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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Origins of the Tour

13 July 2010 – About three years ago I am sitting at lunch with some friends and conversation centers on how unhappy the state of affairs is. As I often do, I lobbed a bomb for effect, saying “why don’t we do something to create some joy in the country.” “Like what” comes a swift inquiry? After a pause -- of not too deep reflection – I say, “Imagine that we cycle across the country and invite people to lob water balloons at us.” My friends looked at me as they would a suffering derelict (you know like, ‘’oh dear me here’s another one gone round the bend.). “No, no, seriously… think about it. Say we start in Seattle. We can probably get into Idaho without much notice. By the time we reach Minnesota, we might start getting some local interest. It might drift over to the Internet, become viral, and by the time we get to Chicago the ride might be a small noticeable event. If so, just imagine what Cleveland, Philadelphia and New York City might be like. All those people lined up to lob a water balloon.” Needless to say, my friends still think I’m crazy – none dare to come along – while in my mind’s eye I still foresee a joyous, fun-filled time.” Catch me if you can!

Thought for today: To experience that great relief at the end of a ride, you have to start it somewhere.

Preparations

12 July 2010 – Being 65, I began early to become more or less ready for this trip. A year ago I was at nine minutes on a stationary bike and 65 pounds overweight. That bike was boring; so after 3 months I gave it away and bought a Trek 1.2 from Landis Cyclery. Today I am 37 pounds over and cycling 20 miles a day in Tempe. It’s hot, so I start early. At the ready are my spare wheel sets, tires, tubes, tools, extra spokes, flashers, shoes and clips, an indispensable pair of padded shorts, and water. Vanessa helped me choose this stuff. Jori and Jim at Landis did their best to teach me to maintain my bike. I am waiting for my Tour t-shirts from Brand-X Custom T-Shirts. I like my logo and will post an image in due time. In addition to the $2500 I have spent on the bike, the t-shirts, and the spare parts, I have yet to buy a laptop for the trip, but have saved what I judge to be enough money to cover expenses. Nevertheless, I have selected the option to permit advertising on this page – income will first defray costs; all of the rest will go to support a non-profit that supports dialysis for those in need.
Thought for today: Long complex experiences are always comprised of many, and much simpler, events.

A journey starts before the first pedal

12 July 2010 – Imagine a paved path 18-36 inches wide stretching from one side the country to the other. In my mind’s eye I see myself bicycling from one end to the other of this path. I see drivers coming up from behind, passing me, reading my t-shirt, and wondering what the 2010 Tour of Water Balloons is. Some will get go to the Internet and find my Facebook page, my YouTube videos, and this blog. There they will see that I intend to start this journey August 15 2010 and learn that I have invited everyone to find me and gently toss a water balloon in my direction. They will learn this blog is a record of my journey, experiences and thoughts along the way. They will learn I intend to keep score (one point for me on each day I get through without getting wet, via water balloon, one point for the country on day’s that I do. The score starts at Bill – zero, Country –zero).
Thought for today: I prefer to do things for myself and/or pay my own way.