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Archive for the ‘Just for fun’ Category

Carl’s cookies come undone

Posted in Just for fun, The mental challenge on June 24, 2011| 1 Comment »

Lander, WY to Dubois, WY

Friendly horn taps: 2

Rude horn honks: 1

Miles: 78

Total so far: 3,274

Wind River cliffs

It’s been awhile since I’ve “worked the road” as a state trooper.  I know I’ve experienced weather induced trauma, but we all have that.  Certainly anyone who’s run for his life at the sssssshhhhhh sound of a semi truck going sideways on the ice can’t really come away from the experience unfazed.  It’s like finding your self  in a dinosaur nightmare, and the behemoths are out to get you.  I’ve suffered frost bite, and I’ve lost my way in ground blizzards (by that I mean out on foot where I can’t find my car with all the lights running).  I don’t do any of that anymore, I’ve been retired for over five years.

Today, I put on a show for Sallie’s birthday.  We are riding along in the afternoon struggling with some storm cell generated winds.  The storms are coming across at us from the west as we head north-west in the Wind River Indian Reservation. There’s a large combined cell behind us that we are pretty clear of after some hard work, it’s sliding south, but there’s one coming across in front of us and I can see sunshine on the other side, so if it hits us maybe we can ride through it.

Soon the rain starts and it’s coming down suddenly and with a fury stoked by strong winds, but the sun is starting to shine on us, so I get the feeling we may make it through.  That’s when I look up ahead and there is a large semi coming south and he’s churning up a serious amount of spray on the road, and I think to myself, that’s pretty wet, and that’s when the klaxon horns started going off in my head.

AOOGAAH!  AOOGAAH! GET OFF THE ROAD!  THE STORM IS TOO STRONG, SHELTER! SHELTER! YOU ARE GETTING WET, THE WIND IS BLOWING! WIND AND WET! DANGER! DANGER! TEMPERATURE MAY DROP, WIND AND WET AND COLD – DANGER! DANGER! SHELTER – MAN’S FIRST NEED GET SHELTER – GET YOUR RAIN JACKET ON NOW! SHELTER BEHIND THAT SIGN!

I found a road entrance to my right and there is this sign near the right-of-way fence that’s about 3 feet by 4 feet, and it’s maybe 6 feet off the ground.  It’s over to one side of a cattle guard, and I head for it, thinking I have to get my rain jacket out of my left front pannier.  The wind is really huffing now and I stop the bike.  The wind is trying to blow the bike over and my cleat is caught in the pedal and I can’t clip out on the left side, I’m going down!

AOOGAAH! AOOGAH! YOU’VE FALLEN ON THE PAVEMENT! YOU’VE CUT YOUR LEG ON THE CHAINRING! DANGER! DANGER! GREASY CUT ON THE LEG! INFECTION DANGER! SHELTER! SHELTER! FORGET THE LEG! GET YOUR JACKET! -MAN’S FIRST NEED – SHELTER!  YOU CAN’T PUT THE JACKET ON OVER THE CAMELBAK! DISCARD THE CAMELBACK! GET BEHIND THE SIGN! ZIP UP THE JACKET! RAISE THE BIKE BACK ON THE STAND! GET BEHIND THE SIGN YOU ARE VERY WET! DANGER! DANGER!   THE BIKE HAS FALLEN AGAIN! THE WIND IS TOO STRONG! THE CONTENTS OF YOUR HANDLEBAR BAG ARE THREATENING TO SPILL INTO THE CATTLE GUARD! DANGER! YOU’LL NEED A CRANE TO GET THOSE THINGS!

(Meanwhile, Sallie is standing by the roadside, having to hold her foot on her bike stand to keep the wind from blowing her bike over, but she’s perfectly fine, and most importantly, hardly even wet from the rain.)

After some time of gathering up my belongings, cleaning my leg up, and getting the crud  that blew across the pavement when the bike was down off the brake surface of one wheel, we ride off.

And the storm cell passes, the wind dies, and I declare that all my struggle was much to do about nothing.  Sallie agrees.  A mile down the road, I realize I left my Camelbak too.

Either I worked one to many storms, or I’m touching base with the last threads of my sanity as we push ourselves beyond reasonable limits on this ride across the country.

