Sometimes election outcomes are exquisite. This time voters resuscitated republicans and slapped democrats on the side of the head – needed actions I'd say – putting professional politicians on notice. Nearly perfect! (If only a viable, organized, third party had emerged, but alas no.) Because both parties are not yet honorable, I don’t believe much of what their principals or media reps have to say. At the federal level, I view the vortex of fiscal (taxes, budgets, debt)—policy (government overreach) – and vision (individual liberty vs. state-mandated “freedom” and “equality”, aka “fairness”) as the central problem of our time. Just what did the 2010 voting do? You have to step back and look at the big picture.
Don’t waste time considering whether tea and republican parties get along, or whether conservatives and moderates survive as democrats. These are distractions used to fill television time and print space. Resolution will come with time. Rather consider this. Federal government is stalled for a couple of years. There will be a lot of flailing by participants practicing their posturing, but not much will occur in this vortex. Actions will occur on the periphery and the central paralysis will have its greatest impact in the states, particularly California and New York and states similarly comprised.
In CA and NY voters achieved a sublime accomplishment at precisely the right time. They left in charge the principals who created the highly unstable budgetary situations existing therein. It’s perfect karma. In California and NY, voters stuck with what got us here (perhaps the democrats successfully demonized opponents.) Perfect. Now democrats are responsible for cleaning up the messes they have created – as it should be. If I were a republican strategist in these two states, I’d leave state governance to the democrats until the state fiscal problems were solved. I’d concentrate on city, town, village and county politics and build the grass roots in the stinking manure spread everywhere by hapless state machines. If republicans (or a third party) act honorably at the local level, in a couple of generations, there would not be a democrat left in these states.
Voters elsewhere have said to residents of CA and NY, go for it, but don’t come to us for help, because we chose a different path. This week Arnold called an emergency session because the CA budget crisis is worse than anticipated. I’d bet the actual figure is worse than the stated $25B. In CA and NY states we’ll see what democratic control delivers to “fix” the problems. These are two experiments that I will watch with almost morbid fascination. High income families are already leaving, taking incomes with them, so higher taxation will only increase the flight. Here’s a solution progressives in CA might consider – a state takeover of the entertainment industry – it’s a big cash cow and those actors make way too much money. NY could do a similar thing to the financial industry. That’s a joke. I reject state control of any business but my cynicism has reached a level at which it would not surprise me to see these fanciful actions seriously considered.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Thursday, November 4, 2010
An Independent's View
Because democrats and republicans are sure to impose their story line on the election results, I hope some of them will read this, and spread the word. Neither party appeals to me. Parties are legal conspiracies to gain electoral and regulatory power. That democrats and republicans have locked up election processes in every state is a sign of how far we are from free and open elections – it’s a lot easier to win elections and gain power if you only have one opponent. That’s why I vote for third parties and will keep doing so until there are viable alternatives to democrats and republicans.
I am hopeful about the tea party movement (TPM) – I see it as an organic, self-organizing, response of the people to current political choices: I too favor free markets, low taxes, less intrusive government, balanced budgets, and constitutional governance. The TPM perspective is about integrity of federal government processes, not specific policies except as they violate the integrity of the process. In a real sense the TPM is apolitical, relative to democrat and republican perspectives. There are so many examples of a lack of integrity in federal processes, it is hard to know what to address first. I think TPM members focused a lot of energy on taxes, overspending, and debt and deficit because their lives are shaped by family income, balancing debt and income, and making hard choices about what to buy – and they know the consequences of bad management of these processes. Deep down I think we all know that our country is on the cusp of an unpleasant future if we do not exercise credible restraint. On this, it is interesting to note that the federal government has some of the toughest accounting standards, as any business that has federal contracts knows. Yet these standards are not imposed on federal budgeting processes. It’s a case of do as I say not as I do. Let’s stop this by adopting commonly accepted accounting practices to all federal programs and federal budgeting processes. This will immediately reveal the true state of our deficit and debt problems. Because the problems that we have created for ourselves have come into being over time, we have to work ourselves out overtime. The incoming Speaker of the House has called for spending to be capped at 2008 levels. This is admirable, but insufficient. The federal budget must be balanced. There are two parts to process. First, federal income has to be capped at a fixed percentage of GDP (20% is a good figure because it permits support for national defense [4-5% of GDP] and popular social programs like social security and Medicare – if these programs are constructed and run properly). Second, spending must be limited to income. Both of these steps have to be instituted via statute or via constitutional amendment to ensure their effectiveness. These steps create the mechanism by which undesirable government programs are defunded and eliminated, and will incentivize efficiency – the only way to increase spending on a program is to find or create savings elsewhere. I have been fortunate in this recession and I am thankful. This good fortune makes me willing to endure too high taxes for a while to help those in need, but not to expand the entitlement state -- there is a difference between helping those in need in hard times and permanent, coerced, transfers of my income to others.
At the same time, I am also angry, and I trace my anger to two aspects of the health insurance reform process. First and foremost, I did not elect a congressional representative to put into law a mandate to buy health insurance. I communicated this to him, but he disregarded me and the will of the district. We just fixed the representative problem in the past election, but it will take years to undo the damage his vote has created, because nearly as odious (as the individual mandate) was the use of reconciliation to pass the health insurance reform bill. This abuse of legislative process will come back to haunt those who used it so, and I know in my heart the outcomes of such future abuses will not be pleasant. Somehow the legislative branches must preclude all future uses of reconciliation for such purposes. There is a reason the Senate is constructed as it is. Senate processes force deliberative and consensual decision making among the major forces at play in any issue. In the end, Senate processes offer the best protection of the rights of minority interests. Sometimes the minority interests are objectively correct, and their protection is important for the health of the nation.
I consider myself a thoughtful person, and my thoughts run this way. There is a new Congress coming. They have been sent a relatively clear signal. The country wants the Congress to engage in meaningful, fiscally responsible discussions about what to do to put the country right. I personally am able to be patient as long as I see steady progress in the right direction. At a minimum, the Congress, the Senate, and the President should know I will keep my eye on them and make my choices accordingly.
I am hopeful about the tea party movement (TPM) – I see it as an organic, self-organizing, response of the people to current political choices: I too favor free markets, low taxes, less intrusive government, balanced budgets, and constitutional governance. The TPM perspective is about integrity of federal government processes, not specific policies except as they violate the integrity of the process. In a real sense the TPM is apolitical, relative to democrat and republican perspectives. There are so many examples of a lack of integrity in federal processes, it is hard to know what to address first. I think TPM members focused a lot of energy on taxes, overspending, and debt and deficit because their lives are shaped by family income, balancing debt and income, and making hard choices about what to buy – and they know the consequences of bad management of these processes. Deep down I think we all know that our country is on the cusp of an unpleasant future if we do not exercise credible restraint. On this, it is interesting to note that the federal government has some of the toughest accounting standards, as any business that has federal contracts knows. Yet these standards are not imposed on federal budgeting processes. It’s a case of do as I say not as I do. Let’s stop this by adopting commonly accepted accounting practices to all federal programs and federal budgeting processes. This will immediately reveal the true state of our deficit and debt problems. Because the problems that we have created for ourselves have come into being over time, we have to work ourselves out overtime. The incoming Speaker of the House has called for spending to be capped at 2008 levels. This is admirable, but insufficient. The federal budget must be balanced. There are two parts to process. First, federal income has to be capped at a fixed percentage of GDP (20% is a good figure because it permits support for national defense [4-5% of GDP] and popular social programs like social security and Medicare – if these programs are constructed and run properly). Second, spending must be limited to income. Both of these steps have to be instituted via statute or via constitutional amendment to ensure their effectiveness. These steps create the mechanism by which undesirable government programs are defunded and eliminated, and will incentivize efficiency – the only way to increase spending on a program is to find or create savings elsewhere. I have been fortunate in this recession and I am thankful. This good fortune makes me willing to endure too high taxes for a while to help those in need, but not to expand the entitlement state -- there is a difference between helping those in need in hard times and permanent, coerced, transfers of my income to others.
At the same time, I am also angry, and I trace my anger to two aspects of the health insurance reform process. First and foremost, I did not elect a congressional representative to put into law a mandate to buy health insurance. I communicated this to him, but he disregarded me and the will of the district. We just fixed the representative problem in the past election, but it will take years to undo the damage his vote has created, because nearly as odious (as the individual mandate) was the use of reconciliation to pass the health insurance reform bill. This abuse of legislative process will come back to haunt those who used it so, and I know in my heart the outcomes of such future abuses will not be pleasant. Somehow the legislative branches must preclude all future uses of reconciliation for such purposes. There is a reason the Senate is constructed as it is. Senate processes force deliberative and consensual decision making among the major forces at play in any issue. In the end, Senate processes offer the best protection of the rights of minority interests. Sometimes the minority interests are objectively correct, and their protection is important for the health of the nation.
I consider myself a thoughtful person, and my thoughts run this way. There is a new Congress coming. They have been sent a relatively clear signal. The country wants the Congress to engage in meaningful, fiscally responsible discussions about what to do to put the country right. I personally am able to be patient as long as I see steady progress in the right direction. At a minimum, the Congress, the Senate, and the President should know I will keep my eye on them and make my choices accordingly.
Monday, September 27, 2010
More on being rich
27 September 2010 – I am reading Mad as Hell (MaH) , a book written by an independent (Rasmussen) and a moderate democratic (Schoen) pollster about the emergence of the Tea Party. Today I am going through the first few chapters, wherein they describe and recount the “causes” of the rise of the TP – one of which seems at odds with what I wrote last week about being rich. MaH imparts the impression of a great loss of living standard in the country. If my liberal friends happen on this book they would through all the statistics in my face and demand an explanation as to my claim that we are mostly “rich” in this society. My response is straightforward. To reach a natural end of life an individual needs food and shelter, and perhaps some medical attention (emergency rooms are, by law, open to all) from time to time. I argue: Decent provision of these items is possible on modest incomes. Modest additional expenditure brings a wide variety of cultural and educational opportunities. For me, this is being rich, because an individual has the opportunity to make of herself whatever she wishes. Only when we accept argument (advertisements) that define the good life as acquiring – at substantial cost – some additional material good do we become entangled in endless arguments about what it takes to be rich. If I can obtain and read any book, attend community college, interact with persons the world over, and express my views to the entire world – all at virtually no cost – then I not only have the power to shape my own destiny but also to encourage others to do the same. Having accepted the former premise has led me to reject the notion that I need big government to watch over me, helping me all the time, prescribing what medical coverage I should have, etc, etc. Having rejected these notions, I view the government as most useful in developing consensual standards but not expensive mandates, defending legal rights of individuals, and defense of the nation. I surely don’t need the tax burden imposed in order to support things I don’t need.
Sure, we have gotten ourselves into some expensive traps (Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security), but having done so only creates the interesting problem of how to transform these traps into important opportunities for change and improving our nation. Solving these problems will involve some costs and sacrifices, but the sooner we start the sooner things will start improving. As a person on the leading edge of the boomer generation, I respectfully submit that we boomers make the most sacrifices.
Thought for the day: A book is like a clutch -- it helps put the mind in gear.
Sure, we have gotten ourselves into some expensive traps (Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security), but having done so only creates the interesting problem of how to transform these traps into important opportunities for change and improving our nation. Solving these problems will involve some costs and sacrifices, but the sooner we start the sooner things will start improving. As a person on the leading edge of the boomer generation, I respectfully submit that we boomers make the most sacrifices.
