A Great Leap Forward

Last weekend was good, but this week was better. Not sure if its great yet but definitely heading in the right direction now. I was even able to get a road ride in on Monday with temperatures in the 50's. Wasn't able to shed the warmers yet, but pretty darn nice time in the saddle regardless. The roads are a mess and you really need to be on the lookout for potholes, but the ride went off without one finger raised in anger.

The Grand River is very high in Lowell, but we have avoided flooding so far.

The rest of the week was a blur. The weather turned very cold and windy. And work was infringing on my evening hours, so no additional cycling was allowed. The weekend weather looked promising.
Until I woke up on Saturday morning to this.

After the initial shock and immediate depression wore off, things improved. We had a party planned for that night and spent most of the day trying to clean. By the time we ran out to the store in the early afternoon, the sun was shining, the temps were in the 50’s and all traces of snow were gone. We had a small group of friends and co-workers over that night and it was a blast. One of the guys has been tracking the Space Station and dragged us all outside around 10 p.m. to see it whiz by in the Northwestern sky. Pretty cool.

After a small clean up Sunday morning, it was time to ride. The weather had turned again, with wind and 40 degree temps but I had to get out. The Barry-Roubaix race is this Saturday, so any miles are good miles right now. I headed out on the singlespeed with the intent of re-tracing my CX ride last weekend. But then I saw the big red gate off of Montcalm Road and couldn't resist a ride on the jeep road.

This two-track cuts directly through the middle section of the Lowell State Game Area and is supposed to be off limits to ORV’s. Of course, they find their way on regardless and have made a mess of the trail. Witness the water-logged section below I had to walk around.

Most of the trail was actually in good shape and except for sticks and leaves, a good ride.
I did a combination of two-track, gravel, pavement and eventually, some single track to put in a good 15 miles. Legs were tired so I decided to head home. Along the way I stopped to enjoy the views of the river from the State Game Area and down by the park.

There were even a few brave soles paddling the river. The water is high and fast and very cold right now.



A good ride, but I need to get out at least a couple more times before B-R this weekend. It won’t be pretty, but I am confident I can make it back to the finish line now!

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Now get some riding in!

Goodness Gracious

Good.

All you really need to say about this weekend.

Anymore would be piling on.

Good food. And good beer (goes without saying, really!).

Good walks in the park.

And, a good bike ride (Felt great, but it's early so I don't want to over sell it).

The weather is not great yet, but good is way better than it has been.

So, we're good.

With Good.

For now.

Hope it was good for you too!

The Magic Rollercoaster

Life has been a bit of a roller-coaster of late. Up and down. Good and bad. Thrilling and sad. And I would like to get off, please (the roller-coaster, not life).

Last week we started seeing improvement in the weather and with it came some sun and warmth. But I also had an accelerated project deadline that had me working late every night.

Ups and downs.

Last Monday, my Mom called to inform me that one of my old neighborhood buddies had passed away. This was a guy I had known since moving to our town at age 3. We were in the same class at school and in the early days, spent quite a bit of time together, playing a multitude of sports, building tree forts, riding to the 5 & 10 for baseball cards and hanging out at each others house. In high school, he was the first guy on the block to have a car and he drove me to school in the morning so I didn’t have to ride the bus with the rest of the bus riding losers! We took auto shop together, played on the baseball team together, drank MGD beer together (underage of course) and finally, barely graduated together. And then we went our separate ways. I went to college and he joined the Marines. As soon as he got out, he moved away with a couple other ex-friends from high school to Kansas City, MO, where he suddenly developed a talent for stand-up comedy. I never thought he was all that funny when we were kids, but he always enjoyed putting on a show. Musicals, plays and student council were his typical venues back then. But despite the lack of humor, he developed one on the circuit, eventually moving up the Bigs; performing as an opening act at casinos in Vegas. Seriously. He opened for Willy Tyler and Lester as well as bigger up and coming stars like Chris Rock. For 15 years, he was on the road as well as playing in Vegas. He came to town once and awhile and when he did, my wife and I would try to get out to see him. He often told stories that were taken from our childhood, including one notable memory of my Dad shooting the head off of a puff adder that he and I thought was a rattlesnake. The bit was about snakes being more scared of you than you are of them, but I was the only person in the room that knew where that joke actually came from. But over the years, I think the comedy gig faded. He never achieved any significant attention from the comedy powers that be and eventually, hung up the shtick for good. He settled in a small town outside Chicago, where his brother and his wife had relocated. He took a job at a local butcher shop and spent time with his brother’s family when he could. He lived alone, having never married or had any kids of his own. He actually lived above the butcher shop his brother told me. In the past year, he had found a new calling that built on his days as a comedian; working as a reporter for a small, independent Public Access station. He would interview local veterans for the Library of Congress archives, do man on the street bits at the town parades and fairs and interview coaches and players from many of the local high school sports teams in the area. He seemed to be enjoying himself, from the video archives I have seen (posted on the stations website) and happy to have a chance to be on camera; something he was never shy about! Unfortunately, the newfound “career” was cut short by his untimely death last weekend from a brain aneurysm. Needless to say, we here were shocked to hear the news. Most of my family and friends had not heard from or seen him in 15 years or more. But as the word got out, many people contacted me and eventually made an appearance at his visitation and funeral. Some of these folks, I had not seen since graduation! We all had great stories to tell of our friend’s life and it gave us a chance to smile a little through the tears. He was 49 years old. Way too young to be leaving this world. But while he was here, he made a mark and he lived his life on his own terms. I am sure given the choice, he would have gladly taken more time. But he touched lives and left people with some good memories of time spent with him. I guess that is all any of us can really ask for.

