Halloween (a month late)!!

I've been meaning to get around to posting something about Halloween for a while now. Seems my Round Tuit is permanently lost since it has taken a month to translate action to deed. We actually prepared a little better than usual for the festivities this year. Thera and Krista decided back in September that Thera's costume this year would be an Ice Fairy, and we found a seller on e-Bay that offered custom made costumes. She had one for auction that Krista bid on and won, then gave some specific instructions for how to make it "just right." The outfit arrived in early October so that part of it was done. Chase was 50/50 on whether or not to even dress up this year, but finally decided that he didn't want to miss out on the fun. We did some shopping and he settled on a grisly Grim Reaper costume.

On Halloween I took the day off so we could do some running around and have a relaxed evening to eat dinner and get ready to go out. That mostly worked out - the only snag was that Kato (our Great Dane) had some pretty severe swelling on her muzzle so we had to make an unscheduled trip to the vet for her to get checked out. Dog taken care of ($$$) and shopping done, we picked the kids up from school and got home for dinner then the costume preparation. Krista hustled Thera off for hair and make-up and I prepared the "special effects" on Chases costume. Both kids done, we hopped into the car to head over to our traditional neighborhood to Trick or Treat. Halloween being on Friday this year, there were lots of kids out and the goodies were better than usual. Both Chase and Thera made quite a haul, even though we wound up cutting the festivities a little short. The temperature dropped dramatically after the sun went down, and both kids were uncomfortably cold despite the headlong rush from one door to the next. They both had a good time, and we got a chance to catch up with some old neighbors that we have stayed friends with over the past few years. We made a couple of final stops once we came back to our neighborhood which turned out to be very lucrative for the kids. Since it was nearing 9:00PM, everyone was ready to dump the rest of their candy and turn out the lights. Handfulls of loot were dumped in the bags and we got home loaded and satisfied with the night.

10 Seconds of Fame

I was approached by a friend of mine (Stephen Jansa) who works for Fox 5 News Atlanta about "performing" for a promo that was being filmed for the lead-in to a news story. "Rules of the Road" was a feature piece on the 10:00pm news which looked into the tension between bicycle commuters and drivers. I agreed to play the part of "frustrated and angry cyclist" and was sent a copy of the script. Jeff Zellmer, Promotions Manager from Fox 5 and his cameraman came out to my office last Wednesday to do the filming. I got dressed out in my cycling gear and prepared to launch the beginning of my illustrious career in Television Acting. The filming took about 20 minutes or so and I was congratulated for delivering a dynamic and convincing performance (please - hold the applause). Anyway, the promo aired during commercial breaks beginning on Tuesday Nov.11th until the story on Wednesday Nov.12th. Sadly enough, I never saw it air, and Krista and I had gotten so involved in a discussion Wednesday night I didn't even turn on the TV. I actually missed my own Television debut... But as no Hollywood agents have been beating down my door, I'd have to assume that I'm not being considered for the next James Bond. Jeff was kind enough to e-mail me the video, so here it is for your viewing entertainment. (You might want to hit "pause" on my Music Playlist before hitting the play button)


Video clip courtesy of Fox 5 News Atlanta

Associated News Video: http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/myfox/MyFox/pages/sidebar_video.jsp?contentId=7852290&version=1&locale=EN-US

Associated News Story: http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=7852537&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

While I have joked around with some of my cycling friends about my "hammed up" performance, I am very grateful to Fox 5 for airing a segment concerning cyclists. So far this year I have logged over 3,000 miles in bicycle commuting. Most of the time the ride is uneventful and drivers are cautious and respectful, but I have had a couple of close calls and have been run off the road numerous times. Any increased attention that promotes awareness and fosters better relations between bikes and cars is a worthwhile effort. It's definately not just the drivers at fault - I have seen cyclists do stupid things too, so hopefully people on both sides of the issue got something out of the story.

Cycling or Psycling?

