Counting down to Florida Bike Safari...

Darn cold weather! I got up this morning to some cool north breezes. It made me decide to hike rather than bike. Next week I will do the pm rides for the bike club. In the mornings, if there is time, I will get in some climbing out toward Bull Gap. I need to do the climbs more than the long rides. I seem to be stronger on the hills than last year. Maybe it is the 35 lbs I have dropped. That is almost equal to 2 bikes. I also dropped about 7 or 8 from the new bike. Combined that puts me 42 pounds of weight saved which would be a substantial load to pull up the hill. Now I just need to train those leg muscles to pound out the climbs. The only way I see to do that is to just do hills!

I need to remember some small but important things when I pack for the trip. I will need to be sure I have a wrench to change the tire with. I need to check the spare to make sure it holds air. I will need to pack the charger just in case. A long extension cord might be nice. Sunscreen and bug repel will be necessary. Toys and entertainment for the boy. Maybe the day will come when he won't require anything more than his bike and clothes. All this camping will be good for him. By the time we go to Florida, then over to Georgia, then up to Tennesee, and finally at Monte Sano in the fall, he should be an experienced camper.

So what's it like....Bull Gap

Today I didn't have a lot of time for riding so I took the bike out on 148 to Bee Gum road and mounted up to ride up the final hill of Bull Gap. For some strange reason I got away from the house and left my helmet and water behind. I took the chance and rode without the helmet but that wasn't smart. It was just too far to go back for it. Not having water wasn't good either. I don't know why I left them. I had them both but decided at the last second to close the camper before I left. Maybe I was just distracted. Anyway, I got out on the road and rode up to the top of the mountain making the best speed I can remember. You have to also factor in that I hadn't ridden the other 10 miles out there but I was encouraged. Then I turned around and rode over 6 mile hill up to Big John road. From there I rode back over 6 mile hill and down to Bee Gum. I pedaled up to 30 mph on the way down to the car. Overall average speed. 15.5 which includes some pretty good hills. Not bad for me!

...and I'm not feeling so well myself!

Looks like I might have a spot of that stomach stuff that David and Maw Maw came down with. I have not felt up to full strength today and have begun to have some diarrhea. I have taken some medication and hope that it isn't the rough stuff, just a quick bout of upset stomach.

Tomorrow is a good day for me to get out and do something. I can't afford sickness when my own personal time is so limited. I will have to will myself well by morning.

What I did last week...

Last week passed rather quickly. I rode a 24 miler Wednesday with Paul. He was getting a ride for Lisa and her friends ready and wanted to see how road 303 was. Actually it was a pretty good ride. Good road and scenery.

That afternoon on the way back, Nikki called to say David was sick and vomiting. I tried my best to keep Mother from getting exposed but she came down with vomiting by Saturday morning. I slept on her extra bed that night in case she needed something. She didn't call me but later said she had trouble getting up.

Before David got sick on Wednesday, I took him on a hike with Beverly. He seemed to love being in the woods. He was riding my shoulders when we came into the open above Bull Bluff. He said, "Wow!" We had brought crackers for him to munch and he sat on a rock and ate them just like a little man. We covered 2 miles and David probably walked a mile of it. The exercise is good from Grammy too.

I got in 2 more good rides this week. I rode a 40 miler up around Sycamore, Alpine, Cburg and home. Then Sunday we rode the loop down to Fayetteville. That makes about 30 miles. I discovered my weight had dropped a bit more. That is good. I've been on this program only 3 months now and have lost a good portion of my overweight. There remains more that could be lost or tightened but that will only come in time.

We brought the camper home and worked on cleaning it up. It was in pretty good shape. I have attempted to get everything in order I can in anticipation of the Florida trip. If this week's weather is anything like what we will have in 3 weeks, I won't have to worry about cold. It may be too hot!

Mother's doctor called wanting to move her surgery up but I nixed it this time. I have canceled two trips last year and have put so much effort into this year's I can't cancel again.

The end of another work week...

These work weeks seem to pass rather quickly enough. I'd say these weekend nights don't. The time from 8pm till 12mn is SO very long. I suppose I should not complain.I could be working in the old Rite Aid store slugging out the 600 or more prescriptions every day. Oddly enough, I might actually enjoy getting back to that scene. The inaction here in the hospital grates on your soul. I also have slowly lost a lot of information that I once knew about the myriad of Rx products in an open formulary. I might go ahead and contact Walgreen about openings for the future when they come to town. Just to see what the old boys would pay. I might be surprised.

The problem with time moving so quickly is that the week off will pass quickly too. I have a lot to do this week if the temperatures cooperate.

Sayings...

Just a list of fractured quotes as titles for future rides...

1) Are we there yeti?
2) Not over Yeti!
3) Return of the Yeti (rhymes with Jedi)
4) You ain't seen nuthin Yeti
5) Yeti nights...
6) We're not out of this Yeti

Yeti...

I read an email from Paul Barnett last night where he asked if we would ride the century in Anniston Saturday even though starting temperatures would be in the 30's. He went on to say his wife reminded him that I was like the Abominable Snowman and loved blizzard conditions. That made me think of the Yeti. This was the trail name I was looking for. A solitary, reclusive creature living on the slopes of the mountains of Nepal. Well, in my case, it would be the hills around Sylacauga. I relayed the name to Solo so I guess it is official. This morning Bev referred to me as "Adorable" a loose reference to the Yeti in Monster's Inc. who wondered why he had to be called Abominable.