On a brighter note, I finally got on my bike (outdoors) on Friday and suffered through a nice, 2 hour gravel grind on the CX bike.

It was cool but pretty comfortable and I was able to get a couple miles in before the sunset.

The park that was underwater last weekend is still showing signs of abuse from the trees and debris left behind. It is a mess including part of the paved bike path and it will take some time to clean up come Spring.

The rest of the weekend was rainy and cold. We did not see any snow, but it was miserable regardless and I did not get in one more mile on the bike(s). Spent some time finishing the painting work I had started the week before and did a thorough house cleaning in preparation for Rene coming home on Sunday. I did see a couple good films this weekend, one of which was “Gonzo” a documentary on the reporter/author/crazy man Hunter S. Thompson. Good film with narration by Johnny Depp, who played Hunter in the film “Fear and Loathing go to Las Vegas”. The other film may well be one of my all time favorites after seeing it for the first time last night. It is “The Fall”, directed by Tarsem Singh, who’s only other notable film was “The Cell” (he might want to work on the movie titles a bit in the future!). Visually, this was a stunning film but as a story, as enjoyable a couple hours as I have ever spent watching a movie. Touching and funny and dramatic, all rolled up in one great story. Trailer below.

Well, the weather is not improving rapidly enough for me. It appears we have some sun now, but the temps and rain are going to fall the next couple days. We might be in the 40’s next weekend and if it dries out, I might be back on the bike again. One can only hope!

The Ice Melts into Water

Winter is receding slowly here. Too slowly for me. I cannot believe how long it has dragged on this year. Ground is still frozen with patches of snow hanging on for dear life. Mr. Sun has done his best, but the cold winds have kept the air bitterly cold. So cold, I can store my beer in the garage! This weekend was painful. Beautiful and sunny most of the days, but a step outside told the real story. Windchill in the teens and single digits. I tried my best to ride on Sunday but was turned back by the threat of frostbite. It hurt and that is no fun. So, I wussed out and came home.

The rest of the weekend involved cleaning, painting, beer bottle returning and camera shopping. I am trying to get back into a hobby (photography) that I gave up on a few years back when I sold all my equipment on eBay. So, now I have to buy new. Digital this time. And starting out slow, just a camera and a lens. Don’t want to rush things. See where it goes.

The river ice has finally started clearing. The majority of it was floating downstream this weekend.

And with it, went my dock. Yep; it’s gone! Every year, the ice pushes it around and I usually have to spend some time making adjustments. This year, no adjustments are required. It is officially toast. Down river a bit and underwater! So, I guess I will be building a new dock come spring. And some warmer water temperatures! Thank god I tied the canoe to the railing of the stair or I would be the market for a new one of those as well.

That is about it. Watched an interesting film Sunday night on the band Joy Division called "Control". Very good if you enjoy that sort of thing. Rene leaves on Wednesday for Tampa Bay to visit our oldest daughter. I am not going. I have work. She will be attending the Billy Joel-Elton John concert with my daughter and enjoying a few days of warmth and sunshine.

I will be painting.

But hopefully, I will be doing a little riding too.

Keep your fingers crossed!