Thought for the day: A book is like a clutch -- it helps put the mind in gear.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Why the tea party isn't going anywhere anytime soon
26 September 2010 -- George Carlin did an effective routine mocking the “stuff” we accrue, the basic point of which was: We have too much – not just external stuff, but internal stuff too (e.g., fat is just energy stored for future use, yet some of us carry enough for a couple of life times). If we are materially rich by historical standards, and well-off by almost any other standard then why is there malaise, anger, and divisiveness amongst us. I see two sources. First, I sense a loss of spirituality among many of us. Without getting into a rant about professional sports, watching rich men play games has become very important to many of us. Why? Is watching MLB, NFL and NBA more important than contemplating and acting on our first and most important principles? The last great civilization to raise entertainment to mass spectacle did not fare well, and I believe historians generally view the rise of the “games” to be a symptom of the decay of the Roman Empire. In my opinion, consternation about decay in our own society is not a productive activity because it misses the point I believe most important anyway: Change is a consequence of individual actions aggregated across the population as a whole. And on this point, I am optimistic for positive change. Although I do not belong to any tea party group, I previously published newspaper opinion pieces that made many of the same points. Thereafter, I was not aware of any change. However, the failure of this Democratic administration and Congress to listen to people’s concerns, and the subsequent actions that they did take created the environment in which the tea party took root. Now, the tea party movement (which is not a Republican party movement) exists as a decentralized, yet connected and vigilant, force in American politics (It is interesting to note that there are other examples of these relatively spontaneous movements emergence, for example during Tiananmen Square actions and more recently the Green movement in Iran; and there examples of excellent use of the internet to organize party politics in this country in Howard Dean’s and Obama’s runs for the presidential nomination). The tea party is coalesced around some constitutional and governmental principles which have such force with a large proportion of the U.S. citizenry that I predict the tea party movement will be with us for a long time. Whether in morphs into a political party is debatable, but I hope not because political parties are at their base open conspiracies to reward some constituencies and not others. We need some focused on the greater good, which in the end means the good of all, not just those on the winning side of an election. Contemplation, yet not blind acceptance, of first principles (e.g., the golden rule, Buddhist, Christian or Islamic principles, etc) is a basis for choosing actions that are more likely to serve the good of all. The second source is a lack of tolerance for those who differ from us, followed by the implementation of laws, taxes, and authorities to discourage the behaviors and views not tolerated. For example, the criminalization of drug use created vast new populations of “criminals”. Our war on drugs has not stopped the consumption, but it has created hundreds of thousands, if not millions of criminals – all of whom become more alienated from the rest of us because their ability to participate fully in society is curtailed. Another example, the “health” lobby keeps raising taxes on smokers – well beyond the point where they are paying for their medical bills caused by smoking – on rich people (via luxury taxes), the rich (via luxury taxes), and drinkers (using taxes rather than prohibition to attempt to eradicate this wayward behavior). Enough I say. Let’s devise a world view of government for the good of all – one that fosters a tax system in which all citizens contribute revenues to the state, and in which the burden of taxes on each citizen is not onerous. Whoa Bill. Get back to the point here. The point is: Contemplation, not blind acceptance, of first principles will engender tolerance. Tolerance will engender more careful consideration of what is fair, and doing the fair thing will increase the good for all. Clearly, putting burdens on our children and theirs is a long way from doing the fair thing, no matter what high-minded rhetoric you wrap it in. It’s stll a bunch of “stuff” (I’d use another word, but I’m sure you already know that other word).
Thought for the day: I’ll pay my bills, you pay yours. If one of us suffers a catastrophe, we’ll sit down and figure it out.
Thought for the day: I’ll pay my bills, you pay yours. If one of us suffers a catastrophe, we’ll sit down and figure it out.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Aren't most of us rich?
24 September 2010 -- In our home everyone has a room of their own and there are common rooms as well. Our bathrooms are convenient, comfortable environments for sanitation and getting clean. This home was financed via a mortgage wherein we adhered to an older principle (25% of income for home ownership) that enabled us to pay it off a few years early. We have the capability of eating nutritious tasty food every day if we wish. Clothes, books, movies, and music – of any type – are available at a reasonable price without leaving home. Access to the world of news and entertainment is just a few movements away, via methods both convenient and inexpensive. So I have asked myself and others, “In what other age in the history of man, or in what other parts of the world would we not be considered rich?” My own response is, “Very few” and these few are basically those of other modern societies much like our own. I believe an economic analysis of costs would show that the lifestyle described above is attainable for a typical family with a median household income.
So one has to ask, “What factors are creating so much financial stress for typical families”? From personal experience, I offer these candidates: Litigation (having to employ a lawyer always costs more than the value received in return); automobiles (which are one item where technology raises the cost rather than the reverse); insurance of all types (where the insurance companies always take the good side of the bet – that is, they bet you will be healthy, not have an accident, or not die); higher education (where technology also drives up costs); government (where takings have almost [but not quite] always inexorably risen since the introduction of the 16th amendment and the rise of the modern social democratic state); and our own desire for a better life (in which category I place such things as second homes, boats, designer clothes, expensive travel, and an endless variety of other items of luxury ). Here I am not making a value judgment about the items in this paragraph, but rather pointing out that the notion of being rich is relative, and further that by all historical standards almost all people in this country are “rich”. I find my thoughts are centered by considering this perspective from time to time.
To be sure, as those of you who know me know, I have beliefs about lawyers, insurance, government, and the wisdom of pursuing material luxury -- I am sure I will write about these things in good time -- yet to remain “rich” and continue to prosper we must live together and accommodate our differences. In my opinion, accommodation is not well-served by the “pure and righteous” imposing by force and taxation (another form of force) their view on the “wayward and ignorant”. In particular, as a former scientist and applied mathematician, I have a healthy respect for the limits of rational models (like those used in economics, transportation, and the life and social sciences), wherein the error components are substantial, and are all lumped into the term “chance”. Simply stated, a lot of stuff happens by chance, and I prefer it that way.
Thought for the day: It is pretty risky to not take chances.
So one has to ask, “What factors are creating so much financial stress for typical families”? From personal experience, I offer these candidates: Litigation (having to employ a lawyer always costs more than the value received in return); automobiles (which are one item where technology raises the cost rather than the reverse); insurance of all types (where the insurance companies always take the good side of the bet – that is, they bet you will be healthy, not have an accident, or not die); higher education (where technology also drives up costs); government (where takings have almost [but not quite] always inexorably risen since the introduction of the 16th amendment and the rise of the modern social democratic state); and our own desire for a better life (in which category I place such things as second homes, boats, designer clothes, expensive travel, and an endless variety of other items of luxury ). Here I am not making a value judgment about the items in this paragraph, but rather pointing out that the notion of being rich is relative, and further that by all historical standards almost all people in this country are “rich”. I find my thoughts are centered by considering this perspective from time to time.
To be sure, as those of you who know me know, I have beliefs about lawyers, insurance, government, and the wisdom of pursuing material luxury -- I am sure I will write about these things in good time -- yet to remain “rich” and continue to prosper we must live together and accommodate our differences. In my opinion, accommodation is not well-served by the “pure and righteous” imposing by force and taxation (another form of force) their view on the “wayward and ignorant”. In particular, as a former scientist and applied mathematician, I have a healthy respect for the limits of rational models (like those used in economics, transportation, and the life and social sciences), wherein the error components are substantial, and are all lumped into the term “chance”. Simply stated, a lot of stuff happens by chance, and I prefer it that way.
Thought for the day: It is pretty risky to not take chances.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
A series of singular events
23 September 2010 – The last question I have been contemplating is “what’s next?” To be honest this issue is on my mind a lot. I could make this entry short by stating, “No decision yet” and leaving it there. Despite no clear image of what to do next, there are a variety of related issues to cover. The choice has to feel right – the Tour of Water Balloons always felt so – it’s the country’s loss that no water balloon tossing ever spontaneously arose. At lunch the other day, Geoff offered the idea of an annual ride with more emphasis on getting the word out, and giving the country another chance. I have thought about this, but can’t say that it’s going to happen with me as the prime mover. With just one long distance backpacking trip (across Oregon with my brother Rick), one wandering trip around the country in a converted school bus (with another couple from Connecticut south, then through the Midwest, and eventually ending up in Florida), and one Tour of Water Balloons, my history does not suggest of encourage a repeat performance. I am left with two thoughts. First, these previous events each had a spontaneous component to them (either the initial thought or commitment), followed much later by the serious planning. No such spontaneity is self evident at this point. Second, while thinking about thinking about what to do next, I was struck by how segmented my life can be, and how some segments are more conducive to thinking (about anything) than others. I can’t think about anything if the TV is on. Either I am watching “news” which is highly segmented and attention demanding programming, or I am watching a movie – the good ones engaging both my thoughts and my emotions and the bad ones putting me promptly to sleep. If I am on my 10-mile ride in the morning, I can think for about 35 of the 55 minutes (the first ten minutes, and a minute here and there are too hazardous). For me the best time for thinking is the half or whole hour I put aside to smoke a cigar outside in the evening. This is what I did tonight, but nothing came of it. So right now here I sit. I do know I am going to keep this blog going, but I will probably turn my attention away from cycling and water balloons to those other topics that interest me, all of which might be put in the single bag labeled “Things to consider to improve our country” although I smell and hear a bit of pretention in those words. Read on or don’t read on, or as I like to say, “Do what you want, you will anyway.”
Thought for the day: Foolish hobgoblins are the constancy of little minds.
Thought for the day: Foolish hobgoblins are the constancy of little minds.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Acts of persistence and commitment -- minor miracles in the modern world
22 September 2010 -- Like yesterday and all the days before that I am still here in my own skin asking if I have changed. My mystical connections are as remote from their original roots as they were before the Tour. I slipped right back into my life here in Tempe. For me it’s a good life in a well-run city. The damn 5-month summers here didn’t change either (one consolation is the dry underarms). Yet I think I have changed in two ways. The first change started way back when I mentioned the Tour to some friends and associates at the Lab. Their questions basically pushed me (in a put up or shut up kind of way) to start down the path to the Tour. I picked up that dilapidated Schwinn stationary bike, bought the real Trek 1.2 bike, set a date, and then actually started exercising. This process involved keeping at it, listening to what my body was telling my mind WRT what it wanted to do exercise-wise. Over the ensuing 13 months I lost 25 or so pounds, began feeling marginal better and more fit (the Tour was never about the bike or exercise for me), and now find I have a place in my life for making the 10.1 mile circuit around Tempe – mostly every day. That’s a change. The second change is in my mind’s eye. As readers know, I had a certain vision of the Tour before I had ever seen (from a bicycling perspective) the roads of the Midwest. In my mind’s eye there was a certain sense of how things would go with Dad as companion, and how each day – after the riding – would go. I imagined so much more interaction with folks than actually occurred. The reality of the Tour impressed on me a permanent change in how much I trust my mind’s eye as a veridical model of the world to come. Reality rubs down all the sharp edges on a crisp mind’s eye view of it. I can accept that without too much sadness, regret, or sense of loss because I also changed my view of my own resilience and persistence – these now being stronger than before, but not to say that I claim great levels of either. I am just a guy getting along in the world, I seem to be like a lot of other guys, and I don’t need help I haven’t requested (on this point I note that Dad got a little testy with me because I was engaging in behaviors intended to help him walk less – and he didn’t want any help, saying “I have to walk as much as I can as long as I can.” It occurs to me, at this particular stage in our national story, a lot more of us could do with more of this viewpoint).
“Is that the sum total of the changes that occurred?” I hear you ask. Well, no. My forearms, calves, and thighs are fitter than they have been in a long time. My internet activities in social networking and video documentation now exist and are more extensive (I’m writing this blog, aren’t I). My appreciation for the vast agricultural regions of the Midwest is much improved. My sense of appreciation for quirky aspects of life (like the little Dorena-Hickman ferry) is enhanced. The longer I sit here the more such changes I could enumerate, but the longer I sit here the less I am out there. One has to strike a balance and I am satisfied that this entry captures the essence of what I have to say. Tomorrow I will speculate on what’s next.
Thought for the day: Accept change as the clay added to a model created by a sculptor – each change accepted in pursuit of the essence of the end goal.
To JKSFAM: You go dude(tte).
“Is that the sum total of the changes that occurred?” I hear you ask. Well, no. My forearms, calves, and thighs are fitter than they have been in a long time. My internet activities in social networking and video documentation now exist and are more extensive (I’m writing this blog, aren’t I). My appreciation for the vast agricultural regions of the Midwest is much improved. My sense of appreciation for quirky aspects of life (like the little Dorena-Hickman ferry) is enhanced. The longer I sit here the more such changes I could enumerate, but the longer I sit here the less I am out there. One has to strike a balance and I am satisfied that this entry captures the essence of what I have to say. Tomorrow I will speculate on what’s next.
Thought for the day: Accept change as the clay added to a model created by a sculptor – each change accepted in pursuit of the essence of the end goal.
To JKSFAM: You go dude(tte).
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Findings 1 -- We are who we are
21 September 2010 -- I have been and am still sitting here (in the place I always am – my own skin) and ask myself these questions: Did I learn anything as a result of the Tour? Have I changed? What’s next? The answer to these questions are (as Air Force personnel with whom I work like to say, and in varying ways) “That depends.”
