The day went to crap......

We had big plans for Saturday and all was going to said plan to begin with. Our plan was to hit the bike trail and ride on the whole thing. We parked out by Orion Foods and then headed north on the trail to ride it clockwise. Kris had never been on the switchbacks and then over the spillway which is always fun the first time. Things were still going as planned. We made it all the way to the Cherry Rock area and of course the trail was getting real busy. I also noticed my Ol'Fisher was shifting into gears it thought I should have been riding it and of course my answer was NO. This happened a few time and of course I had decided it needed to to go in for a tune up. So anyway we are cruising along and I am about to go up the little incline before the bridge between 26th and cliff and all of a sudden my gears were changing things were makig noise and then it was like someone grabbed my back wheel and I stopped. I looked back and my derailer (sp?) was in my spokes. YUP, I broke it and not only that but the chain was broken and wrapped around my cassette. By this time Kris met up with me. Then of course there is the older couple sitting on the park bench watching all this and kindly said, "we have a cell phone that you could use!" Of course that was not going to fix my bike nor help me at this point. I told them "no thanks I have one also", kind of them to offer I guess. Well, I got the chain off the bike, you should have seen my hands after that, and then got the bike so at least we could roll it. The next step was to figure out what to do. I know there was people we could have called but we really didn't want to bother anyone so Kris opted to roll the Ol Fisher to Cliff Ave park area and I could take her bike and ride the remaining 9 miles to get the truck. That was the plan even thought that was not in the plan for the day but I was willing to improvise. So here I am riding her Fisher Napa comfort bike which is an odd feeling. I had the wizard of oz song in my head of the lady riding the bike. Anyway I made it to get the SUV.

I decided to hit the indy and head south to I-229. On the drive a truck in front of me threw up a rock and chipped the windshield. UGH....can this get any worse? Well depends on what you call worse. I called Kris and told her that I was on my way. She said of course great. Then proceeded to tell me that she had only one person ask if she needed help while she was walking my bike to Cliff Ave. She did have fun watching the dogs at the dog park and decided to sit in a shaded area. Of course she sat down and of course, dog park, grass, not responsible people, part of the name of the title of this blog, YUP, she sat down in dog CRAP! Well, kind of stepped in it and then got it on her sock and shoe.

We got the bike loaded up and headed to Harlan's to drop it off. Of course Kris didn't want to come in because of her new organic scent which I understand. Irish went through the bike and this is what was needed. New chain, shifter cable, cable housing, rear derailler (again sp?) and big chain ring. Yup, I guess when all this happened I was in the big chain ring and bent it also.

Total cost of Saturday: $200 bike shop, $100 deductible for new windshield, seeing Kris with dog poop on her.....priceless!...haha

Ok so does the story end there......NOPE. Both of us seemed to be down with whatever and were CRABBING at each other which is not normal at all as we are both pretty in tune to each other and know when to not push each others buttons but not this time. Buttons were being pushed ALL over the place! We got home Kris went into the den to clean and I went into the garage to clean it. I had a bunch of stuff fall off a shelf, knocked a putty knife off the peg board to have it come down and land edge down on my chin ( it was high up on the peg board), everything was fine and no injuries to report. Then all of sudden the people in the alley had the music cranked up and kids were screaming and carrying on so I was DONE with that plus it was getting hot in the garage. Seems the neighbors were having quite the Mexican party. I was ready for them to come around and offer salsa and chips or are least margaritas but no such luck instead I opted to watch the Cubs loose to the Phillies 5-2!

Good points of the day:

We did get some ridding in.

Kris got to see a part of the bike trail she had never seen before.

I got to ride on the newly opened section of the bike trail (watch out for the straw and some gravel under the 41st street bridge!)

The windshield had a couple of cracks in it and so now it needs to be replaced.

I got to ride her bike a few miles and have made a few suggestions as to making the bike a bit better for her to ride......yup, more money to be spent on bike parts.

I could have broken spokes with the derailer issue.

I will now have a bike all tuned up and ready to ride the margarita ride!

