My Blog

I have received compliments on "my blog" Unfortunately that is not me. That is another John (Hint I am a TAD older) Here is his link
And below is my attempt at a blog of sorts.

September 2, 2008 - We heard a story about someone's father who died. He was doing fine and one day he stood up, face turned white and died. Now thats the way I want to go. None of this hanging around costing $$$$ while waiting to die. My wife both agreed we wanted to be creameted and our ashes scattered. I want mine to be scattered along the White Rock Trail but I am not sure the Mall will let me in.

August 28, 2008 - One thing I have learned about cycling is that every one is different. We knew that already, but here I am talking about food. It is one thing to grab a donut on the way to work but if you are going to ride a bicycle for 50-60 miles you need serious food. Once I actually had coffee and donuts before a ride and I almost died. Once I tried oatmeal before a ride and it was like I has swallowed a hot stone. Never again.
My preferred breakfast before a ride is a McDonalds Sausage muffin with egg (no 2) with coke, no coffee. I have tried other combinations and this seems to work the best for me. I know riders who like yogurt, bananas, oatmeal, power bars or even avocado sandwiches (?) but I seem to need the grease.
At HHH I ate cereal bars for breakfast and felt full. Trouble was I felt full all day and had to force down water and the power drink I brought. Food was not interesting to me. Even after the ride I wasn’t hungry until about 6:00 p.m.

August 24, 2008 - If your going to try a 100 mile ride the place to do it is HHH. Well I tried. I managed to get 92 miles (which is a world record for me) before I gave out. My normal heart rate when I am really tired is 150. I really enjoyed doing the first 40 miles with an average speed of 17 mph and my heart rate was 142. After 60 miles my average went down and my heart rate went up and up. When it hit 207 for a few minutes I knew it was over. Remember 220 minus your age?
In the end I have never been so tired in my life. Funny thing, it was difficult walking across the parking lot but I it was easy to get back on the bike and ride the 2 miles back to the motel, I even went over the overpass again.
Next year I plan to to the whole 101 miles.

August 19, 2008 - Hotter n' Hell is coming - this will be....Lets see my 20th year, or som I can go look it up but what for. For the first time I am going up Friday afternoon. For the last so many years I have always left the house at 3:00 a.m. drove to HHH, Did the ride and drove right back home. Half the time I drove up alone. So this year I am not even driving and it is so different I am a bit nervous about it.

August 11, 2008 - Saturday my helmet mirror came loose and slid down. I was surprised to realize just how much i depended on it. i was constantly pushing it back up and it would just slide back down. - A little glue and I am back in business.

August 5, 2008 - A "Home Goods" store is opening in the center where Albertson's was. Not noteable except they had a sign up. Now taking applications at "Richardson Bikemart Plaza" in the empty storefront by Bikemart. Is Bikemart getting so big that they are naming the shopping center after it.

May 1, 2008 - MAYDAY - No, not a cry for help. Except maybe in my closet. It is time to open up the summer gear and put away the winter gear. I have a box that I use to store my winter bike clothing in. In the past years it has expanded to two boxes and now one barely gets opened at all. Guess it is time to throw a few things away. Some of that stuff is still good and I hate to throw it away, wonder what good will would do with a winter cycle jacket.

April 20, 2008 - A picture of my only GREAT Grand Child.

April 11, 2008 - The camera that my wife learned to love - died in the line of duty.

April 1, 2008 - My wife needed a camera she could keep at school. After some discussion she took my first digital camera, an Plympus D-450. Even with only 1.3 megapixels it takes decent pictures inside and that is where she needed it. It is a good feeling to see an old camera get a new lease on life. I had to learn how to use it all over again.

March 31, 2008 - Don't ask me how I know department: "Don't hop into the hot tub when you have a sunburn."

March 29, 2008 - Sometimes I get teased about having too many gadgets on my bike. So here is a photo of my handlebars. Do you think I have too many gasgets? Well? What are we out there for IF not to have fun.

March 5, 2008 - Received what I thought was an add to put on the for sale section. It was for an energy drink and endorsed by Lance Armstrong. It promised a 2-week supply free. Sounds tempting. Looking further I discovered that yes, you got some stuff free. BUT you were automatictly sighed up for an automatic monthly shipment of energy "stuff" costing about $50.00 a month. Now who needs that much energy "stuff"? I use the word stuff because it was drink, chews and something else.

March 4, 2008 - It has been a while. I have been riding except for the month of Jan when I came down with some kind of flu. I coughed for three weeks. But I am better now and trying to ride twice a week.