How so you ask? What did you learn? To which I start by saying “No new first principles, no mystical moment of revelation, no clear and unifying prescription for what ails our country (I still believe we are ill)”, but continue by adding, “I learned that my father is satisfied with his life and for all the traditional reasons: He says he was fortunate to have two different women to love and be loved by, to have four sons raised into productive adults of whom he is proud, to have had a career doing work he loves. I also learned details of his life of which before I was only dimly aware: His lifelong friends were all high school friends; he managed a bookstore; he has no desire to document his life for others.” It was illuminating to see how, at 92, he copes with the limitations that age has visited upon him; to observe that together we created a process that led us from the Minnesota-Canada border to the Louisiana gulf (as he said we would without detailed preplanning); to appreciate that we could spend 25 or 26 days and nights together in close quarters; to celebrate the fact that he is still a vital human being who affects in a very positive way the people in his life. These alone made the Tour worthwhile. “Is that it? you ask. No there’s more. For about ten years now I have made my political views known (in articles written for the East Valley Tribune, and conversations with anyone who would sit and talk with me). Ideas like this: The R and D political parties are corrupt – don’t vote for them; Taxes are too high (There must be a legal limit on the total takings (of all levels of) government can extract from an individual, and all individuals must pay taxes (so they have an interest in the use of taxes); Government should set standards, enforce laws justly, defend its citizens, and get out of their way; and, we would all be better served by more tolerance. I am happy to see a lot of the country is coming around to these point of view – as I am not much for devoting energy to movements myself. I learned (before and after Geoff told me he undertook some efforts to raise national and local [in New Orleans] awareness of the Tour, and despite these efforts – no water balloons) that most folks are focused on their own lives and it takes a fair amount of conversation to get in there. Most seem to manage their lives pretty well -- this I take to be a positive finding (in the vein of a great flywheel of society sort of way). On a personal level, I learned I could pedal a bicycle 40 miles a day, day in and day out. At 65, this is a reassuring finding, as it provides hope for a future like the present that my Dad lives in. I learned that I am still Bill because as I sit here I still like to smoke good hand-rolled cigars, go to small casinos and gamble, eat well, and most of all can’t wait to say to those former lunch time companions and friends, “Na Na Na Na NANA, who is crazy now?”
More tomorrow.
Thought for the day: Tea party folks are crazy like me! What’s wrong with that?
How so you ask? What did you learn? To which I start by saying “No new first principles, no mystical moment of revelation, no clear and unifying prescription for what ails our country (I still believe we are ill)”, but continue by adding, “I learned that my father is satisfied with his life and for all the traditional reasons: He says he was fortunate to have two different women to love and be loved by, to have four sons raised into productive adults of whom he is proud, to have had a career doing work he loves. I also learned details of his life of which before I was only dimly aware: His lifelong friends were all high school friends; he managed a bookstore; he has no desire to document his life for others.” It was illuminating to see how, at 92, he copes with the limitations that age has visited upon him; to observe that together we created a process that led us from the Minnesota-Canada border to the Louisiana gulf (as he said we would without detailed preplanning); to appreciate that we could spend 25 or 26 days and nights together in close quarters; to celebrate the fact that he is still a vital human being who affects in a very positive way the people in his life. These alone made the Tour worthwhile. “Is that it? you ask. No there’s more. For about ten years now I have made my political views known (in articles written for the East Valley Tribune, and conversations with anyone who would sit and talk with me). Ideas like this: The R and D political parties are corrupt – don’t vote for them; Taxes are too high (There must be a legal limit on the total takings (of all levels of) government can extract from an individual, and all individuals must pay taxes (so they have an interest in the use of taxes); Government should set standards, enforce laws justly, defend its citizens, and get out of their way; and, we would all be better served by more tolerance. I am happy to see a lot of the country is coming around to these point of view – as I am not much for devoting energy to movements myself. I learned (before and after Geoff told me he undertook some efforts to raise national and local [in New Orleans] awareness of the Tour, and despite these efforts – no water balloons) that most folks are focused on their own lives and it takes a fair amount of conversation to get in there. Most seem to manage their lives pretty well -- this I take to be a positive finding (in the vein of a great flywheel of society sort of way). On a personal level, I learned I could pedal a bicycle 40 miles a day, day in and day out. At 65, this is a reassuring finding, as it provides hope for a future like the present that my Dad lives in. I learned that I am still Bill because as I sit here I still like to smoke good hand-rolled cigars, go to small casinos and gamble, eat well, and most of all can’t wait to say to those former lunch time companions and friends, “Na Na Na Na NANA, who is crazy now?”
More tomorrow.
Thought for the day: Tea party folks are crazy like me! What’s wrong with that?
Monday, September 20, 2010
All the Titles of Videos on You Tube
The Tour NOLA + NFL
The Tour The Gulf, Lakes + Bayous
The Tour Message for Herb
The Tour To New Orleans from Mississippi 1
The Tour Corn to Kelloggs
The Tour More Water
The Tour The Dells
The Tour Balloon Moments
The Tour Moments - 1
The Tour Kent St Prologue
The original video for Herb was revised.
The Tour The Gulf, Lakes + Bayous
The Tour Message for Herb
The Tour To New Orleans from Mississippi 1
The Tour Corn to Kelloggs
The Tour More Water
The Tour The Dells
The Tour Balloon Moments
The Tour Moments - 1
The Tour Kent St Prologue
The original video for Herb was revised.
Tidying up the Tour
20 September 2010 – The Tour is over. No water balloons were thrown during the Tour – except those that I solicited during the Kent Street Prologue. Dad is home as we left New Orleans within 30 minutes of meeting after the last stage (for some reason he did not like that city), and two hectic days of driving returned us to Wisconsin. I visited Herb for two days, but was not encouraged by his condition. While there I had Todd from Performance Auto Repair (Lake Villa IL) do maintenance on my Corolla for the trip back to Tempe – Thanks Todd, the work was good and you deserved those beers for doing the work unscheduled. Stopped to visit Phil and Rose in Ames – Phil and I did a deal for the extra wheel set that bedeviled me the whole Tour, as I did not need it and I had to keep packing and unpacking those two spare wheels. While I am doing thanks I’d like to thank Ed and Debbie B. from Jacksonville Mississippi for our conversations and for adding to the Herb video on YouTube – sorry it took so long to post. Thanks also to Gloria at Days Inn in Superior WI who saw my point about the cold water and adjusted our room rate. A special thanks to all those truckers – every single one of whom gave me a wide berth on all the roads from Minnesota to Louisiana. I have been mulling over what, if anything, changed in me or my life as a consequence of the Tour. More about that matter in the next post.
Thought for the day: There is no rational basis for faith, and the enlightened experience is always a self-evident one.
P.S. Thanks for the congratulations everyone.
Thought for the day: There is no rational basis for faith, and the enlightened experience is always a self-evident one.
P.S. Thanks for the congratulations everyone.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Stage 21. Done [WAS-22, USA-nil]
Mission Accomplished. Dad couldn't get out of NOLA fast enough so we sped north immediately after the ride. I will be posting more details in coming days. Getting home is job 1.
Thought for the day -- Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Thought for the day -- Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Stage 20 Bayou Sauvage Wildlife Refuge et al [WAS-20, USA-nil]
5 September 2010 --Sitting in Hattiesburg route 11 from Lumberton to Nicholson looked like the perfect 41 mile ride to set up my entry to New Orleans. Wrong. It turns out what little shoulder there is is ribbed to warn people when they are running off the road. Spent the rest of the day finding and setting up tomorrow's ride. We're going to take old route 90 out of Mississippi and across Louisiana to Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Reserve. It's all water along the way and will leave a 12-mile journey into NOLA the following day.
Thought for the day: If I have learned (and relearned [etc]} anything it's the old military adage that no plan survives the first day of war.
Thought for the day: If I have learned (and relearned [etc]} anything it's the old military adage that no plan survives the first day of war.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Accidental Rest Day
5 September 2010 --Sitting in Hattiesburg route 11 from Lumberton to Nicholson looked like the perfect 41 mile ride to set up my entry to New Orleans. Wrong. It turns out what little shoulder there is is ribbed to warn people when they are running off the road. Spent the rest of the day finding and setting up tomorrow's ride. We're going to take old route 90 out of Mississippi and across Louisiana to Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Reserve. It's all water along the way and will leave a 12-mile journey into NOLA the following day.
Thought for the day: If I have learned (and relearned [etc]} anything it's the old military adage that no plan survives the first day of war.
Thought for the day: If I have learned (and relearned [etc]} anything it's the old military adage that no plan survives the first day of war.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Stage 19 -- Long Leaf Trace, MS [WAS-20, USA-nil]
4 September 2010 -- A day that started in a disappointing way ended quite nicely. We left Vicksburg looking for a route toward Prentiss where I hoped to take the Long Leaf Trace tomorrow. We could not find any road that had a discernible shoulder. Part way down we stopped and decided to go on a couple of “county-type” roads, which have no shoulders but also very little traffic. We were specifically looking for 478. We never did find it and ended up driving to Prentiss, arriving by 1030, so I decided to do the Long Leaf Trace today. With a little trepidation I sent my Dad off to Hattiesburg 43 miles to the south via two roads clearly marked (by me) on the map. Off he went and I later learned he did get lost and had a side trip to Columbia – about 30 miles to the west of Hattiesburg. Fortunately, he was set straight on an Interstate and only had minor problems finding the trail end in Hattiesburg proper. With all this he only had to wait an hour for me at the trailhead and he was right where I expected him to be. The trail turned out to be another Mississippi gem. It was 43 paved miles with light bicycle traffic. The best part of all was that the Trail is essentially down hill all the way from Prentiss to Hattiesburg. Whoppee. I have mapped two routes for the next two days – one from Lumberton to Nicholson, and the other from just west of Pearlington into New Orleans. By my calculations, I will hit 800 miles the second time around Jackson Square. New Orleans I am expecting a big welcome. Water balloons (remember please toss those cheap easy to break Chinese balloons underhand) welcome.
Thought for the day: When your Dad gets tired you have to get him to bed, when he’s ready to go home you have to start the trip home.
Response to Geoff – You go man. How are the classes and university work working out.
Thought for the day: When your Dad gets tired you have to get him to bed, when he’s ready to go home you have to start the trip home.
Response to Geoff – You go man. How are the classes and university work working out.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Stages 17 and 18 -- Greenville gems [WAS-19, USA-0]
2 and 3 September 2010 -- On rest day we found a DaysInn in Greenville for two nights. Greenville is now a town mostly situated along route 82/278 and Mississippi 1, with an old downtown that is struggling to survive. It’s sad to see so many fine old brick buildings empty and deteriorating but we live by our cars and the highways bypass downtown. We stayed two nights in Greenville so I could bike down to town from Rosedale in the north on the 2nd, stay a night and then bike south to Vicksburg on the 3rd. All but 20 miles (Highway 61) of these 90 miles were done on Mississippi 1, part of the MRT. Tonight I am posting a video on YouTube about Mississippi 1 – it will be called “The Tour to New Orleans from Mississippi 1”. The first night in Greenville we were driving around looking for a place to eat. A lot of fast food on the two highways, but not much in the way of restaurants. So we turned on Magellan and looked for restaurants. There was a list of types, among them Italian – and I asked Dad if he would like Italian. “I love Italian” he says, so I tap that choice and up pops Fermos Italian Restaurant – the only choice for Greenville. What the heck, I am not opposed to technology so I tap it as our destination. Off we go (the whole 1.6 miles from our current location to this old building on 82 with the sign Keppler’s Italian on it. It’s not Fermos, but it is Italian and Magellan said to come here so we go in. It’s a big place. It was a gem for us because on our long trip down from the border, the number of distinguished meals have been small. Yeah there was that French place in Grand Marais, but otherwise it’s family style or maybe a chain. Here in Greenville, Keppler, a friendly and helpful young guy (he ran after Dad with his cap, the cap having found its way off Dad’s lap to some other location), trying to make it in the toughest business in America. The food was solidly good – we ate there both nights, and Keppler agreed to let me talk about his place by name. [By the way Keppler, you can quote me on all of this.]. Anyway if you’re in Greenville, give Keppler’s a try.
The next morning we drove up to Rosedale and I biked back to Greenville. Near Lake Bolivar I met Steve as he was pulling out of a field of cotton much like that grown in Arizona. So I wheeled around and asked him about the short stuff we had seen along highway 61. “Different varieties” he says and so we talk for a while. Steve was nice enough to offer water, but that’s not usually a problem with Dad in the car only a few miles away, and the cooler in the car always stuffed with cold drinks. I asked him about Lake Bolivar – he told me the name as I was still thinking it was the Mississippi – and said it used to be the main channel of the Mississippi but was now completely cut off. A lot of that goes on along this river. I hope you read this Steve – it was a very good moment for me.
Today we traveled our longest distance. It was great. It’s all on the video. One thing that’s not on the video is the fact that right after I finished taking all the clips and Dad had driven off into the future, I crossed into Issaquena County and Mississippi 1 turned quite unsuitable for road biking. So it goes.
Thought for the day: I never imagined that one day crossing into Issaquena County would mark the- end of an extended great moment for me.
The next morning we drove up to Rosedale and I biked back to Greenville. Near Lake Bolivar I met Steve as he was pulling out of a field of cotton much like that grown in Arizona. So I wheeled around and asked him about the short stuff we had seen along highway 61. “Different varieties” he says and so we talk for a while. Steve was nice enough to offer water, but that’s not usually a problem with Dad in the car only a few miles away, and the cooler in the car always stuffed with cold drinks. I asked him about Lake Bolivar – he told me the name as I was still thinking it was the Mississippi – and said it used to be the main channel of the Mississippi but was now completely cut off. A lot of that goes on along this river. I hope you read this Steve – it was a very good moment for me.