While the Cyclocross season "officially" started off back in October, it has only just really kicked in for me these past couple of weeks. The first race I reported on in Dahlonega was over a month ago. There were breaks for mountain bike races the promoters were involved in on the weekends of the 12th and 26th. The second 'cross race of the season was in Savannah, GA on 10/19. Problem there was the pesky 5+ hour drive, cost of lodging and how to work out that long of a trip with the family. It did not add up - that's just too much to commit to for one 45 minute race. (Maybe next year if they have the race there again we'll have time to plan for it and make the trip into a mini-vacation. Krista and I would love to see the homes and historic district.) So for those three weeks I drove over to our practice course at Little Mulberry Park in Dacula, GA. for some race simulations. There is an odd sort of insight I can give on the mental make-up of a dedicated cyclist, and that is the ability to force yourself to suffer even with a near total lack of outside stimulation. The point here? For two of those training sessions, almost no-one showed up. The day of Savannah there were only three of us, and the other two guys bailed and left just minutes after I started us off on a 45min. race effort. I rode alone for the entire time. During a normal practice you have someone to chase, or someone to try and stay out in front of. This time - nothing. Cyclocross is hard - period. During a race you are riding in a group at your physical limit from beginning to end. Rest does not happen or you get dropped, and recovery from a maximum effort is only made in slight increments - maybe on a fast downhill where you can coast for 5 or 10 seconds. Now try to re-create that situation all by yourself - riding and running as hard as possible without any let-up for nearly an hour. I'd have to equate it to a controlled form of insanity where seeing things, hearing voices and talking to yourself are actually good things... Like projecting the image of another rider just in front of you or having that quiet little voice in the back of your head screaming "You're going too #%&*!ing slow - MOVE IT MARSHMALLOW BOY!" What a sight for someone walking in the park - a solitary lunatic on a bike pelting around an open field at full speed, jumping off and leaping back on the bike at random intervals for no apparent reason, a rictus of pain on his face and talking to people who aren't there. It's a wonder no one called the police.

One of my favorite stories about cycling was something I read a long time ago - author unknown. They were describing the secret of a good time trialist. A time trial is a race against the clock - just you and the bike where the goal is to go the fastest over a set course. Riding with someone else or drafting is illegal. The paragraph went something like this: "When you are in the middle of a hard time trial effort, you often notice black spots appearing and disappearing before your eyes. This is a product of your body using every scrap of available oxygen and plunging your brain into oxygen debt. The black spots are the visual representation of brain cells dying by the thousands. Therefore it stands to reason that the secret of a great time trialist is this - you can go very fast for a very long time because you're too dumb to realize that pain hurts." Well, that goes for Cyclocross as well.

Weary Overload Recreation Killer (W.O.R.K.)

So I'm looking at my own Blog and realizing that I have not put anything on here since this time LAST month... I'm going to blame work - it seems like every year around this time things just go spinning completely out of control. Suppliers late on deliveries, technical issues, discrepant parts, the budget is whacked and it's up to Supply Chain to make up for millions of dollars to balance the end-of-year budget. Add to this the fact that we have not even started ordering for engines that have been blasted into the build plan for next year. What is it about Sales and Marketing that makes them think you can deliver in eight months what it takes twelve months to buy for and build??? Now its a mad scramble to contact suppliers and beg for immediate quotes and ways to shorten lead-times in order for us to have any chance of building the engines on-time. (FYI - for anyone that does not know, I'm a Purchasing Agent for a company that manufactures Gas Turbine engines for use in marine and industrial applications ( http://www.vericor.com/ ) - it's pretty cool stuff, especially the USN Hovercraft and mega-yachts we provide engines for.)



By the time I get home, I check e-mail and then make a concerted effort to not even look at the computer for the rest of the night. I spend eight hours a day glued to my computer and phone and after that, the tank is about empty. Of course, it is Cyclocross season now, so after the kids are in bed and the house straightened up, its up to the workout room for a session on the trainer or out to the garage to clean and tune up the bikes. HOWEVER, since Halloween was just a few days ago, I had a good race last Sunday and life has continued with all it's other non-work related joys and tribulations I will endeavour to go home tonight and put something worthwhile in print. Stay tuned...