So far, I am happy to report that today is MUCH BETTER! Kris bought an Ipod (classic) today. I am in charge of buying the speakers and hook up some sort of system so we will have music for the Margarita ride!

Triathlete dies......

Read about it here.

Disney itch..........

I have been so tired and think it is because work has been nuts. Lots of running everyday and no time to just relax a bit. A well deserved vacation is in the future so that is good! We are heading to cheesehead land in a few weeks. Kris's aunt and uncle have a cabin in the woods along a lake that six of us are heading off to. On our trip to the cabin we will stop at Chippewa Falls to take in the Leine Lodge and Brewery tour! We are taking the bikes and clubs so it should be a good time! The one main reason for the trip is that we will celebrate Kris's 50th birthday! Yup, she will be 50 September 8th. We are all busy around her birthday so we have decided to celebrate it a few weeks later!

I have been talking Disney stuff with a part-time accounting lady at work and it has given me the itch big and bad. Of course talking with CDV and giving them some Disney tips earlier this year didn't help feed the Disney Monster in me at all! We have tentatively planned a trip to Disney for the fall of 2009 for Epcot Food and Wine Festival! I can't wait! If you love food and wine then this is the ticket. You get little appetizer size samples of food from a particular country. They also have wine or beer from that country also to try. These samples run from $2.50-5.00 each but you get to try items you have never had before and most of all it is FUN! Something about being around the World Showcase with the big torches burning, giving the whole area an amber glow that is just wonderful. I can't wait! We need to pick a date and then start the countdown calendar!

This weekend we plan on doing some house loving projects and of course a bike ride!

Maybe we will see you along the trail!

Golf and Crit races-recap!

It was a great weekend although a little short on sleep since I was up EARLY each morning.

Saturday I hit the PanCan golf tournament and had a blast. We really had a lot of fun catching up with friends, laughing and being silly, oh yes, and playing golf. My partner and I did a good job on the back nine but the front nine was not so good. Oh well we can't be excellent all the time! 116 golfers hit the course for a great cause!

Sunday it was the SF Crit races. What a blast! I was a marshall at the intersection of 8th and Dakota. The race was a lot of fun to watch and of course I had to cheer on a few of the local FAB racers and other racers also. Way to go FAB guys, the MuSCLe, Minus Car and Dan (in the pic below) you all did a great job!

My intersection, really had nothing exciting happen except for sweeping up gravel that kept popping up between races from asphalt laid maybe a week or so ago. I sure had the pedestrian traffic to control. WOW. Let me just say there are some VERY interesting people that were out and about Sunday morning! Let's see I had a 70-some year old lady wearing red sandals and ankle high hose, skirt and of course slathered with make-up. We chatted as the racers approached and then I told her it was ok to cross the street. She walked about eight feet out in the road, stopped, turned around and started talking to me again telling me how old she was. Of course there were more racers coming so I had to tell her she needed to get off the course! There was another guy that had a deposit from Sunday morning offerings to make. He was very adamant that he needed to drive to the bank located at 9 and Main. I told him that we had a race going on and that he could walk over there but I could not let him drive to the bank as it was in part of the race course. Finally he agree to that. I had asked another guy on a bike to wait at the corner until the racers went by. He didn't acknowledge me when I asked him to wait so I took it that he didn't hear me or whatever so I walked closer to him and repeated it. He then told me he had heard me and was bitching about all these nut cases out there on bikes.....hummmm, I wonder if he had ever looked in a mirror? I told him it was safe to cross the street and of course he said a few more things as he biked away. The funny one of the day was Minus Car's mom and dad. They pulled up in the parking lot by my station. We chatted a bit. They headed in the direction of the start finish line so I assumed they were going to watch the race. I had seen Mr Car warming up on the race course and thought they were there to see their son race. Then about 45 minutes later they appeared and Mr Car's father said he would be back to help out marshall the corners. I asked how the start finish was and he said they went and had brunch at the Holiday Inn. I thought it was funny because their son was going to race. Read Minus Car's blog and you find out the rest of the story. (He really didn't know if he was going to ride and never told his parents) It was not until Mr Car's father came back to relieve some FAB people that he found out that his son had been in the race.