Today we traveled our longest distance. It was great. It’s all on the video. One thing that’s not on the video is the fact that right after I finished taking all the clips and Dad had driven off into the future, I crossed into Issaquena County and Mississippi 1 turned quite unsuitable for road biking. So it goes.
Thought for the day: I never imagined that one day crossing into Issaquena County would mark the- end of an extended great moment for me.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Addenda
A couple of days ago I forgot to mention that Beaver Road from the church down into Munford gets my vote for the shortest stretch of road with the most dogs running free (and willing to chase Bill, who when he puts it into high gear is way too fast for them). Jack Williams terriers are the most persistent buggers.
Response to JKSFAM -- I am pleased that you like the blog and hope you continue to follow along. My apologies -- I had a note to you ready last night but failed to include it. The person who recommended you take a look (whom I will call G) is one person whose friendship I really appreciate -- a straight shooter in all my interactions with him.
Response to JKSFAM -- I am pleased that you like the blog and hope you continue to follow along. My apologies -- I had a note to you ready last night but failed to include it. The person who recommended you take a look (whom I will call G) is one person whose friendship I really appreciate -- a straight shooter in all my interactions with him.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Rest Day
We (I) decided not to ride today, although this does not mean we weren't busy. Before we left Memphis we went to the bank, had breakfast (where I left my Lumir hat), went and bought cigars, then went to buy cokes, a new cribbage board (which was with the dirty laundry we left someplace), ice, gasoline, and washed the car. It gets so dusty and I hate closing a dirty lift back on the van. Then we drove to Greenville Mississippi where I will do one leg from about 40 miles north down to just outside Greenville tomorrow, and the followng day I will do a leg south. Being tired makes two nights in the same motel seem highly desirable. With all the running around Memphis, we didn't actually get a place to stay until 1800, very late by our standards.
Thought for the day: Pray for Bill who is biking on the flatest road, in the hottest and humidest sunny weather yet. Oh yeah, and please vote the corrupt rascals out.
Thought for the day: Pray for Bill who is biking on the flatest road, in the hottest and humidest sunny weather yet. Oh yeah, and please vote the corrupt rascals out.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Stage 16 Google bike directions are definitely beta [WAS-17, USA-nil]
31 August 2010 – Completed a 42 miles of the Mississippi River Trail between Dyersburg and Munford TN. The 16.5 mile stretch at the top of the trail ran on top of a levee, flat as can be. The remainder was up and down as the heat and humidity kept going up and up. By the end I was completely exhausted. I am contemplating a rest day tomorrow. After talking to Dad I think we will try to wrap up the Tour in New Orleans in 5 or 6 days. Yesterday I forgot to mention I had one of the best hamburgers of my life in a café called MeMaw’s in Hickman TN. Somehow we lost our laundry bag with two pair of socks, underware and two Tour t-shirts. Lucky I did the laundry yesterday so the bag was nearly empty. The biggest loss was bur cribbage board, which we also stored in the laundry bag. I am tired and going to bed.
Thought for the day: No board, no 19 hands.
Thought for the day: No board, no 19 hands.
More YouTube Video on 1 September
See it, you'll love it.
The Tour Corn to Kelloggs
The Tour Water Moments
The Tour Corn to Kelloggs
The Tour Water Moments
Monday, August 30, 2010
Stage 15 -- I'm just lucky [WAS-16, USA-nil]
30 August 2010 -- As luck would have it our Quality Motel was right on the intersection of an Interstate and a local road I thought would be good for biking. It was. It was part of the Mississippi River Trail system that is complete from there to New Orleans. We are going to try and make the rest of our miles on the MRT – if I can find maps and directions. We are still skipping down the road. Much more than in Minnesota and Wisconsin, but at least equaling Illinois. By my current projections when we reach New Orleans, I will have done slightly more than 800 miles on the bike, and we will have put more than 3000 miles on the car, that’s how much scouting roads and finding suitable motels (we’re not motel snobs, but close) has cost us. All for a journey that Google says is 1440 miles long.
As I was pedaling today I was struck by how much good fortune we have had. Today was the 16th day of pedaling and we have been rained out (that only partially) once. As we came south the cool weather has seemed to envelope us, and even though some days rose into the mid 80’s, I have only ridden in truly hot conditions 3 or 4 times. Earlier starts the last three days have helped in this. Today it was overcast and windy so I was actually cold while I was riding. I soak one or two t-shirts every 10-12 miles. This is a peculiar sensation because when I stop, I start getting hot immediately. Changing shirts restores my equilibrium for a while. .At our last rendezvous before the end of the ride Dad and I were talking when Mike B rode up in his pick-up and we talked cycling. He gave me a lot of helpful information about the MRT, told me about the Tour of Corn (Mike if you read this, send me some more information via a , comment on this blog. If you leave an email address, I will get back to you.), and then we talked about AZ immigration, Obama, and taxes – I was in conversation heaven. He started to leave when he slammed on the brakes and said. OHOH! I don’t think the ferry runs on Monday and Tuesday. My jaw dropped as I pondered how we were going to get out of the cul-de-sac I had ridden us into. Mike whips out his phone calls the ferry, is quiet for a moment as he listens, and says, “You’re in luck. The ferry is running 7 days a week now.
Ferry video is coming shortly. The third best thing of the day was meeting Mike. The second best was the actual ferry ride (on which we were the sole passengers, and for which we had to press a button on a pole in the middle of nowhere to call. But the best thing was hearing my Dad say, “I am really glad you chose to come this way. Ever since you mentioned ferry, I really wanted to make the crossing.
Thought for the day: Sometimes you do exactly what you want, and the world around you is in complete synch.
As I was pedaling today I was struck by how much good fortune we have had. Today was the 16th day of pedaling and we have been rained out (that only partially) once. As we came south the cool weather has seemed to envelope us, and even though some days rose into the mid 80’s, I have only ridden in truly hot conditions 3 or 4 times. Earlier starts the last three days have helped in this. Today it was overcast and windy so I was actually cold while I was riding. I soak one or two t-shirts every 10-12 miles. This is a peculiar sensation because when I stop, I start getting hot immediately. Changing shirts restores my equilibrium for a while. .At our last rendezvous before the end of the ride Dad and I were talking when Mike B rode up in his pick-up and we talked cycling. He gave me a lot of helpful information about the MRT, told me about the Tour of Corn (Mike if you read this, send me some more information via a , comment on this blog. If you leave an email address, I will get back to you.), and then we talked about AZ immigration, Obama, and taxes – I was in conversation heaven. He started to leave when he slammed on the brakes and said. OHOH! I don’t think the ferry runs on Monday and Tuesday. My jaw dropped as I pondered how we were going to get out of the cul-de-sac I had ridden us into. Mike whips out his phone calls the ferry, is quiet for a moment as he listens, and says, “You’re in luck. The ferry is running 7 days a week now.
Ferry video is coming shortly. The third best thing of the day was meeting Mike. The second best was the actual ferry ride (on which we were the sole passengers, and for which we had to press a button on a pole in the middle of nowhere to call. But the best thing was hearing my Dad say, “I am really glad you chose to come this way. Ever since you mentioned ferry, I really wanted to make the crossing.
Thought for the day: Sometimes you do exactly what you want, and the world around you is in complete synch.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Stage 14 -- Still searching for roads [WAS-15, USA-nil]
29 August 2010 -- The road out of Waterloo was perfect and a seven o’clock start meant two hours of riding in cool temperatures. About 30 miles out of Waterloo the shoulder started to deteriorate and then disappeared altogether. Picked up the bike and we drove a while. In a new highway section, the shoulder was good again so we unpacked the bike and I started riding again. It wasn’t long before the shoulder disappeared completely again. I had reservations, and Dad was completely against riding on the road there. He is my Dad. I recorded it as a 40-mile day. We kept driving. About 40 miles from Cairo, the good shoulder returned and I decided that we would get a motel in Cairo and return tomorrow to do that stretch. The only problem was there was we did not encounter a single habitable motel in Cairo (I don’t think any of the stimulus package has reached Cairo). I said we would do that stretch on the way back to Wisconsin – as it will be on our way and it is ride-able. We crossed the bridge and headed west into Missouri. We have identified a route that looks good and will take us to the ferry into Kentucky on the east side of the Mississippi. I am sitting here waiting for the local news because it has been getting increasingly overcast all day, and there have been drizzles tonight. It strikes me that the riding each day – the three and a half to four and a half hours – is the calmest part of the day. In the morning I pack the car and take Sam for a long walk. Then we go to a local place for breakfast. After, off we go to the start. At the end of the ride, its find a motel and unpack, then a long hot shower. We are always shopping for something – drinks, ice, a timer, toothpaste, snacks, gas, not to mention the laundry I wrote about earlier. During all of this I walk Sam at least twice more – long walks that Dad is not able to do – so that she will sleep through the night. It’s part of a deal I made with her. Writing the blog, udloading the video clips and making the movies average at least an hour a night. All these details fill up my day, but I am content because I have never spent this much time alone with my Dad. Despite his hearing loss, lapses in memory, and a little bit of confusion on the roads, the time is beyond valuing.
Thought for the day: Overall, I have been impressed with the road-bike worthiness of the roads of Wisconsin, but singularly unimpressed by those of Illinois.
Thought for the day: Overall, I have been impressed with the road-bike worthiness of the roads of Wisconsin, but singularly unimpressed by those of Illinois.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Stage 13 -- In Corn Country [WAS-14, USA-nil]
28 August 2010. After 39 miles from Taylorville to near Mulberry Grove, big hills, a head wind, the heat/humidity and a head cold reduced me to exhaustion and I stopped after 3 and a half hours riding. Then we started hunting for a suitable road south. We finally ended up in Waterloo and will try Route 3 down to Cairo. It’s a two or three day trip on the same road – given my current level of performance. Here and there I look for signs of political anger and I have to admit I haven’t seen much. I do ask a specific question of those who are willing to answer it. “Did you vote for Obama?” and if they say yes I ask “How’s that working for you?” The best answer was from an Iowa man vacationing in Chetek Wisconsin who said “The first time.” Otherwise here on the byways of America, I mostly see farmers, truckers, waiters and waitresses, and a lot of closed business. If people are angry, they aren’t sharing it with me. Of course I see a lot of them as I speed by at 12-15 mph. Conversations then are quite short. This laptop is a great convenience. I keep up with company finances, political news (I even wrote a comment to an article by Mort Zuckerman on RealClearPolitics, signing it WStock on the Tour of Water Balloons). Speaking of the Tour, the score is now quite lopsided – I am beating the stuffing out of the country. Na Na Na Na NaNa…
Thought for the day: It could be worse, say if there weren’t elections coming in just weeks now.
Response to Pam: Thanks for the encouragement. Dad says hello, that we are making good time, and that Sam has been really well-behaved. I second that thought. As for what I write, I would use the word musing rather than diatribe – diatribe is more harsh than what I do.
Thought for the day: It could be worse, say if there weren’t elections coming in just weeks now.
Response to Pam: Thanks for the encouragement. Dad says hello, that we are making good time, and that Sam has been really well-behaved. I second that thought. As for what I write, I would use the word musing rather than diatribe – diatribe is more harsh than what I do.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Stage 12 -- Retired. [WAS 13, USA nil]
27 August 2010 – We moved 50.4 miles south on county roads of which I did 45 (minus 5 miles for skipping a gravel patch and two side to side movements). Aside from the rainout on day 4 (and discounting the 12 miles spent going in circles around Loon Lake) I have ridden and we have scouted roads every day. We have taken no breaks. Yesterday I asked Dad if he wanted to stay over in Lincoln as they were having a balloon festival. He wasn’t interested. I sense that he wants to get home as soon as possible (he worries when I am on these county roads) and all of this starting and stopping and looking for (oft missing) route and town signs is a bit disorienting. The best strategy is to send him down the road 6 minutes and pull over. That gives him time to walk the dog and read a little. I have averaged a little under 36 miles per day with the average still increasing. Today was all against a steady breeze on rough roads. I am tired. Scouting only took 5 minutes today as it is a straight shot on Nokomis Rd to Mulberry Grove. As we had time on our hands, Dad said it was time for new tires on the car. Walmart Supercenter here we come.
Thought for the day: Old girl friends whom you haven't contacted in 48 years do not stay in Taylorville.
Thought for the day: Old girl friends whom you haven't contacted in 48 years do not stay in Taylorville.