Dahlonega Cyclocross photos

photo courtesey of Trish Albert/Southeasterncycling.com

One of the nicer benefits we have during practically every race here in GA is a dedicated cadre of photographers that constantly roam the course snapping shots of the racers and then posting them to their respective websites. Trish Albert, Carl Mesta, Grant Blankenship and Chris Lewis are all professional or semi-professional photographers who can be seen at most of the races - Trish on her bike racing as well as shutterbugging. There are a few racers like Marshall Millard, Tim Stone, Jim Behning and Dan Coy that occasionally bring their cameras out and post their galleries on Kodak or Flickr. It is a great deal of fun to go through all the shots searching out the ones of yourself. It is also a good way to get a feel for the race and the lunatics who choose to spend their Sunday mornings out pounding through the grass, dirt and barriers. I have been fortunate to get several outstanding pictures that were worth purchasing and framing.

I also forwarded the above photo to Aaron Joppe, the Sales Manager at Slingshot Bikes - and he thought it was such a good shot (since it's a detailed shot of the bike especially) that he has posted it on the scrolling marque on the Slingshot Bikes home page. Check it out: http://www.slingshotbikes.com/ Thanks Aaron!

A Busy Sunday!

I'd say that Sunday would go down as a great day all around. I started off getting up a little earlier than usual and setting off to the first Cyclocross race of the GA Cross Season. The race was held at Yahoola Park in Dahlonega, GA. Sunday dawned clear, sunny and beautiful. The temperatures are still a bit too warm for "real" 'Cross conditions, but at least it was not 80! The day was still good for racing and I hoped to do well too. I have been riding and racing a great deal more this year compared to the last two seasons, but I still was not sure of how well I was going to stack up in competition. I got to the park in time to get my race number and change into my kit, then take a couple of laps to familiarize myself with the course. I felt really good, but the course was very challenging. The major factors were several long sections of loose gravel road and trails. As I pre-rode the course my wheels were slipping and sliding all over the place and I had a hard time dialing in the best lines to take through the turns. Course familiarization done, I took my place on the start line and waited for the fun to begin. I jumped hard at the gun and got a decent position in the group and immediately settled in. For the entire first lap I held my spot, but was fast coming to the realization I had made a critical error. My front tire pressure was way too high for the extremely dry course conditions and was sliding everywhere, to the point that I was coming to a near standstill on a couple of the turns. Every time that happened I lost ground on the lead riders and had to fight hard to catch back up. Half way through the second lap, the final insult was making it through the gravel without mishap and maintaining my spot only to wipe out on the dew covered grass. I dropped into 7th or 8th spot instantly, then had to stop and straighten out my left shift lever before I could take off again. In hindsight I should have taken a few more seconds to let some air out of my tire, but all I could see was the lead pack disappearing into the woods, so I jumped back into the saddle to gain back the ground I'd lost. I was able to maintain the gap for the next couple of laps, and finally caught and passed a rider in front of me. Attrition in the lead group did me a few favors too as two riders flatted due to the harsh conditions and I was able to jump up a few more spots. The last two laps was a calculated duel between me and a good friend - Jeff. I had the upper hand on the long grass sections, but he held the advantage on the gravel and barrier sections. Fortunately for me the finish line was on the road, so on the last section of gravel path I threw caution to the winds and gave it everything to stay right on his wheel. I somehow made it through without crashing and burning, and was able to take advantage of my road speed to come around him for 5th place. Overall a good effort, but I wonder if the result would have been different had I been more attentive to my bike set-up. However, knowing the best tires / air pressure is something that only comes with experience. I don't have much of that, but I'm learning!

