A Father's Advice

"Always expect the other vehicle to do the stupidest thing possible and you will always be safe." - Cecil W. Brady, Jr.

My Dad didn't always have much in the way of worldly advice, however I do remember a few dirty jokes, and a few 'songs' that shouldn't be repeated. Ever. However, the advice above has always been with me. I can't tell you the number of times that it has saved me an accident both in a vehicle and on the bicycle.

One place that I've always felt pretty safe is stop lights. If there is a place that I have always scanned with my peripheral vision quickly and merrily went on my way, it's a stop light. Enter yesterday at noon.

I was on my way to the Dakota Dome for my cycling workout. There is a new stop light by the Law School (Rose St.) that is a nice addition, because at noon it can be a bear getting across Cherry St. and it's not as busy a light from the North/South as Dakota St. -- hence, it's a great light for bicycles.

As I dropped off the side walk between the Business School and the Law School the light changed. That gives me all of about ten seconds to get across the street before it changes. I put the hammer down as the countdown commenced: 10....9.....8....7....6....5....Awesome! Going to make it with plenty of time! As I focused on the countdown and I was zipping across Cherry St., out of the corner of my eye I see a Blue Minivan type vehicle - newer style - coming WAY too fast. Yep, it's not stopping. I'm going to get thumped. I swerved as far to the left as I could (thank goodness no car was coming towards me) as the driver FINALLY noticed me and locked it up.

I would LOVE to report to you the license plate that I've become so famous for calling out, but I was so close to the van all I could see was a guy in his uniform (Army? ROTC?) and beret in the passenger seat. Far too close to SEE the license plate. I got a quick glance back at the driver and it appeared that he was on a cell phone (SHOCKING!) but I couldn't confirm that as I was too busy being amazed that I didn't get hit.

I should have stopped, but my adrenaline was on high and I just pedaled on. I did look back and hold my arm out in a "What the heck was you thinking?" motion. The van was still stopped in the middle of the intersection briefly before deciding that being in the MIDDLE of the intersection wasn't the place to be and he went on. There is a part of me that hopes this near accident encourages this person to cut down their distractions when they drive. It just may save a life. It may be mine.

Dad, I miss you but I'm not coming to join you just yet. Thanks for some of the best advice I ever received and it now will be applied at stop lights as well.

Where Did He Go?

Even some of my non-bicycling friends has wondered what has been going on and why I haven't been blogging. I do admit that some of it has to deal with being able to "micro blog" via Facebook, but it's time to give all three of my readers what they want: What's going on inside that twisted mind!

This post is going to be in outline format just to get you up to speed.

I. Bicycling
   A. MS 150
    1. Completed w/ 12 yr old daughter on Tandem. Very proud Dad.
  B. Other
     1. Had injury (see II) so had to back way off.
  C. Schnoctobeerfest
    1. First road ride in two months due to injury. Did decent, but not 100% yet.
      a. My "Cannibal" Belgium Ale homebrew took home top honors in the beer judging.

II. Injury
   A. Small fracture to the medial malleolus (ankle)
    1. How?
      a. Unsure - possible roll of the ankle playing with dog in March.
  2. Duration?
    a. Ankle had mild to severe pain from March on.
   3. Why did I wait so long to have it looked at?
    a. See I-A above. Sometimes a Father's love means taking one for the team.
   4. How is it now?
     a. 4 out of 5 stars
       1. Beginning to think the diagnosis of possible slight arthritis in ankle is real as some days it takes some coaxing to get moving.

III. Why haven't you blogged?
  A. Depression/Not Motivated
     1. Unable to bike even close to what I normally bike put me in a bad funk.
    2. I blog (usually) about biking, and I just wasn't biking.
   B. The Great Flood of 2010
     1. Have spent much of the late spring/summer fixing the wrath of mother nature. Two separate basement floods equals much work to be done.

IV. What's next
  A. More blogging. I promise this time.

Is YOUR Trip Necessary?

Snakebite told me to pass this along. When Snakebite talks, people listen. He's sort of the modern day E.F. Hutton.

Conditions Even I Won't Ride In

Bunyan's To Bob's 2010 Spring Classic

When: May 22nd
Starting Point: Bunyan's, Vermillion, SD. Will get together at Kevin's house (131 Catalina) and leave house for Bunyan's at 9:30. Park at the Vermillion High School lot.
Time: 9:00 meet and greet (and a mandatory Bunyan Bomber), 10:00 departure
Destination: Bob's Bar, Martinsburg, NE
Cost: $10 suggested donation for ride and support and after ride festivities (can't tell you everything, but there is a special BiLLy surprise involved).

If you are planning on coming and can throw a couple lawn chairs in, please do so! If you need more info, let me know!

CLICK FOR BIG!

The BIG Commute

Once or twice a year I get the opportunity to take commuting to a whole different level from normal. I get the opportunity to trade in my one mile commute for a 67 mile commute. I work at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays in Sioux Falls and for the State Track Meet when it's in Sioux Falls. Today was one of those beauty days for the commute with WSW wind around 10 mph. My ankle is still giving me a hard time (more on that in a long detailed post soon) but I managed to hammer out a little better than 22 mph average.

I'm not exactly sure how my brethren from Sioux Falls handle in town travel. There sure isn't much respect for you on the streets. Oh yeah, and to the redneck in the beat up truck with a cigarette hanging from his mouth who yelled "get the f**k off the road" on the corner of Marion/12th street, I'd be glad to sit down and discuss the rules of the road with you. If that doesn't work, I'm okay with a good old fashioned throw down as well.

A Must Blog Moment

This is a little too long to Twitter about, but I hope the humor of it translates well in a blog post.

I had just completed a 31 mile bike ride when my youngest asked if we could do a "fire pit". That sounded pretty good since the wind was really low and we had a couple of downed branches to burn. After the fire was going good and Laura got home, she brought out the makings for Smores. As we were making them I leaned over and my cell phone in my pocket got bumped and the following transpired:

Phone: Say a command
Me: Shut up
Phone: Calling Laura
*short pause*
Everyone: Uncontrollable laughter as Laura's phone rings