lake might be under water. I've seen it like that before and you can't ride it on a bike. I wouldn't even advise it in a car. So I'm taking the day off, from the bike and from any working out....a holiday of sorts. I'll try to get a morning run or ride Thursday but I'm less than 10 days from the duathlon up in Arkansas on Memorial Day. Then it's the stage race in Alexandria just five days later. Gotta get on the ball and drop a couple more pounds if I can!
Saturday was the Tour de Goodwill, a local bicycle tour that's been a lot of fun to do over the last few years. I design the logo, the T-shirt, the entry forms, and lots of other stuff, then I do the ride. Last year I knocked out the 75 mile route and this year I intended to do the 100 miler since I needed the miles and the saddle time to get ready for the races I plan to do in a few short weeks.
Everything started well. I was in the front group and we were motoring along pretty good. It wasn't unusual to see 25-28 mph on the bike computer and be rip-roaring around the turns as we meandered our way out of Shreveport into the countryside. We tipped along 32 mph at one particular stretch which got my attention but we had some hosses pulling the pack along so I wasn't surprised. We also shelled off a lot of other riders who hanging in with us and as we ended the first hour of riding we were down to only 15 in the front pack. I looked over at Mack...who was about to drop off himself...and told him I couldn't keep up this pace much longer if I intended to do the full 100 miles. I knew a number of the guys in the pack were doing the shorter distances so they could afford to expend the energy. Thing was, I couldn't. So Mack and I both dropped off the leaders and went on at our own pace...a bit slower than the 23.4 mph average we had been doing for the past hour!
Both of us rolled along for the next hour on our own, by ourselves into Texas and stopped at the first rest stop about 38 miles into the ride. I was hydrating well and needed to use the portalet. Then we went on mostly at a slower pace around 19-20 mph so we could recover from the first part of the ride and still shoot for a 20+ mph average for the 100 miles. As we made the turn south we were caught by a group of six and we had no problem using them for drafting and picking up the pace a little. The wind wasn't in our favor most of the time so I didn't mind putting more space between the times I spent at the front. I really wasn't having any problems but at around 50 miles I took a nice little pull up a hill, dropped to the back and suddenly I was getting gapped! I tried to catch back on but it wasn't happening...it was like I lost all my energy just like that! I watched Mack and the rest go on, so I decided to just keep pedaling until I felt a little better. That wasn't going to happen....
For the next 20 miles, I found myself just hurting...my neck, shoulders, arms, legs...I wasn't bonking and I wasn't having any problems with the heat (although I was glad it stayed cloudy all day). I just wasn't doing well. I was having a bad day. I did 70 miles two weeks ago and had no problems, but here I was, currently riding nowhere near as well as I did then. I found myself crawling at 13 mph as I came into the village of Keachie and made the decision to pack it in. I had 30 miles left and I was figuring that it would take me 2.5-3 hours to cover that the way I felt when, normally, I could ride that distance in 90 minutes easy. I wasn't going to sit on a bike saddle for almost three hours when I didn't have to, plus it was only going to get worse if I kept on. It wasn't a race and I already had some quality miles so far...why continue the suffering? I've already done my share of bicycle death marches over the years and I didn't see a need to increase the number by one on this day. I stopped and called the organizers to send a truck out to get me. I did 74 miles in 4:04....that's ridiculous. I was taken to the rest stop in Frierson and Jonnene came out for me later. The shower at home felt great.
J had a much better ride. She did the 68-mile route and knocked that out quite efficiently. She had a group of triathletes to ride with and they motored along real well. I think her average speed was 19.9 mph (mine ended up a paltry 18.3!). She did very well. We had pizza that night and I downed a 20 oz Dr. Pepper like it was in a shot glass. Yummy! Ride to eat, eat to ride...that's why I do this!
Sunday we went down to Natchitoches to have lunch with my niece who's attending the arts and sciences school for high school students at NSU. We wanted to give her a change of pace since she was staying the weekend there instead of going home. It was fun. We ate at a nice south Louisiana themed family restaurant downtown, went window-shopping, and visited. I hope she enjoyed the day since she had to do some serious studying that night...finals are going on over the next two weeks! I'm glad I don't have to do that anymore! The real world is tough enough.
This morning I went out with the morning ride group and it was a hard ride for me. I was still feeling Saturday in my legs and I actually had to do some work to keep up with the other five guys in the paceline. All I could feel was the pain in my thighs which eventually went away toward the end of the ride. I even ended up doing some hill repeats before I got home so I'm recovering bit by bit. There's rain in the mid-week forecast so I need to do tomorrow's morning ride in case Tuesday Worlds gets rained out.
