Hurt City - Good Cycling Read

Just finished a book called "Hurt City" by Bob Voiland and it was an interesting read. It's kind of a long journal about a cyclist who has been to all 48 contiguous states on his bike, many by himself, and all leaving from his home in Colorado. It would be one thing to ride in all states, but having the self-imposed rule that you had to leave from your home is pretty cool actually. His wife would usually come and get him when he was done (what an awesome lady!). At any rate, if you are a cyclist, it's a good read and I suggest you grab it.

Another cool side note is that a friend from work loaned the book to me and it's a signed copy of the book to his Dad. Bob and his Dad knew each other when they were younger as they both grew up in Sioux City at that point. So, for people around here, it has a touch of local flair.

Walmart is Open

It finally happened....the evil empire has invaded Vermillion. As of 7:30 a.m. this morning, Vermillion now has a Walmart. Evil or not, I'll still buy some things there. Here's to hoping that they shape up, or are forced to shape up, the way they take care of their employees.

A Half Marathon?

Did I absolutely LOSE MY MIND? A half marathon at age (to be) 39? Not that it's out of the ordinary to run a half or full (or further) at this age, it's just that I've been a cyclist for so long that I just don't run that far anymore. That, and the simple fact that my body quickly rebels since a car accident in '92 messed up my back bad. I have tried on a few occasions to get back into the running shape that led me to run two marathons back in 1990. Once I hit about the six mile mark, my back starts saying things that make me blush, and I didn't even know that my back could talk!

So, for the most part, my jogging has been easy jogs of 2-4.5 miles, and not very often at that. With my love of two wheels being so strong, running is just one of those things that I do on occasion to punish myself for not going harder on the bike. I have not run 6 miles in probably 10 years at least.

And now, for the rest of the story (my apologies to Paul Harvey). A couple of weeks ago, we received an email at work from our health benefits that stated that they would pay the entry fee to the Deadwood Marathon or 1/2 Marathon in June for all state employees provided we registered by Feb. 3rd. I started talking to some of the runners (and bikers) that we should do this. Okay, not just talking...talking smack! A guy who hasn't run over 6 miles in 10 years started picking on select individuals saying that I can not only do this, but beat them! Am I INSANE?

Well, some of them are now asking what the wager will be. Rut ro....open mouth, insert foot! As I have been trying to run 2-3 times a week, I have been struggling to push over 3.5 miles of continuous running. I know it's okay to walk some, but that is SO not me. I still want to be that competitive guy that I used to be (within reason). So, I will push on with the training in which I have described to Laura as my LAST serious effort to run longer distances again. I'm happy with my shorter runs, but want to give 6+ miles one more good go, especially now that Laura is getting to be such a good massage therapist!

Today was the final push. Cindy messaged me with the link to the registration pdf of the Deadwood 1/2 Marathon. I told her it was a very "subtle" hint. She said that is was no hint. I said, "It isn't"? She said "no". Hmmm...how to take this. Without anymore being said, I printed off the registration, filled it out, and walked it down and handed it to Cindy who already had hers filled out. Joe was in the process of filling his out too. So now...IT'S ON! Me and my big mouth! I will never learn. I can always seem to motivate others to do these type of things, but often, like this particular experience, it is at MY expense as well.

Wish me luck, may the fun begin!

Skid Lid is ON!

Okay, so I'm a pretty serious cyclist...but I rarely wear my skid lid in town unless I'm riding with somebody. My friend Joe has been wearing his all the time and I recently talked to him about the fact that I should...that it's MUCH more likely to go down in town due to traffic than even in a paceline at 20 mph. Well, to improve my fatherly image and to make sure my brains remain INSIDE my skull if I find myself on the losing side of a dumped bicycle, I am happy to report that as of Monday that the helmet is firmly attached to my skull for ALL bicycle trips.

The Ford Windstar "Pringle" Holder

Did you know that a Pringle can fits very well in the can holder on a Windstar? Neither did I! You can believe that I will be testing to see what other goodies might fit in this so called "pop can holder". Of course, it would help if I actually drove anywhere I suppose.....

Dress for Your Dinner

As most of you know (that know me anyway) I help run the Daktronics video board for almost all USD Coyote sporting events. Today at the basketball game, my Mom came down and took Austin and Marissa along to the game. While they were playing during the game, they were asked to play the "Dress for Your Dinner" game at halftime, unbeknownst to me. The game consists of clothing worn by the basketball team, of course in their sizes, strewn throughout the court. First you have to put on the over sized shorts, then run a little, put on the jersey, run a little further, put on the shoes, run to the end of the court, pick up a basketball and go all the way to the other end and make a basket. Most kids grab the clothes and throw the clothes on in some fashion, but usually not correctly, but such was not the case with Austin and Marissa. They carefully put the shorts on, then the jersey, and then the shoes. Austin was considerably ahead by the time that Marissa got the shoes on and then she started to just head towards the other basket. Some kindly gentleman rolled the ball to her so she could catch up but by that time Austin had made his shot on the third or fourth attempt to do so. It was really cute to see them "compete" against each other and they both had a good time with it. Austin got a free Domino's pizza out of the deal and Marissa got $5 in Burger King Bucks so it was quite the coup for the Brady kids at the basketball game today. On a side note, USD beat UMD in both games!

New Bike Path Discussion

On Wednesday night we had a meeting/discussion about an extension to our existing bike path that would follow along the Vermillion River.  There was one homeowner who was there against it, but most of his objections were just his way of saying he didn’t want the path near/on his land more than legitimate complaints.  

The only reason I mention this meeting at all is the fact that I would like to take this opportunity to announce my plans to ride in the 2006 Tour de France.  The same gentleman who was complaining about the proposed bike path said “This is going to increase the bike traffic that already comes by my house at 30-40 miles per hour”.  For the record, I go by quite often, but my computer only shows 20-22 on a good day, obviously I need to get my computer checked as "THE EXPERT" has me clocked much faster!  If I had known, I could have been the one to stop Lance in his bid for seven straight.  Now we will never know...

On a much more plausible note, if I'm doing 30-40mph on that section of town, get to your basements quick because there is a tornado close behind!