It was also a good education for some of the people as they walked up and asked what was going on and so I told them. They were amazed at the race and how fast they were going even though I was stationed on an uphill section.

Common questions I was asked:

"What is going on here?", "Where are they all from?", "Why are they riding in a line?", What is that black car doing on the race course?", "How many laps do they ride?", "How long will the race last?" "Where is there a good place to eat?", "How do I get to the Holiday Inn?", "Is the library open?", "What class is racing?", "Do woman race also?", "Where is the finish line?","How long is the street going to be closed?"......I am sure I am missing a few.

Anyway it was a fun day watching the race. I had one lady relieve be around 1:00pm from my spot. She rode for Central Plains Cycling and finished second in the women's division. Haley, it was very nice talking with you and I learning more about the races! I also got a kick out of Cloud the weimaraner from the CPC team. One of the team members came around on his bike with a cooler on a trailer that had water, cliff bars and bananas, for the volunteers. Yup bananas! I could not make myself eat one since I had my quota of bananas during the MS150. Anyway he had Cloud hooked to the bike and so she ran along with him greeting all the volunteers! She was a very nice ambassador!

I heard there were 61 racers. Some racers travel from as far away as Oklahoma! Good job everyone! I hope there will be a second annual Crit race next year and if so you can bet I will be helping out again.

Golfing and bike races.......

Busy weekend upcoming.

Tomorrow is the 6th annual PanCan (Pancreatic Cancer) golf tournament in Brandon. It was started a few years ago after a friend was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. When she was diagnosed she was given 2 months to live. She sought out the Cancer Treatment Centers of America and after a hard battle she is cancer free and I think this is year 7 being cancer free! You can read and or watch her story here. She is an amazing lady who has been through hell and back but lives on to help others fight this disease. So anyway me and the Traup are partnering up for the tournament. This should prove interesting as I have not golfed, I think since the end of June! Traup is a pretty good golfer so I hope she will carry the team after I make some long drives (I hope)! All in all it is a great time meeting up with old softball players / friends and all for a great cause. I am guessing Saturday night will spend repairing / relaxing the sore and achy aging body and a few recovery drinks!

Sunday I will be up with the sun, wait it will be before the sun comes up, to help set up the race course for the SD State Criterium races and then I also have volunteered to help with the race from 8a-3p. Should be fun but I am a little nervous about what I will end up doing. I just do not want to mess anything up! I hope they have a good turn out for the races. They are closing off part of the downtown for the one mile loop. I had planned on riding my bike down there (not to race, but commute) but we were told to bring lawn chair, broom and also an umbrella and all that would be hard to carry on a bike. Sunday night maybe a nice bike ride, I hope, but it might depend on how tired I will be.

The plans for Labor Day, next weekend, are to give the house here in Sioux Falls some love. It is sorely abused. The plans are to get the den semi-organized. We bought some old desk parts and so the plan is with the help from a door, from here at work, to make a computer desk and get things organized before people / family / friends turn the clean sweep people after us (NOTE: I would be charged with murder and moving to the women's prison in Pierre if anyone does turn us over to the clean sweep people!) I think there will also be some bike riding involved that weekend so we get a nice longer ride in before the Margarita ride. I would not mind getting some work done in the garage also. The stable of bikes / empty cardboard boxes and garden stuff are taking over the little one staller. There will also be yardwork to get taken care off as fall will be hitting soon! So I guess Labor Day weekend there will be lots of "laboring" going on!

Hey, to all you out there who read this wacky blog. Have a great and safe weekend!

Need a new coffee maker? I have one for you!

So, imagine a week with a coffee pot that thinks it just needs to shut itself off sometimes. Imagine how crabby the people in the household get when this happens as we have doctors orders in place that state we need our morning coffee during the week!

Last night we were at a local big chain retail store and I decided to buzz over and look at coffee makers. I found one that was kind of interested (picture above) and started looking at the specifications card (picture below) and imagine my surprise when I saw what was stated.