It's true...Jonnene and I have been oooh-ficially together now for two years! We've spent only a little less than 16 months together in each other's presence as a married couple but that immigration thing a while back put a crimp in making a go of it from the gun. It's been great and a lot more fun than I could imagine. She's made a big difference in my life and I want so much to do more for her.
Something in the way she moves
Attracts me like no other lover
Something in the way she woos me
I don't want to leave her now
You know I believe her now
Somewhere in her smile she knows
That I don't need no other lover
Something in her style that shows me
Don't want to leave her now
You know I believe her now
You're asking me will my love grow
I don't know, I don't know
You stick around now it may show
I don't know, I don't know
Something in the way she knows
And all I have to do is think of her Something in the things she shows me
Don't want to leave her now
You know I believe her now"Something" by George Harrison (The Beatles)...Frank Sinatra once said that Something was the greatest love song ever written. Yeah, I can believe that....definitely top five for sure.
It's been busy since I last posted. The mum-in-law and sister-in-law stayed with us for about 18 days the last half of April. We sent them off to Vancouver, Canada (where they had more adventures with American Airlines) and they'll be on an Alaskan cruise to finish out their trip. We understand that they have 51 people in their tour group, all but FOUR are Aussies!! At least they'll be with folks who speak their language!
Right now we get a 3-week rest and then a friend of J's will be coming down to spend a couple of weeks with us at the Moore Manor. Elenda is in the States from Perth and currently is up in Chicago visiting family before she heads our way. The good thing is that it encourages me to continue getting the house in shape. I'd have done all that anyway but maybe I would've been a tad slower in the process. I have some cabinet doors to put up along with the continuing saga of getting all my "junk" out of the living room and put up somewhere out of sight, like in the attic. Then there's still plenty of yard work to keep up with. No rest for the common man.
Last Sunday I was honored with the presence of Johnny Cobb, aero-expert-extraordinaire'. He lives in Tyler, Texas but is originally from Shreveport and is one of the men most responsible for helping Lance Armstrong win his seven Tour de France titles. JC perfected LA's position on his time trial bike so he could go fast. Apparently it worked! Johnny's also worked with other famous cyclists like LeMond, Hampsten, Botero, and that guy who won Le Grand Tour (de France) last year. He also designs all the stuff for Blackwell Research. Anyway, he was in town for a family funereal and needed to get a photo enlarged for the services. He needed a scan done and I took care of that for him. He's now a big hero in the family for pulling off this mission. I was glad to help and it was nice to have him drop by the house for a bit.
To paraphrase old Will Shakespeare....all the world's a stage and the people on it are merely actors in a play. They each have their entrances and their exits....the story is what goes on between the two.
A good friend of mine died last Wednesday morning. Danny Teague had lived with AIDS for the past seventeen years, much longer than most who have the disease. The last five years or so saw many close calls where we all thought it was over and done. Then I'd get a phone call: "Hi, Alan, it's Dan Teague. I'm still alive. Are you surprised?" I'd laugh and tell him that he was a tough guy to get rid of. "I guess there's still people out there I'm supposed to harrass," he'd say.
Here's what his obit said today:
Danny passed away on April 23, 2008, following a long illness. He was known to all who knew and loved him in the last years of his life as a fighter and a survivor. A native of Shreveport, Danny dedicated his life to art. Educated at LSU in Shreveport, he became art director of KTBS-TV and later worked in Houston, New Orleans, and in Los Angeles, he worked in the animation department of Disney Studios. In Shreveport, he held the position of music director for All Souls United Universalist Church. In 1998, he was the graphic artist for Christmas-in-the-Sky. A source of great pride for Danny was in 1999 when he won the coveted Best of Show award given by the Shreveport Bossier Advertising Federation. Other than his art, Danny celebrated with unquenchable passion meteorology, Mac computers, music and movies.Movies...he always worried that he'd die before getting to see Parts One through Three of the Star Wars movies. He got to see them all and said that the scene with Yoda in a light sabre fight was the funniest thing he'd ever seen. He'd bust up laughing just talking about it.