December 23, 2007 - Two years ago I bought my wife a Bisel Carpet scrubber for her birthday. I know - A real romantic gift. But she just said it was one of the best thing I ever got her.(One of the things that makes it so good is that it comes with an operator - me). With up to five cats and three dogs at one time or another, the carpets could get soiled in a hurry. We used to have the professionals out twice a year for over $300.00 a trip. The part I disliked the most was moving all the furniture, then moving it back. As Betsy got older (see below) it was a real life saver. Yesterday I cleaned the carpet one more time to cover up Betsy's last little mistakes. It is sad, we used to take such long walks that I bought a GPS to track the milage.

December 22, 2007 - It has been a while and a few things have happened, Our old dog died, we got a new dog and I got a new car. Ole Betsy was 15 which is pretty old for a dog. she has been going downhill for a while and I finally had to take her in. I sure wish that when I get like that someone would take me in instead of just letting me linger on forever. Someone we know is in the Navy and he just went over seas for a year. He got to keep his little dog. When I say little I mean little, it is a miniature dachshund, about 1/3 the size of our small Cocker Spaniel. Turns out both are the same age and they have a ball chaseing each other around.

November 19, 2007 - Two days before thanksgiving and it was 80 degrees today. This wednesday the front comes in about noon and the temperature drops. Up til now I had hopped to ride Thursday morning but the forcast is for 38 degrees in the morning. I may have to give that some thought. Some riders I know stop riding when it cools down but I try to ride all winter. Maybe not as often or as far but I still ride. I just spent a small fortune for smoe "smartwool" long underwear. I like smartwool, remember.

Nov 1, 2007 - Only 7 Trick or Treaters last night and then three of them were grand children. At least I got a few pictures and they took most of the candy so I wont eat it. Of course you understand that when I buy the candy I only get stuff I like, so it is good they took so much..

October 27, 2007 - For years my wife has insisted on paying some lawn service or another large sums of money to fertilize the yard. I didn't object because I didn't want to do the job my self. Finally last year we stopped the lawn service and I got a few veiled threats like, "The grass had better grow". The first year the grass looked awful, as usual, but this year it has really taken off and I needed to mow twice a week. (I didn't but I needed to.) I think I spent about $100.00 on fertilizer THIS YEAR and the grass looks better than it ever did when we spent almost $65.00 a month. The real chore will be to get my wife to admit I was right.

October 26, 2008 - Finally the it is getting cooler. It seems like texas has two seasons - HOT and COLD with very little in-between. Now is the time to start dragging out all the winter clothing. This spring I purchased biking sandals, it will be interesting to see how long the last even with heavy wool socks. I am a big fan of wool, you know. Years ago RBM sold me a wool t-shirt. WOOL???? "Try it, if you don't like it, bring it back", he said. I wore that t-shirt for years until either it shrunk or I grew. They say (whoever they are) that before all these wonder fibers, there was wool. Now I will only wear wool sock when biking and for winter have my eye on some Smartwool long underwear to go under my tights on those very cold days. Some riders can go all winter and never cover their legs. Me, I have to keep my legs warm.

October 20, 2007 - I was riding the trail this morning and I came upon a group of riders standing around, blocking the trail. A girl had fallen and one rider was helping her dust off and the rest were standing around socializing. When I suggested that a little courtsey would be in order thay got all snooty, "Well it is an emergency". Emergency, my ass. The injured party was standing and getting back on her bicycle. (In fact she beat me to the parking not.) The rest were just standing around and making no effort to move when a rider came by. I understand that later, they were still there, and another rider read them the riot act. I learned my lesson years ago when I stopped at the bottom of a long hill and no sooner had I put my feet down when someone put the lights out.

Octobrt 16, 2007 - The remodeled bathroom has recessed "bullet lights". I thought they were equipped with 150 watt flood lights. So I bought the "green" florescent floodlights to replace them. (Note: there are very few real light bulbs in my house.) To my surprise the new lights are much brighter and whiter than the old ones. Don't know if I like it or not. For 23 watts they sure put out a lot of light. I think I will look for the 13 watt flood lights.

October 13, 2007 - My wife picked free tickets to the Stars game last night. So we took the two grandkids. Free???? First, $20.00 for parking then the concession stand cost $39.00, And that was just the first trip. Then they ended up with a stars hat, and you know the routine. Well they are only young once.