New Video on YouTube
There are three new posts on YouTube
The Tour Balloon Moments
The Tour The Dells
The Tour Herb Moments
The last is mostly for my brother, but if you're having trouble getting out of bed, consider it applicable. It will be posted tomorrow 28 August.
The Tour Balloon Moments
The Tour The Dells
The Tour Herb Moments
The last is mostly for my brother, but if you're having trouble getting out of bed, consider it applicable. It will be posted tomorrow 28 August.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Stage 11 -- No pet motels -- Where's our tolerance gone? [WAS-12, USA-nil]
26 August 2010 -- Spent the morning on country roads between Muscatine and Burlington Iowa. The choice made good sense beforehand and turned out that way. It was a straightforward ride with deer, yellow-bodied, black-winged and cardinal birds, and a donkey the highlights of the ride – oh yeah, and a large, immaculate brick church [Apostolic Christian Church] and the Iowa River -- .all put highlights on the ride through sparsely populated Southeastern Iowa. From Burlington I saw no decent routes south, so we headed straight east back into Illinois, stopping everywhere we spotted a motel to try and get a room and reconnoiter the roads. All were no pet motels (we did find an AmericInn in Monmouth IL that would suffer to take Sam for a mere $75 cleaning fee. No thanks AmericInn. I know this is not national policy because we stayed at the same chain in Wisconsin and there the fee was $25. If I have any control we won’t be trying this chain again. So here we are in Central Illinois headed for Taylorville tomorrow. Wouldn’t you know it, there’s a weekend balloon festival in this town starting tomorrow. I did my best.
Thought for the day: There’s something head lightening about balloons.
Thought for the day: There’s something head lightening about balloons.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Stage 10 -- Ain't Life Grand? [WAS-11, USA-nil]
25 August 2010 – Last night during an internet session I found the 60-mile Great River Trail from Savanna IL to the Quad Cities. I found this to be a flat paved path, mostly bike trails, but some county roads and I did most of the trail, with my mood elevated most of the time. Did 40+ miles in three hours. From our stopping point we drove around the Quad Cities to the Iowa side of the river, hoping that Iowa (it is the RAGBRAI state) had state roads with adequate shoulders. No go, but I did find a combination of roads that will take us down to Burlington, so tomorrow is set. Doing so took the better part of four hours because first you have to find the roads before you check them out. Two particular things struck my fancy. First, I was riding along the top of a levee, perhaps two miles long, higher than all the surrounding terrain (it’s a levee) of swamps and rivers, short cropped grass on both sides, the sun on me so I was starting to get warm. My eyes, as usual, were mostly focused some yards ahead to avoid pitfalls but they caught sight of some graffiti painted on the path. I looked down just in time to read “Ain’t life grand?” I had to smile – it was and is the only graffiti I have seen to date. The second notable item was the Thomson prairie. Grasses and plains plants 3-4 feet tall in all directions. How did those first settlers get across such expanses?
Once my brother Rick and I walked across Oregon on the Pacific Crest Trail. We were not what one would call backpacking purists. We averaged about 9 miles a day, while others we talked to on the trail were doing 15-20, and one little guy whose name I forget was doing 40, miles per day. Observation and questioning revealed the source of the discrepancy between their distances and our own. At the end of the day we would spend about two to three hours setting up the tent, putting out our stuff, cleaning up, preparing the dinner, eating, and cleaning dishes. To get this done before dark we usually stopped about 4 pm. Others stayed on the trail and hour longer. In the morning, we often heard other backpackers bteaking camp in the dark and found them gone at first light, which in the mountains is not all that light. Such activities would rouse us and we might go out to pee, but the thought of getting out of the warm sleeping bag into the cold air of the tent which was many degrees warmer than the outside was just too much. We eventually settled on a rule of thumb if the tent was warm enough to get out of the sleeping bag without feeling cold, then it was time to get up. That was usually between 9:30 and 10 am. Of course then we had to have our bacon and eggs (freeze dried) or pancake breakfast with (powdered) OJ and real filtered coffee. And then we’d finally get back to packing, and then we’d hit the trail. Lunch, about three hours later was another 1-1.5 hour unpacking, preparing, packing diversion from walking. All told we usually managed a good 4.5 hours walking each day. That backpacking experience shares a lot of similarities with this bike trip. There are the morning and evening packing experiences – about an hour and a half all told – plus, something we didn’t do much on the well-marked Pacific Crest Trail, looking for a way forward that is deemed safe and non stressful (Trucks rushing by at 70 mph on a 55 mph highway are not distressing events, so I seek to minimize them at every opportunity).
The other unplanned for activity is laundry. At home I go through seven shirts, pairs of socks and underwear plus one pair of pants a week. My laundry was a one-load, once-a-week affair. However, when you are going through 7-8 shirts a day plus other garments and you only brought 14 shirt, laundry is an every other day affair. You don’t need much imagination to see how important it is to find motels with a washer and dryer.
Thought for the day: You have to think of packing and unpacking and doing laundry as one of life’s little pleasures, otherwise every day you’re going to be bummed out.
Reply to Geoff: Thanks for the encouragement.
Reply to Taffy: I will say hi to Dad. WRT the Tour, if you read all the blogs, starting with the first the story is more or less told there.
Once my brother Rick and I walked across Oregon on the Pacific Crest Trail. We were not what one would call backpacking purists. We averaged about 9 miles a day, while others we talked to on the trail were doing 15-20, and one little guy whose name I forget was doing 40, miles per day. Observation and questioning revealed the source of the discrepancy between their distances and our own. At the end of the day we would spend about two to three hours setting up the tent, putting out our stuff, cleaning up, preparing the dinner, eating, and cleaning dishes. To get this done before dark we usually stopped about 4 pm. Others stayed on the trail and hour longer. In the morning, we often heard other backpackers bteaking camp in the dark and found them gone at first light, which in the mountains is not all that light. Such activities would rouse us and we might go out to pee, but the thought of getting out of the warm sleeping bag into the cold air of the tent which was many degrees warmer than the outside was just too much. We eventually settled on a rule of thumb if the tent was warm enough to get out of the sleeping bag without feeling cold, then it was time to get up. That was usually between 9:30 and 10 am. Of course then we had to have our bacon and eggs (freeze dried) or pancake breakfast with (powdered) OJ and real filtered coffee. And then we’d finally get back to packing, and then we’d hit the trail. Lunch, about three hours later was another 1-1.5 hour unpacking, preparing, packing diversion from walking. All told we usually managed a good 4.5 hours walking each day. That backpacking experience shares a lot of similarities with this bike trip. There are the morning and evening packing experiences – about an hour and a half all told – plus, something we didn’t do much on the well-marked Pacific Crest Trail, looking for a way forward that is deemed safe and non stressful (Trucks rushing by at 70 mph on a 55 mph highway are not distressing events, so I seek to minimize them at every opportunity).
The other unplanned for activity is laundry. At home I go through seven shirts, pairs of socks and underwear plus one pair of pants a week. My laundry was a one-load, once-a-week affair. However, when you are going through 7-8 shirts a day plus other garments and you only brought 14 shirt, laundry is an every other day affair. You don’t need much imagination to see how important it is to find motels with a washer and dryer.
Thought for the day: You have to think of packing and unpacking and doing laundry as one of life’s little pleasures, otherwise every day you’re going to be bummed out.
Reply to Geoff: Thanks for the encouragement.
Reply to Taffy: I will say hi to Dad. WRT the Tour, if you read all the blogs, starting with the first the story is more or less told there.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Stage 9 Disillinoisment [WAS-10, USA-nil]
24 August 2010 – Started the day in Mineral Point on 23, a nice road with adequate shoulders, and rode to Highway 11, then packed the bicycle and drove east to Monroe where we unpacked the bicycle and I took 69 to the border where 69 turned to IL 26. Dad and I had a mix-up about meeting – for two reasons. First, neither of us saw the state border signs, if they exist at all, and second because a town on the map (Oneco) never showed up on the road. Cell reception was terrible so I ended up going all the way to Freeport, where we are staying the night. On today’s ride I got an idea for a video for my brother Herb and will be collecting segments over the next day or two for the full-length version. All things considered, we met in Freeport early and went out scouting roads. What a depressing disaster! We could find no road with any paved shoulders, and all were narrow – not my cupa. We went shopping for cigars, got a room, showered and went to dinner. An internet session led to my signing up with Rails and Trails, and later finding a 60-mile trail along the big river. So tomorrow I will be somewhere between Clinton and the Quad cities. If all the Illinois roads are like those out of Freeport, this state will be depressing and I may have to switch over to Iowa and check their roads. I am still going to New Orleans.
Thought for the day: Some days are just days – there are no revelations. But that reminds me that I have to tell you about laundry and backpacking.
Thought for the day: Some days are just days – there are no revelations. But that reminds me that I have to tell you about laundry and backpacking.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Stage 8 If this isn't cell phone heaven, it must be hill hell [WAS-9, USA-nil]
23 August 2010 -- Some miles south of the Dells an endless string of hills exists, hitherto unknown to this northern Illinois boy. The road that runs through these hills sharply rises and just as sharply falls. The road doesn’t rise that high in elevation, just gets there fast by means of the well-known principles of the inclined plane. I spent my day trudging up those planes and racing down the other side – ten, twenty, thirty miles of it. I must report that there were two hills I walked most of the way up. In one case my body just said stop pedaling and I did. In the other case == the longest hill of the day – I reached a speed that could not be faster than walking, with my muscles dull, painful and hot all at the same time, and the flies started buzzing around me and landing on my face. If I swatted them away, the bike started wobbling. I had visions of being swatted myself by a tractor trailer zipping along at 65 mph. That hill I finished on my feet. Still, Dad would stop here and there and I would pull up and rest. This was going well (except the going uphill) and we discussed the last stop during the next-to-last stop. I say “OK, stop when 23 reaches 12 and find a place to park on any of the four corners. I will find you.” “OK he says, I will stop at 12 and park.” Off he goes. Forty minutes later I reach 12 and look at all four corners. No Dad. I go a block further. No Dad. Oh am I in for it if I’ve lost my Dad. I pull my cell phone out and call him. And again. [The two-call process is standard because Dad cannot get his cell out of his pocket –(where it is kept so he feels its vibration {as his ears don’t work too well}) in time to prevent the call from going to voice mail.] “Yeah?” he says. “Where are you?” I ask. “Oh Im lost someplace, where are you?” he replies. “I am at the Kwik Trip across from MacDonalds in Dodgeville.” I muster. “OK I’ll be there in a bit. Bye.” I wait and wait and wait and now I have to go to the bathroom – It’s urgent. Another two call procedure determines he is still some ways away and so I have him park at MacDonalds, to where I scurry to finish that other business. Eventually he shows up and all is fine. Phew. Dad’s in bed early tonight because where I did forty=two miles on the bike, he did in excess of 100 on the road. Turns out he never say the 12 signs and I never told the name of the town.
Thought for the day: Simple, clear messages make for straightforward days.
Reply to Phil (and all the curious): My goal is New Orleans. I am in Mineral Point Wisconsin now. I only ride on roads that go south (East west movements are in the car). If the roads and/or weather do not support my standards for margin of safety, I move on in the car. I will not travel on highways of 4 or more lanes -- too busy and too noisy and too confusing for Dad. Using these principles have resulted in 300 miles on the bike, the rest in the car. Apologies to all bicycle purists but this trip has always been about waterballoons, the bike was just a means to an end. All in all, I am pleased with myself.
Thought for the day: Simple, clear messages make for straightforward days.
Reply to Phil (and all the curious): My goal is New Orleans. I am in Mineral Point Wisconsin now. I only ride on roads that go south (East west movements are in the car). If the roads and/or weather do not support my standards for margin of safety, I move on in the car. I will not travel on highways of 4 or more lanes -- too busy and too noisy and too confusing for Dad. Using these principles have resulted in 300 miles on the bike, the rest in the car. Apologies to all bicycle purists but this trip has always been about waterballoons, the bike was just a means to an end. All in all, I am pleased with myself.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Stage 7 -Shadow of a hawk, Valley of butterflies [WAS-8, USA-nil]
22 August2010 -- I wake with severe, immobilizing, back pain (SIBP) and think, with regret, guilt, and some shame, that I may give up. I get up, pee, dress. SIPB. I load the car. SIBP. We go to breakfast. SIPB. We drive to the start point. SIBP. I finish gearing up and do a test ride. No SIBP. I start up the road. A hawk takes off and flies just over my head, turning to the same direction I am going but drifting left, and beating higher. His shadow beats along just in front, getting smaller, then it’s gone. I feel better in my mind. I keep on for a couple of miles and I see what I believe is a dark branch or pipe ahead on the shoulder. A shift of my hands veers the bike enough to the left that I will miss it. At the moment just before I pass, the stick bends in the middle, the front rears up and bends back towards the grass. It is the first and biggest garter snack I have seen in 40 years. A couple of pit stops and many miles down the road I pass through a small valley populated by thousands upon thousands of yellow and white butterflies. The road and shoulder is littered with those that interacted with man and his machines. One flies off my right shoulder for two or three pedals before being left behind. One flies right in front of me, gets caught in a swirl of wind above my heart, stays there for one or two heartbeats, then flies up and over my left shoulder. I am near to tears of joy.