As soon as the results were finalized, it was back into the car to make a mad dash down to Atlanta to pick up my brother! He works for CSX Railways in their Signals Division and is in Atlanta this week for training. Since I kind of like him, I figure it's the least I can do to pick him up from his hotel to come by the house to visit some, if only to save him from boredom... This is the fourth time in the past year he's been down this way for training classes, and it sure is nice to get the chance to visit. I have not seen most of my family for an unforgivably long time, Jay included, so we've gotten together each of the times he's been here. We got to the house and decided to head over to our favorite Mexican restaurant, Fernando's for an early dinner and a Grande Dos Equis (good Mexican beer). We had a great dinner and swapped lots of stories about anything and everything. Family, friends, careers, goofing off and things we'd never tell our parents about. Did I say that out loud? No, not that! We were angels! After dinner settled we drove down to our favorite park for a nice relaxing walk around the lake on the paths. Relaxing might not really be the right term with our two screaming meemies in tow, but it was a nice walk none the less. Jay and I were somehow magically transformed into horsies, though. Thera the Fairy tripped and took a hard tumble on the sidewalk and banged her knee up, so I carried her on my shoulders for a mile or so, then Jay took over and carried her the rest of the way until she decided that maybe she was not hurt that badly. Of course the walk was nearly over by then and we were next to something interesting and fun... Then it was back to the house. We visited for a couple more hours before it got late and I drove back to the hotel to drop him off. Jay has made quite an impression here, and Chase & Thera and the dogs just can't wait for the next time he's in town!

All in all, a great day!

Creepy Crawly Critters...

Inspired by a fellow blogger (Bragger - read her blog!)... I took some great photos of a lovely Garden Spider that had made a web in a stand of tall grass and weeds nearby the house. These spiders are often referred to as the Gardeners best friend, and there are websites where you can purchase them to populate your garden. They are harmless to humans, but absolute murder on the insects that otherwise would damage plants and eat fruits and veggies.

Another photograph is an example of why you NEVER stick you hand into a water meter without looking first - or any other dark recess for that matter. The Black Widow is not a spider to trifle with under any circumstance, and I'm sorry to say is the one spider I will not hesitate to kill on sight. I don't hate them by any means, but with two kids and three dogs, it's just not worth taking a chance. The Widow is a common spider around here and I have found them in several places around the house. Not for long, though.

As you might expect from my earlier post concerning my tattoo, I'm pretty fascinated by spiders. The Native Americans belive that the spider is an incarnation of the Earth Mother. She wove the web that created the world.

Hot enough for 'ya?

Well, here we are in mid-September and the mercury persists in rising up into the 90 deg. range on a regular basis. While here in the sticky ol' South that's nothing unusual, this summer really seems to be wearing on me more than usual. June, July and August were all scorchers, and I can think of many days where it felt like working in a sauna. One 54 mile ride we did on a Sunday in July was in 97 deg. temperatures - justifiably dubbed the Dantes Inferno ride. I worked outside in the yard on another day clearing brush to open up the back fence for mending, and it was another high 90's torture fest. I drank 1 1/2 gallons of water and Gatorade that day and still lost 9lbs. I'd have hoped to see that heat finally start to break, but again, at Cyclocross practice this morning it was in the mid-80's at 8:30AM on its way to a 92 high by noon. Not exactly the weather you want for the kind of exertion put out in 'Cross practice. We did two 15 minute race-pace intervals and I quite literally could wring out my jersey by the end of it. Yuck... (the heat, not the jersey - or maybe both!) Last weekend had to be one of the worst experiences I've ever had, though. I drove down to Macon, GA for the Georgia Single Speed Mountain Bike Championships. I'd been looking forward to that race for months but I knew things were just not going to go as I'd hoped practically from the moment I pulled into the parking lot. It was 95 deg. and blazingly sunny. Even worse was when I realized I only had a couple of water bottles - my Camelback was left hanging on the cabinet at home. Oh well, forge ahead! After 15 minutes of being staged and roasting in the sun we finally got the gun, and I had a great start. I was slotted nicely into 5th place with a very strong group of riders and was holding on without much trouble at all. Once into the woods the heat started to take on epic proportions though. The trail was bone dry and dusty and there was not even a hint of a breeze. By the end of the first lap I was about 45 seconds off the pace and was wringing wet. One bottle was empty and the other half gone which did not bode well. By the halfway point in lap 2 I had actually stopped sweating, and that was the point where I decided that it just was not worth it. I bailed and rode back to the parking lot. I hate quitting a race, but it was that or risk heat exhaustion. Besides, it had stopped being fun and that's part of what I ride for. The heat just is not for me, even after living down here for 10 years. It just adds insult to injury that northern Georgia is still in an extreme drought. What little rain we get is mostly in the form of thunder and lightning storms that are not much fun to be out in. I still sometimes sit back and wonder "How did I ever wind up in GA?" If the Farmer's Almanac is to be believed this fall and winter are supposed to be cooler than normal and rainy. That the best weather news I've had all year!