I know it is a bad pic from my cell phone but look at the last item listed on the right.

• Permanent god filter

Ok, now I know I am not one that should be pointing fingers as I have made lots of typo / grammar / punctuation mistakes in my blogs but I thought it was kind of wild for a big-chain retail store to have made this mistake. I know it should have read

• Permanent gold filter

I could not help myself from laughing.

I guess this coffee maker is one for Heavenly Brew..........we didn't purchase any coffee maker yet.

Biking or Walking?......you make the call!

Bike race this weekend........

Big bike race this Sunday in Sioux Falls! Come on out and support the bikers and cheer them on to victory. They will be closing off a section the the streets downtown for this race!
Read about it here and here.

Deadman stands at wake.....

Check this out . I think this would be a bit odd walking into a house and seeing this. I am guessing the funeral home had a pretty "stiff" price for doing this!

Farmer's wave (Part 2)

So we did an experiment with the farmer's wave this past weekend. I showed Kris the dilemma that it was almost impossible to do the one finger farmers wave with both hands on the top of the handlebars. We tried the nod instead of the wave. It seemed to work but only after the farmers wave was initiated by someone else. Not sure a head nod would initiate the farmers wave from anyone. We didn't get as fancy as Mr Mayor with the "tipping the hat" but we found the nod worked just fine.

Weekend recap, Kris's goal was met!

(This was our view of the river as we sat waiting for the fireworks to start. It was so relaxing!)

Here it is Sunday night. Where did the weekend go?

Friday night was spent watching the Golden Knights jump with flares (AMAZING) and then the great fireworks. We got back to the Clubhouse, chatted with friends on the patio and had a few libations. It was one of those fun talking / laughing events and all of a sudden it was 1:00am!

Saturday we headed out on a bike outing. Kris is not a huge biker but I got her talked into riding a 20 mile route with me while we were in Yankton. We hit old Hwy 50 and headed east to the Mission Hill road and north to Valley View. Kris is not one that is comfortable around a lot of traffic as she has just really started biking but she had a goal at the beginning of the year to be able to ride 20 miles....AND SHE DID! THIS WAS HER LONGEST RIDE EVER AND SHE DID GREAT! It was hard work as it was not all flat. There were around 8 miles of rolling hills but she made it! I am so proud of her! One of those darn little hills in Mission Hill, kind of like the Mayor Slayer out by Spring Creek Golf Course but it is not as long as that one and maybe not as steep but it is a nasty little hill. We also worked on the biking lingo, car back, which I was corrected a few times to truck back and tractor back. If you are not a biker this just means that there is a car, truck or tractor behind you so get over to the right and be prepared to be passed. We also talked about shifting and when you should shift. When you ride the bike path you don't change gears all that often so this was good practice.

Once back at the Clubhouse we donned our swim suits and hit the pool for a short but nice cooling off swim before heading out to do our errands and have more fun. First it was picking up our chairs at the custom furniture place. They look great! Then it was off to see the Gurney building. It was great to see the inside and I was excited to be able to walk the old stairs to the second and third floor. We could only walk the stairs as they had the doors at the top of each stair blocked off. I was bummed about that as it would have been fun to see where my dad's old office was but I am sure it is not there anymore anyway. When they built his office they kind of made it portable so it could be moved around to a different location if needed.

Then we headed down the stairs and realized that maybe this was not so smart climbing the stairs after our ride. Both of us groaned with each step. We then headed to the river for the festivities. We had lunch/supper down there. Indian Fry Bread Tacos....YUM and the topped off by some SDSU ice cream (pecan praline cheesecake--YUM YUM!). We stopped at some of the craft booths but nothing really grabbed us so we headed back to the Clubhouse. Of course Kris practiced her drafting technique when we walked back to the truck.