Maybe it’s the former as well as the latter.

Perhaps I jinxed us by taking this rare picture of a windless Wyoming flag today at a rest area

A small one coming over the mountains at us

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Tomorrow’s ride is dedicated to Harriet Phillips and Frank Colavita

Harriet Phillips and Frank Colavita

Harriet Phillips and Frank Colavita, were a sensational couple. Not only were they loving, generous, caring, involved parents but they were an inspiration to all those around them. They loved to go dancing, sailing, and were always drawing friends together for outings to festivals, concerts, art openings, or great dining adventures.  Harriet was an artist. Her prolific collection may be viewed at: www.zhibit.org/harrietphillips. Frank was a recently retired psychology professor at the University of Pittsburgh. They both loved their craft and had a passion for teaching it to others. Frank was a nationally ranked runner, having placed first in his age category in the Florida State Championships in 2008, qualifying for a prestigious spot in the Senior Olympics in summer of 2009. They were taken in the prime of their lives by a drunk driver, on February 13, 2009.

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Blown out

Posted in Friends made on the road, Just for fun on June 7, 2011| 3 Comments »

Bazine, KS

Day off – no riding

The view from inside the mesh

This is the view I had from my tent this morning upon getting up…no stars, but bright sun.  Yes, I slept in.  We arose at 4:30 this morning, but the wind turned very bad overnight and it was blowing in excess of 40miles per hour well before sunrise.  There was no chance of a productive ride today and a better forecast for tomorrow.  I slept in.

Elaine of Elaine's Bicycle Oasis B&B in Bazine, KS

What to do in Bazine, Kansas?  First of all, understand we are staying at Elaine’s Bicycle Oasis Bed and Breakfast.  That means there is a local contact to help with local sights and things to do, and one nice enough to loan us a car to do a little touring (sans bikes).

Barbed Wire Capital of the World!

Once I complete

Sallie examines a ball 'O barbed wire

d chain maintenance on the bicycles, we went to Effie’s Restaurant in Rush Center for her famous hamburgers, and then went up the road to LaCrosse to the Rush County Barbed Wire Museum.

Samples from all over the world

In all seriousness, barbed wire was an extremely important advancement in the great plains, preventing large cattle drives from entering croplands.

Rock Post Museum

 

Then we went to the Post Rock museum.  Folks in this part of Kansas did not have access to timber for fence posts, so they used the local sandstone for posts.   These post don’t rot, and are still in use all over the area.

Rock post on a fence line corner

OK Philip - this one's for you. Elaine's is a very serious place. Cyclists behave!

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Since today was an unexpected day off the bikes, our dedication from yesterday will continue for tomorrow.

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Small wonders

Posted in Friends made on the road, Just for fun on June 2, 2011| 1 Comment »

Toronto, KS to Cassoday, KS

Friendly horn taps: 5

Rude honks: 1

Miles: 60

Total so far: 2,135

The Fall River near Eureka, KS

Camping at Cassoday City Park

My tent is a modern marvel of materials and design.  It works with an inner shell of breathable material, mostly screen mesh for ventilation and then a rain fly over top of that, designed to shed water.  The design provides for a space between the mesh and the fly, essentially keeping a minimum of material from touching the fly, as that is where leaks may start.

Now, let’s talk about spiders.  Daddy Long Legs in particular (also known as Harvestmen), which are really not spiders at all.  Although they belong to the class of arachnids, they are not really spiders for a variety of technical reasons.  Here’s what is important: 1. They eat bugs — including mosquitoes. 2. They are commonly thought of being dangerous to humans, but they are completely harmless to people.  3.  Anything that eats mosquitoes, is OK in my book when I am camping.

Every morning when I awake, there are maybe a dozen of these creatures on the mesh area of my tent, usually up high, below the rain fly, hanging out, apparently having gorged themselves all night long on the variety of bugs that try to get into my tent.  That’s good stuff.

Here’s the question I have:  How do these not-so-little guys know to flock to tents in the first place (they don’t fly, they walk), and then position themselves up high between the mesh and the fly?  I presume, like mosquitoes they may be attracted to the carbon dioxide I emit when I breathe, but is that the reason they hang out on people’s screens at their houses too?  Even when the windows are closed?