Natural Bounty (shhh, it's a secret)

Kind of an odd tangent to go off on, but I am continually amazed at how sheltered and, unfortunately, ignorant "most" people are about how many wonderful things are available for the picking, growing wild all around us. First off, I say "most" because A) I don't know everyone, and B) I'm only referring to folks I do know. What I mean is, there are fruits and berries all around us waiting to be picked and made into a whole variety of scrumptious things that they have no idea even exist. I work in a building that is right next to a big, protected wetland. Blackberries, wild grapes, wild strawberries and - how I have no idea - a whole stand of Ornamental Plum trees grow in mass profusion there. Every year I pick literally gallons of blackberries, a pint or two of wild strawberries and several quarts of the plums. The grapes are ripening now, and since I have no clue of how to make wine, I just walk the paths during lunch and pick handfuls of them to snack on as I walk back to the office. I have never seen ONE other person out there picking anything. I will sit at my desk after a lunch spent harvesting with a pitcher brimming with succulent berries at my elbow, and the reaction is always the same, even after four years. "Wow - those are incredible! Where did you get them? I love those, can I have one?" And every year, I point out the window and say, there are millions down there, just go pick some! No one ever does... I actually had one person come in the next day after walking and say "I didn't see that many so I left." I picked two pitchers full the following day. Go figure. Maybe it's because I grew up in a family that gardened and went berry picking every year, but to say that I'm a Country Boy is kind of silly. I've lived in the city since the day I left home, but I still see the nature even though it's surrounded by development.

Another example is when I did the Perry Road Race this spring in Perry, GA. The registration tent was right across the road from a whole line of huge, mature pecan trees. The ground was carpeted with nuts, and I found that most of them were good. I gathered up as many as I could stuff into my pockets, then sat there and munched on a bunch more. No one else even seemed to notice... There are lots of other nuts I gather each year - black walnuts, hickory nuts, some others that I can't even remember the name of but are sweet and delicious. Persimmions grow wild down here and are wonderful to eat right off of the trees. There are apple trees here and there, and even dandelion greens (best in spring when they are young and tender). There are probably a lot more things I don't know about, but I'm learning.

Maybe it's just our society, with everything available 24 hours a day, prepared, prepackaged, pre-cooked and preserved. Why spend an hour sweating in 95 degree heat getting scratched up by berry bushes when you can go to the freezer section and get a pie that's ready in 20 minutes (or 5 in the nuke-ro-wave). Well, that's a question I'll happily NOT ponder every summer while cutting a generous slice of fresh and delightfully delicious pie to go sit on the porch and enjoy as I stare at the woods behind the house. Sorry if there are no leftovers.

Bedroom Makeover Edition

As previously reported on, we got Thera's bedroom set up new a few weeks ago, but there were "color issues" with the decor, so Krista sprang into fierce action to find the appropriate bedcovers with approved sage green accents. I'd have to say that her endeavour was successful as the new comforter is much nicer. We (she) did decide to keep the old one as well for extra insulation for those really cold winter nights.

Chase also was in need of a makeover - his sheets and basic decor was Teddy Bears and he's getting past that point, so the Nautical theme is now the order of the day. We didn't have to do quite as much, mostly a new bed set for him, but we're looking at new paint and some other touches here soon.