Random Thoughts on My Trip to Memphis

1. Scary city. Can't imagine living there.
2. BBQ Places and Sub Shops are among the best. This is a BBQ sandwich my co-worker had at Neely's.

3. Downtown (Beale St. and the like) is awesome.
4. Only saw two bicycles the whole week I was there.
5. (Getting on) Public Transportation in Memphis: Not the smartest thing I've ever done.
6. Walking aimlessly from the hotel in Memphis: Also not the smartest thing I've ever done.
7. St. Jude's Hospital has an impressive spread right off the interstate. Instantly went back to the bikeathons as a kid.
8. Racial tension seems incredibly high still in Memphis.
9. If they expect wind chills near zero, there is a special scrolling statement on the weather channel that tells them to layer up and to wear hats and gloves. Took me about twenty minutes to quit laughing over that one.
10. Our hotel sucked. The Ramada on Mt. Moriah road is also a scary place. When we told the desk clerk (after finding out our keys no longer worked on Wednesday) that my co-worker's door was left open a crack all day after housekeeping left, she didn't even respond. Just reprogrammed the keys and handed them back. Unreal.
11. Asked a good 'ol boy how he was doing in the hotel and he responded: Guh, hah ute?
12. Most people speak with what one cab driver told us is the "Memphis Mumble". Very accurate description.
13. The hotel workout has the following sexist statement on it's signage: "Consult your physician before exercising and follow *HIS* advice".

14. Stopped at Graceland at night. Said 'hey' to Elvis. Cross that off my list of things I could care less if I ever seen in my life. Yet another scary part of town.

No future trips planned to Memphis if I can help it. I live in South Dakota for a reason. Memphis helped solidify many of those reasons.

Backroad Cycling WILL Stink This Summer in SD

Dreaming of a wonderful, quiet ride in the country this summer? Very few cars to deal with, beautiful skies......and the stench of dead animals....bring it on.

From Keloland.com

Negotiators Change Roadkill Bill

It appears that the financially pinched state highway fund in South Dakota has avoided another million-dollar-plus hit.

Legislative negotiators have stripped a provision from a bill that would have required the state to pay for the removal of dead deer from county roadsides.

HB1293 instead will require dead deer pickup within 96 hours from only state highways.

State Transportation Secretary Darin Bergquist says it costs about $380,000 a year to do that now, but it would cost up to $1.5 million more to also pay contractors to retrieve dead deer from county highways.

Ditches, Bitches, and Brass Monkeys

Ditches: I had to work in Sioux Falls today. On my way up the interstate wasn't great, but it wasn't bad if you took a little caution. Apparently, some in South Dakota disagree with me. There were three cars in the ditch between the Tea exit and I-229, a mere 2-3 mile stretch. One blonde seemed completely unconcerned as she chatted on her cell phone while buried in the ditch. I'm sure she was calling for help, but a part of me laughed thinking that she was talking on the phone to a friend, not even realizing she was in the ditch. I like that thought much better. Makes it seem more poetically acceptable.

Had lunch with Mr. Bite again and we talked about the usual stuff: biking, babes, and booze. Next week our collective good looks will be enhanced greatly as we meet with Janey from the MS Society for lunch.

Bitches: On the way home from fleet on my bike, I heard a creaking noise behind me so I moved farther over onto the untouched snow. The creaking wasn't the car itself but a smartass kid opening a creaky door to do the fake "I'm going to hit you with my back door" trick. Lucky for him I didn't recognize him and the license plate was snowed over. I've been known to call the cops and make complaints on such fine, outstanding citizens. Here's hoping that he truly IS a good kid just showing off. Here's hoping he doesn't do it again. It could get bloody.


Brass Monkey: I had a friend who needed a little computer assistance tonight. I got my riding gear on and went over to his place. It's probably 1.5-2 miles to his place. Even though I was bundled up and fine, I noticed that my hands got a touch cold making me wish that I had put my liners in my gloves. When I got home and checked my computer I noticed the air temp is a balmy -8 degrees. Gee...wonder why my hands got a little cold in my lighter linings. On the bright side, I didn't even really notice the temp other than my hands. I am apparently getting seasoned well to the weather.

Rollers, Snow, and Housework --OH MY

Nothing in the cycling world could have possibly made me feel more like I was just learning how to ride my bike again than rollers! It took me about 15 minutes to finally take a few pedal strokes without one hand on the counter in the basement. I DID conquer the rollers and will probably use them here and there, but I'm not a HUGE fan. Let's just say that bundling up and braving the cold for an hour or so sounds MUCH more appealing.

Snow...well...yes...we got snow today. I'm not totally sure how much we got, but I've heard anywhere from 7-10 inches. Ask me how my back feels from shoveling all this stuff! Even WITH the help of my 11 year old this morning. He magically disappeared after the snowplow went by and I had to dig out the driveway.

I am ready to go back to work. I've done enough housework to last me about two weeks this extended weekend. It all needed to be done and I can't complain. While I was busy with the laundry, Laura and her mother turned Marissa's room from Pink to this:

The "grass" was my idea and it went over well. It doesn't show up well on this picture, but there is "grass". Eventually it will have some lady bug, dragonfly, and butterfly stickers in the "sky" and on the "grass".

Three Day Weekends

The beauty of working for the State: Every holiday known to man is yours creating many three day weekends. Which this weekend was a great thing as half of it was over before I knew what happened. Working the track meet Friday night and Saturday until 5:00 and after ate up a good chunk early.

The rest of the night was spent putting the finishing touches on a sermon as I had to give the sermon in both Gayville and Vermillion today. Of course the rest of the day will be spent watching football (along with doing many loads of laundry -- my nervous energy). The Patriots didn't look great, but it does look like they are on their way to the Superbowl.

I'm not sure that I really care about the second game, other than it might be fun to have the Patriots/Packers in a rematch of Superbowl XXXI. Of course I'll be hoping for a better outcome this year! I'm trying to work out a deal with Craig D. that if the Patriots beat the Packers, he has to start blogging. We need a different view of cycling in Vermillion other than just mine! I was thinking about a more embarrassing bet, but this bet might have to do. I haven't heard from Craig what would happen if by some totally obscure chance that the Patriots would lose the Superbowl, but I'm not all that worried at this point.

In other noise, I'm going to break down and get back on the trainer indoors a little for a few weeks. The mileage I'm getting in town and spinning in the dome just isn't cutting it for training right now. Time to refocus and get serious about cycling again.

Robots Are Taking Over!

In a moderately recent post, I told you about a robotic addition to our family: The iRobot Roomba. We like "Wild Mike" (our Roomba, named after Wild Mike on the movie Barnyard) so much that we now have a new arrival to the robot litter: "Scooba Do".



Our kitchen floor takes such a beating with three kids that I hope Scooba Do will take away some of the back-breaking mopping chores. The floor is pretty gross right now but I have to let it charge overnight before I use it. I'll try to take before/after pictures and post.

If it doesn't go well, I can always have robot wars and see which one wins.