Butler County Kansas today

These are the things I ponder as I cycle across Kansas.

 

Stan and Margie on a 200 mile jaunt from Wichita, KS to a class reunion in Paola, KS

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Tomorrow’s ride is dedicated to Kegan Johns

Kegan Johns

Kegan Johns, Marion Illinois, was killed 8/18/2004. A night of many bad choices by two 18 year old boys went terribly wrong. My son Kegan trusted his best friend with his life. His 18 year old friend walked in to a liquor store and bought a bottle of vodka, consumed it and Kegan got into the car with him, and was involved in a single vehicle crash that killed Kegan instantly. My heart is forever broken. His shining smile, his loving touch and caring nature are missed by many.

Always & forever I love you and miss you Kegan,

Mom 

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Talking to Rocky

Posted in Just for fun on May 13, 2011| 7 Comments »

Columbus, MS to Aberdeen, MS

Friendly horn taps: 6

Miles: 35

Total so far:  1,069

Starting coffee. Note the "critter proof" pole in the background with the partially ripped grocery bags.

We were partially rained out today after a valiant effort to ride in the rain. We had to hole up twice, once for lightning and once for a pending thunderstorm that appeared pretty strong. We rode in the rain into Aberdeen and after a lunch break, decided to sit out the rest of the day and get a hotel room for a break.

We’ve ridden eighteen days straight and last night we agreed to take a day off after today’s ride. Instead, we’ll count today as a short day and ride tomorrow, but I suspect we can’t keep this up without a day off soon. We’ll have to monitor ourselves closely for fatigue.

Speaking of fatigue, last night at our camp, we hung our trash on the provided metal trash pole in our traditional plastic shopping bags (a very valuable commodity when touring).  In the middle of the night, I awoke to a bit of a racket to see a raccoon hanging from the pole like an experienced lineman and grabbing at the bag.  I yelled to him, “Hey!” and he stopped his pawing, turned toward me for a minute and just hung there like he was deciding if he needed to pay me any attention.  I yelled again, “Get down from there!” He slides halfway down the pole hand under hand with his legs wrapped around the pole like some kind of veteran fireman, stops and looks at me again.  I said, “Go on, get out of here!”  He slides the rest of the way down the pole and saunters off.  True story.

The rest of the story:

When I first yelled to the raccoon, he turned and with one paw holding onto the pole, his feet firmly braced around below him, he looks at me and gesturing with his other arm says, “Are you talking to me?”

“Yes, I’m talking to you. What is that, a Chicago accent?”

“Brilliant”, he says, “You must have graduated from the sixth grade. Yes, genius, that’s a Chicago accent.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Me and some guys…we got in some trouble.  A forestry guy packs me up and ships me here.  They say it’s for my own protection.  Don’t worry about it. Hey, you got any pizza in these bags?”

“No.”

Sliding expertly halfway down the pole, he says, “I like deep dish. These clowns around here, all they got is frozen.  Hey, where’s your camper?  You got no car here?”

“No.  Our bicycles are over there.  We are riding bicycles from Florida to Oregon.”

“What?  Are you nuts or something?  I smell oatmeal packets in this trash, are you eating just the healthy stuff?”

“Yes.”

“Sheesh.  Figures.  You’re probably eating gunpowder and drinking nitroglycerine to make a ride like that.  Go get yourself some deep dish and relax some.   I’m outta here.”  And off he went.

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Tomorrow’s ride is dedicated to Adam and Lindsey Arnold Zimmer 

Adam and Lindsey

Their life was just beginning. They had it all.  A new marriage, new job, new home and new baby on the way.  They had so much to live for and so much to give.  Their favorite saying was, Live, Laugh, Love, and live, laugh, love is what they did. 

On February 21, 2009, my son Adam, his wife Lindsey and their unborn son, Riley were killed by a drunk driver in Illinois.  They were on their way to a Blue’s hockey game at about 4 in the afternoon.  The man that killed them had at least 6 prior DUI’s and a suspended license.  He hit them at over 100 mph pushing them into the oncoming lane where a truck hit them.  That driver was also under the influence.  They were killed instantly.

The world, and my life, will never be the same.

Susan Zimmer

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