Sunday morning we had a great breakfast prepared by Kono. We loaded up and headed to Obert to make sure everything was alright at the Cemetery. Of course this reminds me of what my mom used to say. She would make this trip to check up on things at the cemetery and I would ask her how everything was and she would say, "Well, there all dead!" For some reason it made me chuckle every time she said that. Hard to believe in November it will be two years since she passed away. Time goes way too fast. I am sure you are asking how everything was at the cemetery. It looked great as it was freshly mowed and yes, they are all dead! We got home and the bikes were a mess from being on gravel and having a hitch mounted bike rack they pick up all sorts of grime, so the bikes got a bath. We then hit the grocery store for food for the week and now it is vegging time.

OOPS...forgot! I have kudos to sent out to my sister, brother-in-law and niece (didn't know she was riding this until I read my nieces blog). They completed their first brevet event in Kansas this past weekend. A brevet is a self supported bike ride of varying lengths. There are check points and time limits also. I think theirs was 125 miles in 13 hours. CONGRATS!

More bike trails coming!

We will have 11 more miles of bike trail to ride in the future with the announcement of the latest expansion!

Farmer's wave........

So, while I was riding the MS150 out there on the rode to Vermillion, battling the wind, you think about a lot of things. I was finding that I hate the wind and bananas but I found out something very interesting. What is that you are asking? Well, it seems it is almost impossible to do the farmers wave while riding a bike. A farmers wave? What is a farmers wave you ask? Well, it is a unique wave that we do out here in the midwest. As two vehicles approach each other from opposite directions on a two-lane road the fellow motorist will lift a index finger off the steering wheel and give a little waggle or sometime no movement just an erect finger and then expecting the same from the other motorist. Now, this is not to be mistaken with the one finger salute, the naughty one, or someone telling you are number one, but a polite gesture that is is not uncommon for people to give each other in our part of the country. It is kind of a hi, how you doing type of thing.

So imagine yourself on the bike with both hands on the top part of the handlebars and trying to give a farmers wave to an approaching motorist. I tried to do it a few times be decided I better quit for fear they might think I had some sort of strange disorder and needed help or they saw me laugh at trying to do this and would have sent me directly to therapy! I am sure it is pretty comical seeing someone in the open highway, twitching their index finger and laughing......

Wings, belly flops and Riverboat Days

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!

Wow, I thought it would not get here but then all of a sudden it was Friday! Had a great time last night. We took Kris's niece and a couple other friends to BW3 for some wings and laughter. We sure did get some good laughing in. Nothing like wings, beer and laughter. We even saw a little kid do a face plant out of one of the booths. The kid was fine. I was expecting the big screams to pierce the ear drums at any second but alas the little dude cried very little and then the mom decided to move to a table or was it from me laughing at the kid? I could not help myself it was so funny looking. It looked like some one tossed him right out of the booth and he splatted / belly flopped on the floor. I would have not laughed if he had been hurt but since he was fine it was very funny.

Tonight we are heading to Riverboat Days in Yankton. I can't wait! There will be fireworks tonight and it is being billed as the best and biggest they have had at Riverboat Days. Ok, now let me just toot Yankton's horn a bit on this one. The July 4th fireworks and the fireworks during Riverboat Days are the best I have seen around here, yes, better than Sioux Falls. Maybe it is sitting on the banks of the big Mo and watching them shoot the big bombs into the air and then waiting for the sky to light up and see the reflection in the river that give a person the, OOOOO, AAAWWWW, factor but they are awesome. Second only to the fireworks I have seen at Disney. So, they are also saying this will be the second biggest firework display in the state of South Dakota with the fireworks at Mount Rushmore over the 4th of July being the biggest. I will have to report on this Monday but they really do an awesome job with the fireworks.

Not sure what all the weekend will hold so it will be a kind of play it by ear and go with the flow weekend. I know we will hit the road for a ride, do some shopping and eating food and I guess some time will be spent at the beer tent.


Oh, ya, one more thing. They are going to have tours of the first floor of the Gurney building complete with popcorn. If you had ever been to the Gurney retail store they always had popcorn made for you to snack on while you shopped. I do have to say I made my fair share of popcorn for people to eat while shopping. Yes, I worked at Gurney's during the summers in high school out in the fields but I also helped out at the store. I spent a lot of time there working and also my dad was the shipping manager there for a lot of years so I know my way around the place pretty well. I am very excited to get back in there to see the place again! Does anyone remember the Myna (sp?) bird they used to have in the store? It was in the back part of the store and was kind of a naughty bird if I remember right.


