diddlee

One thing is clear to me, you can't know everything you'd like to know. You can't do everything you'd like to do. You can't read everything you'd like to read. You must hold onto some things and let go of others. Learning to make that choice is one of the big lessons of this life. Real Life Preacher Today was a big reminder of how delicate our lives are. Our friend Lisa Baird was killed in a freak accident. No matter how well we guard our lives, there are things which can take them that we can't anticipate. I am left deeply saddened. We can all take note of the precious things in our lives and appreciate the time we have with our friends and family.

A man who has experienced fear and physical hardship and overcome it, doesn't have to lie. He doesn't have to advertise his toughness. He's just tough, you know? Men like Bubba Smith and Ray Nitschke now live gentle lives. Give them sufficient reason they could still whip ten men. That kind of man doesn't have to stuff his pants... I watched a documentary today produced by Spike Lee. I once had dinner with a former Green Bay Packer who when asked "Who was the greatest athlete he played against?" said "Jim Brown."

Mach-S, the speed at which stress can't keep up, is simply forward motion. But it has to be self- propelled. Note that people in cars are still stressed. Jef Mallett I caught this little ditty on my quotations page today. It seems quite true. When we are cycling or hiking or running the dirty little stress of our lives diminishes. That is what is most attractive about those sports.

Here it is another Saturday night. The weeks pass quickly. Too quickly. We went for a 26 mile ride this morning. First one on the tandem since the Montgomery ride. Next weekend we have another century ride. Then 2 weeks later, I hope we can go do the weekend in Newnan. Mike and Mitzi are coming down. Sarah Sat and Jim are supposed to be going. Who knows, maybe Nikki can get off. If not maybe we can go over for part of it anyway. I have been searching through Google for something interesting to read. There wasn't much that I could find. Sometimes you just need to find a subject and follow the rabbit trails. I have pretty much worn out Dawkins' site. Theology doesn't interest me right now. I have been doing a little reading about self-defense but it is only a reading interest. I don't care about getting back into it and being bruised up all the time. I miss the regular bike club rides. I miss the folks I used to ride with. It isn't easy to get everyone together anymor

I found this tandem on Ebay and bought it for Bev and I to do some riding in the woods. It claims to be aluminum and the shipping weight seems to be in line with that. At 37 pounds shipping, it would be as light as my old single Specialized mountain bike single. After a through checkout we will see how it rides. Now I need to do some looking for a suitable spot to get Bev started on a tandem ATB. Not on those terrible ups and downs in the National Forest yet. Just something fun.

Yesterday, Bev and I rode in the Jim Glassner Century in Montgomery. Our plan was to see how we felt and attempt a full century if possible. Along the way we met a young woman from Auburn who mentioned there were, in her view, two kinds of bike rides. Either a ride for pleasure or a ride of accomplishment. Our ride falls squarely in the second category. At the split for the metric century, we thought we could go the distance but were concerned about the time. So we opted to ride out on the century route then turn off and short the route. Along the way, we got into some rolling hills which really began to put a strain on the ride. Both my legs began to cramp. But we kept on and managed to do a 80.75 mile ride. That evening, we were both done in. My legs cramped so badly on the drive home, I had to get out and walk them out on the side of the road. It left me very sore. Bev spent the evening resting. She fell asleep on the couch. But this morning we are feeling better. It takes a day or