October 11, 2007 - There are two sounds (I am sure there are more) that stick in your mind forever., One is the sound of a 12mm Rocket coming in and the other is the sound of your wheels losing traction at 20 MPH in a curve. They both sound alike in a wierd kind of way. When I lost traction I skinned my knee. When I walked in the house my son looked up, looked at the blood running down my leg and asked, "Did you hurt the bike?" The next day at work I was limping and my co-workers all asked the same question. I have heard stories of riders going into surgery with a death grip on their titanium bike. The doctor said to stay off the bike for a month or so "because I would get the wound dirty". I lasted a week.

October 10, 2007 - White Rock - I did my usual Wednesday Morning ride down the Trail, this time starting at Anderson Bonner Park. It was refreshing to shiver early in the morning, first time for a while. Now it can only get colder. To my surprise there were a lot of people on the trail. Maybe it has to do with the cooler weather. One thing bothered me. I see people walking their dog around the lake. I wonder, do they walk all the way around for 10 miles or part way then turn around? Lawther has been changed to one-way so they can rebuild the old trail. Read more here

October 6, 2007 - Something to think about - Years ago I was at a rally in Paris, TX. I met this desperate couple. He had the car keys in his bike bag and lost the bag. One of the last riders gave them a ride to Bedford so he could get his spare key and go back to Paris to get his car. Must have made for a long day. Not long after that my riding buddy lost the keys to his car and I had visions hitchhiking home. then at the last minute he found his keys. After that I told him I would not ride with him unless he gave me a spare key. Now I carry an extra key on my bicycle (hidden away and that is not easy on a bicycle) and when some one rides, with me, to the rally I give him a spare key to the truck. A worst case scenario could be; Two people ride to a rally a 100 miles from home. Half way thru the ride the driver get hit and is taken to a hospital. His friend gets back to the parking lot and is stuck with a locked vehicle. Now granted he might get to the hospital and get the key, un less of course the keys were lost in the accident. (I said this was worst case)

October 3, 2007 - I got up early this morning to the sound of light rain on the skylight. By the time I got out of bed the rain had stopped and there was a glimmer of hope on the horizon. Usually I ride on Wednesday morning but I hesitated, the trail would be wet, it might rain. They say “discretion is the better part of Valor” (Not sure exactly what that means but I like the sound of it). So I went to work. Now here I sit at work and it is pouring outside. Usually when I decide not to ride, the sun shines and I feel dumb but today for a change I can feel smart.

October 2, 2007 - Concerning my tirade about squirrels. Last night on PBS I watched The War. One vet made a statement that he had so little training before going into combat that if he hadn't done a lot of squirrel hunting as a kid he never would have made it.

October 1, 2007 - I have to report that the bathroom has been completed for a while now. We have our closets back and almost everything put away. I say almost because I still have two boxes of "stuff" sitting on the floor of my "office" to be put away someday.

September 19, 2007 - Squirrels - Everybody hates Squirrels, "Rats with fuzzy tails" et. But here is a thought: Squirrels helped America win the American revolution. Back in those days there were no supermarkets, in you wanted to eat you had to shoot it first. Squirrels were plentiful back then too, maybe even more. So the hungary settler saw all the little critters running around when he went out to get supper. Now consider this. Squirrels are small and hard to shoot. If you wanted anything left to eat you had to shoot the squirrel in the head. If they could do that, how could they miss a big red coat?

September 14, 2007 - Got the hot tub fixed. Aaaaaaaaaah......

September 9, 2007 - woe is me.... My hot tub is leaking. At least I was able to remove the covers and find the leak. Not that I am in the mood to do the repairs my self. I did that on my old hot tub but this one has more electronics and I think I will just have Morgan come out and to the work.
Aside: I know I hear about the wonders of a cold shower after a long hot ride but to me there is nothing like jumping into a tub of 102 degree water after a long hot ride. In the winter I raise the water up to 104 degree (that is the max) then it really feels good after a long cold ride.

September 2, 2007 - A few years ago I wondered how I could spend 5 hours on a bicycle and still be comfortable while 5 minutes of lawn mowing left me miserable for hours. Maybe it was that expensive bicycle jersey. As an experiment, I purchased some Coolmax T-shirts. The difference was amazing.
Since than, those shirts have become the essence of grunge, with dirt stains that won’t ever wash out. I even have one with chain ring tracks running across my chest. Now how did I do that? Still I won’t give up those grungy old shirts. I also have coolmax headbands and Coolmasx underwear. Both work great.,
My family knows what I like and they have tried to buy me new shirts. But I usually up with a shirt made from some material with some variation of the word “dry” in it. After wearing these shirts I have come to this conclusion: Manufactures can come up with a fancy term but it does not have to work any better that a plain old cotton t-shirt. AND just polyester is not much better.
I might mention that I have two old bicycle jerseys that are not Coolmax and I only wear them in the winter because they are not Coolmax.
Recently I went into one of those “big box” sport barns and asked for Coolmax and all I got was a blank stare. I looked around and nobody seems to carry Coolmax anymore so I went to the web and found a place that carries Coolmax clothing. Guess what the newest colors were; Desert Tan and Army Brown. It appears that the soldiers going to the “sandbox” have discovered that the Coolmax T-shirts are much cooler than the old cotton issue t-shirts and are wearing them under their uniforms. If you have a relative over there, it would make a great gift.
Dissenting opinions are appreciated - really.