Everyone stay safe out there this weekend and to those doing the Gut Check good luck and slay the beast! To those having issues because they decided to spend time with their family this year instead of train a bunch look around and see who is the winner this summer. The road will always be there to conquer and it just was not meant to be this year.

Marg ride and Ribfest!

We, me and Kris, just registered, have you? We will be doing the 30 mile ride along the scenic lower bluff road! Proceeds go to the MS society. Kris's father died from MS and her sister had MS also but died from cancer so the cause is close to the heart for us.

I know that FAB is having a ride that same day along with the main sponsor Sanford (Hospital) for breast cancer (Sept 13) but we will be in Yankton the weekend of the rides and it is a lot shorter to drive 25 min than 1.25 hours for a bike ride!...Sorry Club but we are going to Vermillion!

Later that afternoon and evening is the Ribfest in Yankton (the hog picture is from a rib booth from last years ribfest).....MMMM, Margs and then Ribs...look out digestive system!

TAA - DAA...

Sorry for the poor pictures as I took them with my camera phone.

BEFORE

AFTER

The ride that never happened...

This past weekend was a great time but I never got my ride in at all that I had planned. I was doing a few decorating things to the newly remodeled bathroom at the clubhouse and after several trips up and down the stairs the right knee started hurting again. Not sure what is up with that. Makes me crabby! Anyway I decided not to push things so I stayed off the bike and have not been on it since MS150 which is not so good. I do plan on getting a small ride in sometime this week. Again work sucks and it keeps on ending up a a reoccurring thing in my blog entries and for that I am sorry. I am trying to deal with this work stuff a little better and I think if I got back on the bike it would be better also as I am usually in a better mood when I ride...me in a bad mood...hahaha....OH YA BABY! I blew up at my boss last week about work and we are finally talking to each other today so that is good but I should not let it get to the point it did last week and I need to learn to just talk things out instead of letting them build and the blow up!

Anyway on to the fun weekend recap. Kris and her mom got to Yankton Thursday night and we promptly headed over the Murdo's for supper. The walleye was great! Friday we did a few things, shopped, hit an antique store in Crofton, and then waited for Jay and Liz to arrive from Pierre. The four of us, Kris's mom (Joan) stayed at the Clubhouse, hit the world famous Ice House. We drank our bucket-o-beer and then picked up Joan and headed to Charlies with the Godparents in tow. It was a fun evening with family and good food. We celebrated Luther's birthday with a made from scratch angel food cake. 16 egg whites in the cake...YUM! Saturday was seeing the sites of Yankton followed by me taking Jay to the Walnut Tavern aka Dead Animal Bar. We laughed at the t-shirts the bartenders were wearing. One said, "You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning", the other one was "Drunk girls think I am HOT!" We purchase 2-tap beers of Budlight for $3.50 total. Sorry, Ben we never made it to your place but will save it for another trip, we just ran out of time! We hit the clubhouse pool later in the afternoon and had a good time. Liz and Jay showed us their diving skills while I stayed in the shallower end. I swim like a ROCK so it is best for me to not be in the deep end of the pool. Supper was made staring, smoked pork chops, potatoes and fresh sweet corn from the godparents....YUM-O! We hit the musical Annie Get Your Gun and it was good as always. We really enjoyed it and I had never seen that musical before. They added some good currant humor to the play which was a hoot. Sunday we departed after brunch at Minerva's.

This weekend is River Boat Days and it will be busy in Yankton that is for sure. The Old Iron Association is doing some demos on shelling corn and thrashing which my Godfather is a member of so we will have to go watch that. The Golden Knights Army parachute team are jumping and there will be an aerial show of some sort also. Of course there is always Brule that plays, the two hour long parade Saturday morning, fireworks over the river Friday night and lots and lots of other activities. We are taking the bikes down there to maybe get a ride in or maybe commute to the festivities as it is easier to park the bike but the traffic might not be so fun to deal with. We will see.