I'll miss the long conversations I had with him, sometimes up to two hours long. We'd both rant about the state of the art world in Shreveport which we both agreed was not as good as it could be (we were actually a lot more graphic about our feelings than that). Even though Dan was gay, you'd be surprised at how conservative his political leanings were. He already knew I was a conservative so we were able to talk at great length about how we felt regarding the USA and the world. When I first went to Australia in 2003, he asked that I get him a stuffed Koala bear and a T-shirt which I did (and Jonnene helped me pick them out in Perth), and he was so happy to get them. I sent him one of the few actual invites to my wedding (most people in the States got announcements) because I knew he'd be pleased and it'd cheer him up.
One of his prized possessions was a yellow Volkswagen Beetle (the new version) that he kept for a couple of years. He had to sell it once his illness had become too much to allow him to drive anymore and I know that had to break his heart. He also loved new computers and new gadgets, and had a wonderful setup in his house with his Mac and other cool stuff. Most of all, Dan was an excellent graphic artist in the electronic mode and nearly everything he designed was high in quality and workmanship. The man was talented...I can't be anymore complimentary than that.
Anyway, I'll miss the guy. Knowing him was definitely worth the time taken.
Proof of dogs and cats living together! We kept a neighbor's chocolate lab for a week while they were out of town. Our cat, Taz, didn't seem to have much of a problem with it.
Outside our house....flags that reflect the occupants inside.
At last Sunday's triathlon: Seth (right) talks to some of the guys before the race starts.
Jonnene volunteered at the triathlon and worked as a "body marker"...putting the race numbers on the participants arms and legs.
Jonnene (center) starts near the back with the Category 5 men.
Cruising past before the first climb to the top of the lake dam.
We packed up everything, including the new bike, and headed home. Got to see a really nice sunset, too.
2007: Here I am (in the red jersey) with my little chase group...it was HOT!
While we're in Natchez I'll be picking up a time trial bike that Jonnene is helping me to purchase, a kind of birthday present. A guy in Brandon, Mississippi is selling his 2004 Guru Cron Alu TT bike (see photo above) and from what I can tell from the photos and description it is a good deal. I've had a local bike shop look over the info and he thinks it's a very good deal. Not all the components are high-end but they'll do the job. I've already converted my K2 bike back to its road racing version for this weekend and I'll test-ride the Guru Saturday. After we pick it up, I'll be making some changes...switching out the aerobar setup with my old one (I like it better), make some minor changes in positioning, and putting on the FAST wheels. I can sell the other bars and use the new wheels for training wheels. But now I'll have a true TT bike. BTW, Jonnene's looking for a new bike herself for triathlons and is drooling over the Orbeas on the market.
It looks pretty good and was exactly what the client wanted. Click on the image to see it bigger. I probably have 12 or 13 helicopters around the country sporting paint schemes that I designed. Flying right now. There have been about another 20 I've done over the last fifteen years...don't know if any of them are still spinning their blades.
A nice shot of a squirrel nibbling on something he's dug up after burying it last fall. This is in downtown Hot Springs in the park.
Our visitor from Down Under, Elena, and Jonnene walk along Bathhouse Row.
Me...off the bike and off on my second run.
Here I am zooming into transition after dealing with the bike course.
Mixed up in the middle of it all.....
My good pal, Paul...that's him at left posing as the Angry Photographer, came down from Little Rock to see the race and take his usual quality pictures. We had lunch with his parents and niece afterwards before we had to return home. There was no rest once we got back to Shreveport. Had to change and go to a small party for a couple we know who are going to spend the next two years in Saudi Arabia in connection with the Air Force's liason office. It was real nice and lots of food as well. Can't beat that!
Have you found the differences yet? Take your time....
That's right, the grass was mowed between the time the two pictures were taken! 
We had to bring two different backhoes, on two separate days, to make the hole deep enough to reach the city main, almost 12 feet down! I didn't imagine our sewer line was that deep. I had a chance to view the inside of the old line when a supervisor ran a video camera inside. Kinda reminded me of those National Geographic shows where they run a small robot inside the Egyptian pyramids. We got to see where the stoppage was (kinda gross but interesting at the same time). Anyway, we're getting an entire new line replacing the old one and it's a thicker PVC pipe which should thoroughly repel any invading roots. Plus it's stronger and shouldn't be messed up by any ground movement since the land in this neighborhood is clay-based and tend to contract and expand a lot depending on conditions. Hopefully by tonight, we'll be able to run the showers, toilets, and washers at the same time and have no problems with drainage. Then I'll have to spend some time smoothing out the front yard with all the dirt that'll be spread around. I'm so looking forward to that.
This is our brand-new lap pool! We're going to have a diving board installed in the deep end.