August 31, 207 - About five years ago I was riding with a friend on a 40 mile ride thru Farmersville. We stopped at a gas station for a Gatorade and cookie. In the next booth an elderly looking farmer got to talking about how he rode a bicycle when he was younger. In the course of conversation he asked:
“How old are you?”
“Sixty”
“your friend, is he 60 to?”
“Uh, no he is 80.”
“Eighty!!!!!!!”
About that time my friend, John Becker came out of the bathroom and admitted he wasn’t 80 years old, only 79.
Some of you old timers may remember John. Always in the back but he kept on coming. When he had knee problems, we realized his legs were so strong he didn’t bother to downshift on hills. He had to learn to downshift at 79 years of age. Since then he had slowed down but even a brain tumor has not stopped him from cycling altogether. Now he has a EZ-1 Trike. It is a heavy bike and he does not have the energy he had before, so he cannot go far but he still rides.
John isn’t that unusual I have known other old timers that have left me in the dust (not that it is that hard.).
But still think about it, how far are you going to ride when you are 79 years old.
Maybe if you keep riding, maybe you will,. who knows - maybe I will.

Aug 28, 2007 - I have taken a lot of pictures in the last few years. Every now and then I get an e-mail that makes my day. Just recently I took a picture of two guys who had been friends for 45 years. I have heard from riders who were on their first ride (my favorite). One from the mother of a young man who was on his way to Iraq after the ride. One from a father who was doing a last ride with his son before he went off to college. Kinda makes a guy feel special.

Aug 26, 2007 - HHH is over. Got up at 2:24 , picked up my friend at 3:00 and drove to the IHOP in denton. Usually it is very quiet but this year all the NT students were having a last minute filing before going back to school. The cops in the parking lot were not there for the coffee. We arrived at the ride at 6:00 a.m.. In the past there was plenty of parking, this year, none. They must have had a good turnout. Fortunately I had done some research on the parking and noted the over flow parking areas. Unfortunately I left the maps at home. Fortunately I remembered enough to drive around to the overflow area where there was lots of parking, at least for a while. Since recumbent's get to start first and I remembered the map were we parked was two blocks from the start. I was surprised at the number of cheaters who were lining the sidewalks waiting for the ride to start so they could jump out and block traffic by riding a 10 miles an hour. Any way I joined my recumbent friends at 7:00 a.m. and expeced to have a half hour of social time before the start. Then they announced "Tandems and Recumbents are starting at 7:03" and off we went. I always do well at HHH and on one time my average was over 16 mph. Not bad for me. I ended up with 14.5 average. I want the thank the lawyer from Plano who rode with me for a while and kept me moving at a real fast clip when my legs were ready to slow down.

August 24, 2007 - Well I am a college student again. One of the few advantages of getting old is that I can take college credit cousres for free. So I am signed up for "Intermediate GIS" at Brookhaven. It is one of those courses with a 1:15 hour lecture and and 1:15 hour lab. I have always had trouble staying awake during meetings or lectures. My excuse has always been that I have low blood pressure. but in reality it is not that low. Have to keep riding.

August 19, 2007 - Hotter n Hell is coming. My "modis operandi" has been to rise at 2:45 a.m. and drive to the ride, bike 62 miles and drive bqck. My wife thinks I am crazy but that is not the only reason, but we won't go into that right now. Usually I take a friend so it is not a lonely ride and I have someone to keep me awake on the drive back. This year I will do it again for the 19th time. After we spent all that money on painting we decided we had enough money left to get a new refrigerator. that was last weekend. apparently the washing machine got jealous and quit, so this weekend we got a new washer and dryer. Going thru some papers I discovered the washer was purchased in 1997.

August 8, 2007 - Has it been really only 3 days since my last post. I am getting to old to move furniture. It just has me wore out. I do have the main components set up and working now I have to decide what to do with the ten boxes still sitting the garage.