Thought for the day: The life of the butterfly is short, sweet and simple. What do we have that’s so much better.
Thought for the day: The life of the butterfly is short, sweet and simple. What do we have that’s so much better.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Stage 6 -- Bemused mostly [WAS-7,USA-nil]
21 August 2010 -- You can ’t see it but there is a sky hook attached to the back of my bicycle. Somehow or another it hooks the jet stream and drags it southward as I bicycle along. For two days I have started in cold and wet (not necessarily rain) conditions and reached warmer conditions by the end of the ride. On both days the evenings were also sunny, yet the morning brought a return to the cold and damp. The only explanation is that the jet stream is being pulled southward by some previously inexplicable force. I surmise (based on the butterfly in China theory of effects) that it’s me. Yes, today –despite a backache – I am bemused by life, with momentary lapses into mild outrage. For example after seeing so many persons in so many different jobs and life situations, and after talking to some of them, I am starting to be outraged by the presumption of politicians – all politicians – who think that they should tell all these multitudes how to run their (e.g., health care) lives. What gall! Stop with the taking care of everybody. Who asked you? Oops, starting to rant and that really does take the fine edge off a sense of bemusement. I am going out to collect a prime video segment tonight. Hope it works as it is a perfect companion to the one I got today. Tomorrow the Dells.
Thought for the day: Forgive me, I am only human. On the other hand give a thought to what I say.
Thought for the day: Forgive me, I am only human. On the other hand give a thought to what I say.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Stage 5 Steady on [Score WAS-6, USA-nil]
20 August 2010 – A thick fog replaced the predicted thundershowers so I modified the ride for the day. I skipped the first part of the ride which was to take place on a county road with narrow shoulders, and went straight to the Old Abe Trail. It was a straight shot to the Falls on an abandoned railroad bed – paved with asphalt and quite level. Not more than two miles down the trail a deer crossed my path, and not more than five minutes later I got a business call. The ring nearly made me jump, except I was clipped to the pedals and my butt is always too sore to want to jump. If I had been riding on the highway I would never have heard it ring, but the silence of the woods was only broken by quiet bird calls and occasional insect buzzing. Off to my right was a massive flowage. Today there were no changes in stopping points as Dad could only go two places to intersect my ride. He made them okay, but we are agreed that we will discuss the next stopping point each time we meet up. There are two aspects of the Tour that I appreciate more here than when I was planning it. First, at my age and in my condition I find myself willing to compromise on what roads I will ride, what weather I will ride in, and how far I will push my body. Second, traveling with a 92-year-old father reveals his aging in many little ways. I have adjusted pretty well to his poor hearing, but have been surprised by some unexpected moments of forgetfulness. He recognizes this fact and is working with me so that the rides are not disrupted. Though I did not plan it so (as much as I planned anything about this trip) the Tour seems to be more about my Dad and I than about waterballoons.
Thought for the day: Let the mosque be built where they wish it, then build and evangelical Christian church, a Taoist/Buddhist temple right next to it on the left, and a Jewish synagogue and a Greek Orthodox church right next to it on the right.
Reply to Frank F -- Yes water everywhere and I mean everywhere. I don't know how long this Tour will last but I doubt I can help you reach the 20 pound goal, and I am looking forward to breakfasts again.
Thought for the day: Let the mosque be built where they wish it, then build and evangelical Christian church, a Taoist/Buddhist temple right next to it on the left, and a Jewish synagogue and a Greek Orthodox church right next to it on the right.
Reply to Frank F -- Yes water everywhere and I mean everywhere. I don't know how long this Tour will last but I doubt I can help you reach the 20 pound goal, and I am looking forward to breakfasts again.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Stage 4 -- A good day [Score WAS -5, USA -nil]
19 August 2010 – The ride was very good. Cloudy, temperature (start-67, end-74), light breeze most of the time from the east, flat roads, all made for the best ride to date. I was even able to remember that yesterday we met Cliff (a better man than me) who has riden across the country twice and is currently on a trip from his hometown of Williston North Dakota to New York City – all on a reclined bicycle. When we met he was looking for a shortcut to Hayward. We couldn’t help (as our experience with County Road H taught us). A glitch in plans arose when Dad forgot to check his watch as he went up the road. Six to eight minutes usually puts him 10-12 miles ahead (my ten-mile practice loops in Tempe make me pretty sensitive to going further without a stop, but the hills here add some uncertainty. Still, at one point I was certain that I had gone well past his usual stopping distance. I called him up (yeah that works) and after a fruitless conversation I said “I’ll call you back in a couple of minutes”. I got back on the bike and proceeded around the next corner looking for a landmark for him. There he was, maybe 300 yards away from where I called from. All’s well. By my estimate it will be six more days in this state. I also met a nice couple doing a massive load of laundry. I told them about the Tour and waterballoons and they said they would check out the blog when they return to Iowa. I wish I could remember their names. I asked them if they voted for Obama and the gentleman cracked me up when he said, “the first time.”
Thought for the day: Politicians – phooey, responsible citizens – yeah.
Thought for the day: Politicians – phooey, responsible citizens – yeah.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Replies to comments
Reply to Comments
I only recently discovered that people had been commenting. I apologize for these late responses, which are given in chronological order of the comments.
1. Thanks Sandy, I will try to stay safe.
2. Mike, I am glad we are email contact too.
3. No Pamela, there are no virtual balloons, and certainly no official map.
Dad and I are going day-to-day.
4. Ryan, I am planning on a lot of miles on safe roads, none on unsafe roads.
Sorry, I missed this when you posted your comment because some practice
balloons would have been good.
5. Charlie, you’re asking a lot of a 65-year old man who has a hard time
loading and unloading the van, getting ready, sheparding a Sheba Ihnu and a
92-year-old Dad. I’ll try. I do have a few short video clips I will try to
upload to You Tube tonight.
6. Ryan if I was on southern, priest, fifth street or college it was probably
me, especially if I was in yellow.
7. DROB (Dan) I am urging a friend to do RAGBRAI next year, using my
participation as carrot (or is it stick).
8. The Chase Lineage, I don’t agree. IMO calling it death would bring it out
in the open and increase the likelihood people would have a healthier
attitude towards death. It’s a rough life, very few of us get out alive.
9. Phil, this whole uphill and downhill thing gets some getting used to. I
know one thing I hate it when I have battled up a long hill and find I have
to brake halfway down the other sid e for fear of my life. I also can’t
understand why it has to be so cold, windy and rainy here. It’s not that way
where I come from.
I only recently discovered that people had been commenting. I apologize for these late responses, which are given in chronological order of the comments.
1. Thanks Sandy, I will try to stay safe.
2. Mike, I am glad we are email contact too.
3. No Pamela, there are no virtual balloons, and certainly no official map.
Dad and I are going day-to-day.
4. Ryan, I am planning on a lot of miles on safe roads, none on unsafe roads.
Sorry, I missed this when you posted your comment because some practice
balloons would have been good.
5. Charlie, you’re asking a lot of a 65-year old man who has a hard time
loading and unloading the van, getting ready, sheparding a Sheba Ihnu and a
92-year-old Dad. I’ll try. I do have a few short video clips I will try to
upload to You Tube tonight.
6. Ryan if I was on southern, priest, fifth street or college it was probably
me, especially if I was in yellow.
7. DROB (Dan) I am urging a friend to do RAGBRAI next year, using my
participation as carrot (or is it stick).
8. The Chase Lineage, I don’t agree. IMO calling it death would bring it out
in the open and increase the likelihood people would have a healthier
attitude towards death. It’s a rough life, very few of us get out alive.
9. Phil, this whole uphill and downhill thing gets some getting used to. I
know one thing I hate it when I have battled up a long hill and find I have
to brake halfway down the other sid e for fear of my life. I also can’t
understand why it has to be so cold, windy and rainy here. It’s not that way
where I come from.
Stage 3 1/3 -- Rain. [Score WAS-4, USA-nil]
18 August 2010 – Rain (I will not ride in it if it is) Cold. We traveled the length of the Willard Munger Trail looking for a spot where the rain might stop. It never did so we headed for our new starting point. On the way there we found a county road that I thought would make a good segment so I got the bike together put on my gear and took off. It had stopped raining by that time. The road was so deserted that Dad rode along behind clocking me. I thought I was following along the county road signs but somehow I made it onto Loon Lake Road or Trail and made a big circle back toward, but not quite there, to where I started. I said that’s enough for me as my back was twinging when I got up this morning, and continued to do so on the ride After getting a motel we scouted out tomorrow’s run and found a motel right at the end of the run (if it does not rain). Right on a lake too. The temperature is higher now and the sun came out this evening. Tomorrow may be real good. No bad news from IL is a good thing.
Thought for the day: Some people hold a few good principles and values and spend most of their time gathering facts (I am amazed by my father).
Thought for the day: Some people hold a few good principles and values and spend most of their time gathering facts (I am amazed by my father).
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Stage 3 -- Malaise [Score WAS-3 USA-nil]
17 August 2010 – Before starting the first portion of today’s trip we got a call from Brian, Herb’s son, and we learned that Herb was transferred from his nursing home to the hospital. Details were limited, but the doctor’s speculated that he had had another heart attack. When I heard Dad say Brian’s name I was certain it was about Herb and feared the worst. A heart attack is not good news but it’s not the worst we could have received. The news introduced a real malaise on today. The continuing cold (60 degrees F, or less) and constant strong wind only added to my malaise. The biggest up moment came when I rode by a doe and a fawn standing stock still not more than 20 feet away on top of a small bluff the bike path went around. That’s four deer for me. Dad has seen a black bear – I have mixed feelings about encountering a black bear while I am on the bicycle. On the uphill portions of the ride I am down to walking speed by the time I crest the hill. I also have found that I use all of the gears – something I told the folks at Landis I never imagined doing. Last night we put a couple of critical items next to the Sheba Ihnu’s bed so that it was the first thing out to the car this morning. Tomorrow we move away from Lake Superior as I bike inland on a long paved trail. If we hear no bad news from Illinois, it should be a pretty good day. The only thing that I have encountered so far that I held in my mind’s eye so long ago was a path between 18 to 36 inches wide. That’s pretty much the clearance I have had throughout the ride. Still there’s something pretty non serene about cars whizzing by at 55-70 mph.
Thought for the day: We soldier on.
Thought for the day: We soldier on.
Stage 2 -- The Sheba makes the day [Score WAS-2 USA - nil]
16 August 2010 – My apologies for not posting yesterday. We were in an area that Verizon does not serve. What can I say. The day went pretty well, except I missed a paved bike path and had an extra five and a half miles on the road. Vroooom….Vrooom… I hear the cars and trucks going by in my sleep. Thankfully the shoulders are three to five feet wide. The wind is still blowing steadily at 25-35 mph (well maybe 20 with gusts up to 35. The ambient temperature has not reached 70 once since I started and the wind comes off the lake right into my face. It is very discourageng to have to pedal downhill. We are staying in motels, and those of you that know me know that I like things a certain way. It turns out both of my traveling companions are the same way. After packing up the car this morning, I checked the room, then I checked it again, then Dad checked it, then we took off. At the end of the ride we checked into Whispering Pines, then went to scout the road for tomorrow. When we got back to the room, Sam the Sheba Ihnu asked where her bed was. There was a fair amount of conversation between Dad and I as Sam looked on with that smug look of knowing what needs to be done. Sure enough, at 1930 we headed 44 m back up the coast and picked up her bed (a call confirmed it was there). A Sheba knows where she wants to sleep. In bed by 2200, I turned on the TV and encountered Dish TV -- I like it but I prefer Cox’s channel changing process – which I could not find on the Dish controller. That might be my shortcoming, not Dish’s.
Thought for the day: If you are pedaling into a wind, you are going way further than the miles indicated by the roadside markers. I can think of an analogy to taxes...
Thought for the day: If you are pedaling into a wind, you are going way further than the miles indicated by the roadside markers. I can think of an analogy to taxes...
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Stage One Done. Score: Bill 1, USA Nil. Yeah!