Lots to do this weekend in Yankton so will try and relax and recharge a bit also...hope the rain does not damped the spirits tooooooooo much!

Seems like my weekend post are about all the same anymore....crabby about work, no bike ride and heading to Yankton.....am I in a funk???......maybe.

A couple days off.......

I am tired of stressful weeks. I am doing jobs at work that I have never done and do not feel comfy with them but it is a good learning experience I guess for all of us. We are all double and triple checking each others work, so that in itself is very good. Sounds like our co-work will be in the hospital a few more weeks then home to recoup and then she will have surgery, then recoup and then back to work part time if everything goes as planned....UGH!

The only good thing about this week is that I am heading to Bridge City tonight! I have a couple days off and then Kris and her family are coming down there to spend the weekend. We plan on seeing the historical sites, antique store in Crofton, sitting by the pool, and then going to the play, Annie Get Your Gun, Saturday night. Should be a fun relaxing time. Oh ya, and we are going to Charlie's Friday night, Mr Brady....hahaha

I plan on riding Thursday morning doing a 30 mile loop. The knees are much better. The calves are a little sore yet in the morning but getting better. It sure was a fun MS150 and I plan to not put the bike away but instead keep riding. Now, there is training for the Margarita Ride in Vermillion September 13. I better put away the beer and start on the Margarita's to get in shape for this! hahaha

This will be my last post until next week so have a great and safe weekend everyone!

Retro beer making a come back!

Check this out. It is no Young's Double Chocolate Stout, but it is good to educate those taste buds with different beers!

The ride recap

Yes, I am home early from the MS150. I am having knee issues from lack of not enough gears, not enough miles and a nasty headwind yesterday. Pretty sure it is not my seat height causing the problems.

So the recap...

Friday night was the fueling. It was good to meet a few fellow bloggers and head to Monks for some tasteeee beverages, Mr and Mrs BikingBrady, Ridevermillion and of course the usual suspects Mr Mayor and Cycle SD and myself. Left there and come home to get things finalized for the morning.

Saturday morning the ride. Everyone was talking going as fast as you can to get as many miles in before the wind picked up. Not sure but I think this body only came with one speed...slow so there would be none of that riding fast for me. I went at my own pace which was good. As we traveled out of town in a big pack I got to talk with Pastor Dave, from First Lutheran Church here in Sioux Falls, he was just chatty and then he headed off ahead of me. Yup, I think he is in his 70s, and he passed me. He was kicking butt and taking names in a Godly sort of way. Very Cool guy that completed his journey to Vermillion, 75 miles, by a little after 2:00pm. Anyway, I headed down the road and things were going well. Made it to Lennox in good time pretty much riding on my own, passing a few people and a few people passing be. I looked in my mirror and saw the SAG wagon with flashers a few bikers in back of me. I am thinking, I am at the very end of the line and those poor people in that van are going to have to look at my butt for another 50 miles! Well, I was wrong there was a lot of people behind me also so no need to worry about the people in the van watching my butt. We headed out of Lennox and all of a sudden a guy rolls up along side me and says, "What time did the MS start today?" I told him it had started at 7:00am. He said, "ok", and he went zipping by me. As he rode away I looked and he only had one leg, he did have a prosthetic leg also! Yup I got passed by a late 60-early 70 year old guy with one leg. He rode another three miles up the road and turned around and headed back to town FLYING! He was very fast! I left the church rest stop and headed into the teeth of the monster. The wind had really started to pick up and I was out there on my own. I could have waited for a group to form and head out but I do have to say that some of the people I am not so sure I would have ridden with as their bike skills were a bit scary and with wind gusting I would rather brave it on my own so I kept rolling along. The wind was bad. It was to be 2omph winds that we were heading into with gust higher. With all that I ran out of gears again on my 14 speed and the knees got sore. I made it to Beresford and decided my day was done after 48.39 miles, 4h 31m 17 sec ride time, average speed 11mph, max speed 24.1 mph. not real bad numbers given the wind issue. I had in my head that my goal was to maintain 10 mph which I achieved. I forgot to say I met Sieversma and her husband. He was a real trooper on the ride. You go Nick!