15 August 2010 -- Took video of the border station and pointed the Flip toward a big clue on the right and toward the state welcome sign further to the right. It will be on YouTube. At 0900 I left. Four hours and twenty minutes I later I arrived at the city limits of my destination. A cold wind (estimated at 25-35 mph) blew into my face the entire time. After carefully laying out with him the places I would have liked Dad to stop, he stopped where he wanted (as I say, Do what you want, you will anyway.) Some trial bike energy foods turned out to be great, as did the warm van when I could find it. My back felt fine as I was riding -- this evening too. We’ll test it in the morning. I keep thinking of those German U-boat sailors in the movie Das Boot, whose singing echos though the U-boat, down through time, and in my mind: It’s a long way to Tipperary, It’s a long way to Tipperary, It’s a long way to go….
Management, staff and participants (me, me, me) of the Tour did not create any concrete rules for dealing with adversity, however, by consensus, they all agreed to consider the Tour a work in progress and develop a process to deal --supposedly in a rationale way -- with issues as they arise (a nod of the cap to Jerry – one of those old men who refused to ride along). Gee, I hope this process is a lot more rational than Congress dealing with the economy. Spend. Spend. Spend!
Thought for the day: I don’t think Stage 2 will be any easier, unless I get teleported to Kansas.
Management, staff and participants (me, me, me) of the Tour did not create any concrete rules for dealing with adversity, however, by consensus, they all agreed to consider the Tour a work in progress and develop a process to deal --supposedly in a rationale way -- with issues as they arise (a nod of the cap to Jerry – one of those old men who refused to ride along). Gee, I hope this process is a lot more rational than Congress dealing with the economy. Spend. Spend. Spend!
Thought for the day: I don’t think Stage 2 will be any easier, unless I get teleported to Kansas.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Dum da Dum Dum
14 August 2010 – We arrive at our staging point and ride to the starting point and back, scouting out points at which to rendezvous. I believe these are set. Tomorrow we will have a continental breakfast and get to the starting point just before 0900. In my mind’s eye I always imagined flat roads and sunny skies, but it is windy and overcast as I write this evening, and I am now Bill in the hills. Tomorrow’s ride is on a road with wonderfully wide shoulders so I will not be concerned with traffic. I will meet Dad and Sam the Sheba Ihnu about 4 times during the ride, the first just six miles after the start and also after a hill higher than anything I have climbed before. I am concerned about my back. The twinges are still coming, although not as severe as a week ago. We’ll see. I am happy I made no commitment to anyone to finish this ride, just to try -- but it could be depressing to not do much especially if it is my body that lets me down. Notable events today were: (1) we met Tyler and Andrea in a bakery-espresso store (It turns out that Tyler is a pilot who spent last year flying the exact plane that went down with Alaska Senator Ted Stevens aboard. Andrea was surprised when it turned out that my bike did not come with a motor.);and (2) further up the road we had a great French dinner at a waterside restaurant. I had French onion soup, boullibaise, a salad sprinkled with fresh blueberries, and Italian cheese cake. Yum. Finally, weather and road conditions, but especially weather has prompted Tour management (me) to discuss with Tour participants (me) some modifications and rules about the running of the Tour. Sam has had some thoughts of her own too. Turns out she hasn’t traveled in some time.
Thought for the day: Act like something is real and some day (tomorrow) it is.
Thought for the day: Act like something is real and some day (tomorrow) it is.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Bad days better day
11-13 August 2010 -- After arriving at Rick and Dad’s I have visited my brother Herb in the nursing home. For the most part, these have not been edifying visits. The first day I saw him he did neither ate any of the special food treats that I brought him – and that he liked so much in May when I last saw him—nor talked other than to say yes or no nor even smile when I teased him about those things that had previously cracked him up. All in all he seemed very beat down. The first day visit ended when he vomited and was cold and clammy. When I called the attendants they took charge, took him off, and prepared and put him tor bed. Lying in bed he looked ashen and very tired, so I said good night. The second day I visited with him after he had finished dialysis and had had a nap. He was feeling and acting a bit better but still was neither saying much nor making an effort to do so. His unwillingness to try to talk evoked feelings of despair and helplessness – as during my May visit I had spent a great deal of time in conversation with him (you should know that his stroke affected his language capacity significantly), even though I had to do some of the shaping and guiding of what he said. Today was better. He independently spoke a few sentences. Today he also had a visitor, Suzanne, from his church and we have all reached the conclusion that it is better to have one-on-one time with him than overwhelm him with a group of people. So I told him again about the Tour, and that Dad would be back in five to six weeks, then said good bye. The rest of the day was spent driving to the Tour starting point, which is within 250 miles of where we are spending the night. It rained much of the afternoon on the drive to this point. Already I have to start thinking about what the rule will be if it is raining on a cycling day – one thing is for sure, I won’t be riding on a bicycle in the kind of rain I saw today. As I was riding around Tempe I only thought about flat roads and sunny days. Hills I will tackle, but rain is uncomfortable and dangerous in more ways than one.
Thought for the day: Make sure always that you have already said the most important things you have to say to your family…you never know.
Thought for the day: Make sure always that you have already said the most important things you have to say to your family…you never know.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Good and bad bets
5-10 August 2010 – Packed the car and left for Rick and Dad’s place. Long days in the car, traveling interstate highways, smoking more than my usual allotment of cigars –I have found they ensure I stay alert against the constant threat of drowsiness. Spent one night in New Mexico. Saturday I stayed with my cousins Jim and Carole. We had dinner at a local eclectic Asian restaurant. The pad Thai noodles were delicious. We spent the evening catching up on family. Their dog Riley loved me. The following day I traveled across the plains to Ames where I stayed with Phil and Rose. They had been in Denver the same day as I and arrived home just an hour before I got there. Since the Maid Rite stand was no longer there I had a cheese crisp at Taco John’s before going up to their home. We passed an enjoyable evening catching up and I met their dog Sammy who also loved me. Dogs show their love by licking you. Riley likes to lick the ears and Sammy likes to give the full facial. The following morning I traveled across Iowa and Wisconsin, via Dubuque, but somehow got off my path in southeastern Wisconsin and spent the better part of an hour traveling back roads. I could have stopped, turned on the computer and googled my way back on path, but that takes both the pain and the fun out. Driving across the country reduces life to basic needs for me – notwithstanding interesting interludes with friends and family – I need to eat, sleep, go to the bathroom, shower, drive, and smoke cigars. Still I made three observations on the state of the country, and Iowa has all four of the phenomena I noticed. First, they are building wind turbine -- very big wind turbine – farms in Iowa. When I see them I wonder if they exist because of mandates and tax-based incentives, or are they there because they are a free-market solution to a heralded energy shortfall. Second, more numerous than wind turbine farms are casinos. They line the Interstates everywhere I traveled except Colorado and Nebraska. I know these exist where they do because they make significant contributions to state tax coffers. They are definitely not there to give money to the poor and needy, nor to provide productive and fulfilling jobs. I admit I like to gamble, but this seems like bad tax policy to me. Third, and most amazing to me, are the corn and soybean crops of Iowa. Not that the seemly unending fields of these crops are in Iowa -- after living in Iowa for four years (many years ago) I already knew that his was so. The amazing thing was that every stalk of corn in every field was essentially the same height as every other stalk. Unlike 40 years ago there was no individual variation among the plants. I could have concluded that this was just a corn phenomenon, but the exact same thing is true of the soybean fields. When I first noticed this I kept looking at fields as I drove along. Surely there was some variation somewhere. It never happened. Then in a flash my twisted mind saw an analogy, namely that our health-care behaviors are going to become more and more homogenized if the federal government is permitted to the sole and final arbiter of “medical standards”. This is not a rant against Obamacare. It is a warning about the ultimate effects of bureaucratic standard setting. To paraphrase something Churchill once said about democracy: As bad as a libertarian world might be (because there is none today), the world of the caring, bureaucratic state is much worse.
Thought for the day: Remember in an insurance bet (life, health, accident) we are always taking the adverse side of the bet. Only accident insurance is named correctly. To reflect our side of the bet life insurance should be death insurance and health insurance should be illness insurance.
Thought for the day: Remember in an insurance bet (life, health, accident) we are always taking the adverse side of the bet. Only accident insurance is named correctly. To reflect our side of the bet life insurance should be death insurance and health insurance should be illness insurance.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
What's coming to you ain't going from you
4 August 2010 – The bike is in perfect condition after a tune-up by Jory at Landis. Now I am working my way through long lists of things to pack and do. Don’t forget the Icy Hot and aspirin! Nor those new-fangled Gum disposable soft picks for teeth – the best thing ever invented for getting food particles out from between teeth. Way better than floss and much easier to use. It must be so, the price has gone up from 2.39 to 3.99 in the 14-16 months I have been using them. I also tested my ability to send and receive e-mail and to upload blog postings with my new laptop. It’s also performing well. The chores for tomorrow include a few business details, packing, and one last check of everything. I will try to be done by 1800 so I can sit around and think if I have forgotten anything. I am not taking bets.
Thought for the day: Would I be considered an optimist for looking forward to sunny, cool, windless days on flat well-paved roads with the bike paths clearly marked.
Thought for the day: Would I be considered an optimist for looking forward to sunny, cool, windless days on flat well-paved roads with the bike paths clearly marked.
Maybe I need a tune-up
3 August 2010 -- Ditto 2 August so I took the bicycle to Landis for its tune-up.
Thought for the day: Pain drives out thought like bad money chases out good.
Thought for the day: Pain drives out thought like bad money chases out good.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Ouch!
2 August 2010 -- My back has given me pain all day. So much so that I forego riding today and wallowed in my anxiety about the idea of the whole Tour. Is this the way it is going to be on the whole Tour? Some aspirin and Icy Hot helped. Still this is not the state I want to be in when I leave later this week to rendezvous with Dad later. Trusting things will improve, I soldier on.
Thought for the day: Owwww!
Thought for the day: Owwww!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Better men than me
1 August 2010 – Today I pedaled 40 miles for the first time and had energy and daylight to spare. My state of mind and body lead me to believe I will be able to do 40 to 60 miles per day on the Tour. Sixty would be great because it would cut my time on the road by a third. Achieving a goal is always immensely satisfying for me, as the act of achievement establishes both the ability to overcome inertia and to press one’s personal capabilities to some new boundaries. At the same time, I remain realistic and keep in mind that my 65-year-old body has to be respected for what it can and cannot do. I have the greatest respect for Armstrong Schleck and Contador for their ability to go up mountains the way they do. Lance in his prime – and post cancer and post operations – will always be a hero to me, as words do not do justice to his capability. Others have affected me similarly -- mothers carrying, delivering and caring for children for one – and two-sheet, half inch plywood carriers for carpenters in the Arizona construction industry for another. All are capabilities I know I never nor ever will have. On the other hand, I now believe I can make it across the country on a bicycle. God grant those who pass me the awareness of the limitations of bicycles and the wisdom to act accordingly.
Thought for the day: It bears repeating. Many complex activities are just a long series of much simpler events.
Thought for the day: It bears repeating. Many complex activities are just a long series of much simpler events.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Rain
31 July 2010 -- Got up at five and was on the road at 5:10. Shiri-miri in the air (a light misting rain). It was cool, a little breeze, but dark clouds on the western side of town. I went about a mile and a half east, turned north, and just then shiri-miri turned into a typical Arizona rain – big drops pretty far apart. A mile later it was a steady rain – smaller drops but more dense. In a half a mile I was drenched, my back had a black streak all the way up from wet grit thrown up from the street, and I started to get chilled. This is hard to process in Arizona, but after walking the Pacific Crest Trail with brother Rick, I am sensitive to any signs of hypothermia. Manning on, I finished one loop, and then chose to not do a second one. It was the first rain I have ridden in, and I thought the revelation that I could do ten miles in the rain without rain gear was enough learning for today.
Thought for the day: If rain is probable, perhaps you should bring you're rain gear.
Thought for the day: If rain is probable, perhaps you should bring you're rain gear.
Good-byes at Salon Blissful and AFRL
29 and 30 July 2010. Events keep crowding into my practice schedule. Both Thursday (dentist, haircut and facial [they’re great for relaxing]) and Friday (good-bye breakfast with Frank and Mike, followed by a round of good-byes at the Kent St lab cut deeply into my morning time and limit me to one loop around Tempe. Both days are full of people to whom I point out “The Tour: Kent St Prologue” on YouTube and from whom I receive “good-byes” and “good lucks”. I keep trying to get Frank to make a commitment to do the RAGBRAI – he says he wants to – but hasn’t gone so far as to say “Okay we’ll do it in 2011.” Despite the fall-off in miles per day average this week, I am feeling ready.
Thought for the days -- It’s fun to say good-bye – wandering around, talking to the people with whom you like to talk.