After the Saturday ride I hit the shower and then chatted with the Team Fab group and another blogger Cycling Cathy. The banquet was at 7:00pm and then I hit the bed. I was tired and I heard rumor this morning that a few of the FABers hit Dairy Queen after the Banquet for their second wind so to speak. We never made our Bunyons bombers run as everyone was very tired.


My knees were still sore on Saturday night and I decided I would try Sunday to see how it all went. I got up and went down for breakfast and then back up to the 2nd floor dorm room at USD and then back down to take my linens to the front desk them back up and the right knee was done so I decided to SAG. So I guess technically I beat all you back to Sioux Falls this time!
Distance 75 miles, 1 hour 15 mins, max speed 75...beat those numbers kids...hahaha


All in all the ride is about the cause and at every corner it seemed there was someone encouraging you to push your self a little more like a lady and a fellow biker that I went back and forth with a few times. They would pass me and I would pass them. Once when they passed me I read on her name/number that she had written that she has MS. There is also Pat Lynch who was out there braving the wind on his hand bike and then the people you see at the rest stops, finish line and some were helping with the SAG wagons that have MS. They encourage you to do more! It really brings it back home and what this ride is really about. It is not about the miles you ride or how fast you ride it. It is about raising money for a cause.


Break out your money and donate, volunteer or ride next year. It is a great time. I have already signed up to ride in 2009...Have you or will you?


Some odd factoids....


Farm animals seen:
Lennox seems to have a lot of people into donkeys and or mules. I saw lots of them.

The usuals were out there also cows, horses and chickens. I have a thing for talking to the animals that I ride by so it gets quite comical the looks these creatures give me.


Wildlife:
Geese
Team Fab
Team Road Kill



Real Road kill:
Raccoons seem to be the most prevalently smashed animal
Skunks
Opossum
Cats
Snakes (YEAH!)
Birds
Deer (SAG back to Sx Falls along the indy)


Food consumed on the ride:
Let me just say that I am not a fruit eater and I do not like bananas except for in bread or banana cake so given that I have now hit my lifetime quota of bananas...3. Yes, you read it correctly I had three bananas in one day!

Of course a lot of Gu packets and I tried the Sport Beans. They are ok but to me they tasted salty. 2-fig newtons and a half an orange.

Lunch was a pork sandwich, cheetos, one whole banana and gatoraide.

2-cookies at the finish line and then supper was salad, pasta and white cake with jello in it.

Oh ya, and about 10oz of a 16oz can of Miller Lite.

The big ride......

Here it is Friday afternoon and tomorrow is "D" day! I should not complain as this is all for a great cause (MS150) but we will have 20mph headwinds to face on our quest from Sioux Falls to Vermillion plus the temps are going to be a bit on the warm side, in the 90s. The silver lining at this point is a 12-13 mph tailwind for the ride back on Sunday......unless knowing a bikers luck the wind changes. This seems to be pretty standard weather for summer in South Dakota anymore! (note to self...pack bungee cords to hook to an innocent biker to pull me to Vermillion and a sail for the way home on Sunday)

My place of employment donated to the cause and then proceeded to ask me if anyone pledges per mile anymore and of course jokingly I told him that he just did at $50 per mile. He proceeded to ask me over for lots of beer the night before the ride. I thought that was a good one!

I am pretty much ready to go as far as all the packing. I am sure I will have along tooooo much stuff like usual but it is better to have enough stuff then run out of your favorite ride treats / gu / drink powder and such. I got strawberry fig newtons packed...YUM and I am also going to try the Jelly Belly Sport Beans as a change of pace along with my Gu.

The biking bloggers are meeting at the registration and fuel up tonight so that will be fun to finally meet a few that I have not already met.

No matter what, it will be a good time meeting new people, seeing the country side, and most of all it is for a good cause. I will give a full report at somepoint if I am able to sit and use a keyboard after 150 miles!

Think positive thoughts this weekend for the brave riders on the road and that we find a cure for the disease soon!