Thought for the days -- It’s fun to say good-bye – wandering around, talking to the people with whom you like to talk.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Disconnected Days
28 July 2010 – What a day! I open my eyes at 9:50 AM -- way too late to think about riding (I do my 20-mile rides in the two hours between 5:00 and 7:00 AM before it goes over a 100 degrees), although I may try to do 10 miles later today. The Tour trip looms and my to-do list is more of an imperative so I make motel arrangements for the first three nights. Since completing the Tour is not a certainty, I do not plan too far in advance. Ademas having a support car, a broadband wireless laptop and cell phones along and with a relaxed cycling regimen, there is quite a bit of flexibility. This is the week of the RAGBRAI (Google it) in which my friend Phil is participating and today I read and learn there are 15,000 feet of climbing in the seven days of the ride -- so much for memories of a flat Midwest. As I am writing I hear Sharon in the kitchen going “Mmmm”. Memories of many delicious foods I consume there flood into my brain. From my desk I shout over my shoulder, “What are you eating?” and have all those savory memories blown to smithereens by “Brussels sprouts, want some?” that comes floating back -- so much for memories of tangy nectarines, amazing flans, or mouth-watering roasted or grilled meats. “Uh, no thanks...” Maybe a ride will get their taste out of my mouth.
Thought for the day: A lot happens in my mind that doesn’t happen anywhere else.
Thought for the day: A lot happens in my mind that doesn’t happen anywhere else.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
When I ride I don't always think about the bike or the road
27 July 2010 -- I don’t know if it is a sign of age, experience gained by years of observation, or something else but I am disgusted by policy arguments framed by our two major political parties. I think I have reached the core of the problem. Each of the two sides frame their arguments as two-sided with one choice deliberately skewed to make its side look good, and the other choice and side look bad. Are you for the rich or everyone else? Are you compassionate or not? Are you frugal or not? Either you help the millions without health insurance or you are evil. I have had enough. Take compassion. I am as compassionate as the next person and would like to see a helping society, but I must limit my compassion to choices that do not leave future generations impoverished and with fewer choices. I also have three views about taxes that support our government’s efforts to enable a helping society. First, taxes are takings, and so it is preferable to have them be voluntary. Second, in a democratic, participatory, republic, everyone must pay taxes (though there may be some progressivity in my opinion), so they have a deeper understanding of their pain. Third, punitive taxes on legal products are evil – whether you buy the product or not. I also believe free markets (even with all the evils of greed and chicanery) are better than non free markets (in which the evils of greed and chicanery still exist but are hidden from view). Since neither of the two major political parties will address our societal needs with fiscal soundness at levels of taxation that are acceptable to all the people, I have come to the conclusion that it is time for a new political party.
Thought for the day: The most important cause of the increase in U.S. life expectancy is better medicine, not more insurance.
Thought for the day: The most important cause of the increase in U.S. life expectancy is better medicine, not more insurance.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Why I believe in magic
26 July 2010 -- For three or four months now I have been riding a ten-mile loop around Tempe one or two times a day (more two times than one). This loop mostly keeps me on streets with bicycle lanes. One part of the loop goes along Rio Salado Drive – a less busy street – where two scrub Palo Verde trees have been inexorably growing into the bike lane. Another part goes along College Avenue where a more mature Palo Verde has grown above the fence around its yard and down into the bike lane. For many days as I passed each spot I thought about city maintenance. Last Saturday as I swerved around the branches on Rio Salado and a car passed me at the same time, I resolved to call the city to have the branches cut back and mused how I would describe their location. Mind you I the branches on College Ave were not part of this musing. As I thought I would have to call on Monday, after I got home I forgot to call, hence Sunday and Monday went by without me doing anything – but on Monday I resolved to call without hesitation – and forgot again. On Tuesday the branches were gone, so as I later passed the tree on College I resolved to call about them too – and forgot again. Nevertheless on Wednesday those branches were gone. As an empiricist I see three possible explanations. First, Tempe recently had some kind of wireless broadband network installed in town. That band must broad enough to read thoughts, especially thoughts held with a great deal of conviction, and someone in city maintenance monitors that band frequency. Second, I have mental powers and am directly linked to someone in city maintenance with the authority to get things right. I like this explanation: it confirms my view of my importance. Third, even in fiscally challenging times, my city manages to work effectively to keep my quality of life high. I like this explanation too because there’s not a liberal in sight yet we still manage to take care of ourselves.
Thought for the day: This magic is ineffectual in Indian casinos where the laws of probability rule.
Thought for the day: This magic is ineffectual in Indian casinos where the laws of probability rule.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Dad
24 July 2010 – After Dad receives his Tour t-shirts he calls and asks “what are all these yellow shirts for?” and I say “did you read the back?” He says “wait a minute” and puts the phone down. Two minutes later he is back on the line and says “oh”. I say “yeah there for you to wear on the Tour”. “Okay” is his reply and we start talking about Herb when I realize that I need to know “Dad do you have a current passport?” and he says “Wait a minute” and he’s gone again. I wait three or five minutes – I have to laugh -- and then I hear “Yeah, why?” I say “You may need it to get back in the country”. “Okay, that’s taken care of.” “No it will be taken care of when we leave with the van.” “Okay.” At 92 he takes his time and remains mellow most of the time. I look forward to traveling with him, although at 92 there are certain stories I will have to hear many times – costs and benefits.
Thought for the day: Hint here.
Thought for the day: Hint here.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Yahoo! YouTube
23 July 2010 – Today I successfully loaded a video about the Tour on YouTube. If you are interested the specific URL is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GywkuLq0xeU . I was also able to locate the video on YouTube by using the search option for the title, “The Tour Kent St Prologue”. With just about three weeks to go to the start of the tour my well-being is pretty high as I have mastered in the last month all of the critical elements of documenting the Tour, including getting off the couch and starting to build my exercise capacity, riding a bike powering the pedals on the up and down strokes, doing essential maintenance, creating and uploading a blog, and creating and uploading a video file. In my judgment I have sufficient resources and equipment to actually complete the Tour. Soon the arduous part begins.
Thought for the day: It’s said good fortune comes to the well-prepared. I hope so.
Thought for the day: It’s said good fortune comes to the well-prepared. I hope so.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
I am not really a detail guy
22 July 2010 – Drat! I overslept again this morning and despite having said I wouldn’t ride in the heat of the day, I did. Thank God for the monsoon that brought in all those clouds that filtered and diffused the sunlight. The video is complete so it’s now just a matter of signing up on YouTube.
Thought for the day: Sometimes a little fun involves a lot of details. Thank goodness I am a detail guy.
Thought for the day: Sometimes a little fun involves a lot of details. Thank goodness I am a detail guy.
Flip
21 July 2010 – After this morning’s ride I packed all my gear and took it to the lab for the Kent St Prologue to collect important video to post on YouTube – first I have to piece the segments together, get a YouTube account, and upload the complete video. I love the Flip camcorder. Switches and buttons have been reduced to a minimum, installation of software on the PC is instantaneous, and no problems appear. The software has limited capability for editing (none) and special effects (also none), but it does the job and all for 129 dollars.
Thought for the day: Our time is short, let’s have some fun.
Thought for the day: Our time is short, let’s have some fun.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Waterballooner Struggles
20 July 2010 – Each day I try to do 20 miles starting between 5 and 5:30 AM. It’s cooler, there is less wind, and the sun has not reached its full desert power. This morning I overslept, struggled with inertia, and so completed a bunch of chores to distract myself from that struggle. At 3:00 PM I finally got on my bike to do a ten mile loop – it was 109 degrees, pretty humid for the desert, and windy. At nine miles I was exhausted. From now until I leave for the Tour starting point, I will either get up and do the 20 or forget it.
Now it’s time for my hand-rolled Honduran cigar.
Thought for the day: Hydration is good, a little sugar does wonders, and a good cigar can’t be beat.
Now it’s time for my hand-rolled Honduran cigar.
Thought for the day: Hydration is good, a little sugar does wonders, and a good cigar can’t be beat.
Fun and Safety
19 July 2010 – To prepare for the first video about the Tour, I had a conversation with an Air Force Colonel who is also an avid bicyclist with more than a little experience with the force of water balloons (another story). His observations increased my awareness of the physics involved and led to the subject of this blog, which you are free to call a plea on behalf of my safety. The three parts of the plea follow immediately: (1)Be standing still when you toss the balloon; (2) toss the balloon underhand; and (3) please use clean liquid tap water. These steps will help preserve my well-being and insure that a crash-related injury does not prevent me from finishing the Tour.
Thought for the day: JA-RU Toys makes perfect water balloons or they are available on Amazon. Buy some and practice on a friend.
Thought for the day: JA-RU Toys makes perfect water balloons or they are available on Amazon. Buy some and practice on a friend.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
The 218 Society
18 July 2010 – It is reported a malaise is upon the land. There’s a lot of talk about the country being past its prime. Excuse me, but I want to see for myself. Before last summer and the spontaneous emergence of the so-called “tea party” I felt angry about disconnects between my life and what politicians in the D.C. from both parties identified as important. As a statistician by trade I began to think about all the numbers floating around (At the time, pundits and fear-mongering panderers on both sides tossed around trillion-dollar bombs as if they were trifles). The more I thought, the more a single number came to mind – 218. Here’s the reason: two hundred and eighteen like-minded persons can control the spending on the federal government. This is so because the House of Representatives controls the budget, and 218 is the number that controls the House. So now I am waiting for the rest of the country to realize that electing 218 fiscally sane persons is the simplest path to real change in the direction of the country. An ancillary goal of the Tour is to talk up this idea with ordinary folks, and get their reaction to it. I even have a name for the idea – the 218 Society.
Thought for the day: Lighten up. If you will I will.
Thought for the day: Lighten up. If you will I will.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Look for the T-shirt with the WaterBallooner logo
17 July 2010 – I picked up 20 WaterBallooner t-shirts today. Cool! One for Rick, Tom, and Herb, six for Dad, eleven for me. To get one, email tshirts@brandxstore.com and ask for a Water Ballooners shirt. They will ship, via USPS, up to 5 t-shirts at the following per shirt price: Long Sleeve = $23.61; Short Sleeve = $21.61. More than five shirts and you need to contact BrandX about increased shipping costs. I like the people at BrandX so I chose to put this plug in for them – I make nothing on the sales. Monday I pick up my laptop, my Verizon broadband card, and a Flip video camera -- all for documenting the trip. Having written today’s entry, I am now sitting here trying to list and sort to-do items before leaving. It will be nice to be on the ride, because then I will either have everything I need or do without. It’s easier that way. I have an idea for my first YouTube video, but it will take until the end of next week to realize – I have to learn all this stuff as I go along.
Thought for the day: One thing is certain, there will be no tweets.
Thought for the day: One thing is certain, there will be no tweets.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Inertia and Inexorability
16 July 2010 – Yesterday I did my sixth day in a row at 20 miles. I felt good. Today inertia returned. I woke late (0600), thought about my 0730 breakfast with friends Frank and Mike, the 1100 lunch with Jennifer and Jasmine, having to get a new ID, and how hot it would be (100+ F) and blew off the ride. Inertia is a challenge. A year ago, the greatest difficulty was actually getting on the stationary bike and pedaling. Nevertheless, I did build up a bit of a routine. Some thing would come up (a business trip, a cold, a trip to Spain). Inertia returned as strong as ever, having to be overcome again. Inexorability became the antidote, but I claim no responsibility for this state of affairs. It’s true that I was responsible for talking to friends about really doing the trip. I didn't expect what happened after. They started asking questions: Have you been exercising (not yet, but I will soon [and did]); what kind of bicycle will you get (I don’t know but someone will know something [Jaymie did]); what’s your route (I can’t tell you, but I am going from one side of the country to the other); when are you doing this (next [now this] summer}; who is going with you (No one. Do you want to come?). As I worked to have an answer to each question that came up, I moved inexorably closer to actually being prepared and starting. Now it’s mere weeks away. Yikes!
Thought for today: Thank friends when their curiosity helps move your plans forward. Thanks Friends.
Thought for today: Thank friends when their curiosity helps move your plans forward. Thanks Friends.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Fact of the Matter
14 July 2010 – The previous post recounts origins of the Tour. Fact is I am not leaving from Seattle, rather an undisclosed location - for the simple reason that it would be too easy for the country to pinpoint my location and pummel me every day. I’m as competitive as the next person, so I’d like to win the game, and an early lead is my best chance. I won’t be posting locations but I will recount in a general way my progress and experiences as I go – I will work to include obscure clues as to my location. Most days I will wear one of my 12 Tour t-shirts with a Tour logo, hence I am not exactly hiding. On August 6th I leave Tempe to pick up my Dad who will drive his van as a support vehicle – together we will head to the start point (Until day 1 of the Tour, the score remains: Bill – zero, Country –zero). I am really happy for Dad's company as he is a skilled tool man – not an inherited trait– which may come in handy, and after breakfast he is pretty easy-going.
Thought for today: Inertia is the enemy of innovation.
Thought for today: Inertia is the enemy of innovation.
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