When the Ride Gets Tough

Today was a beautiful fall, Sunday morning. I was awakened early by my terrier who felt I needed to get up and "go to work". Why is it that she doesn't know the difference between the week and weekend? After feeding her, she headed back to bed, and I headed to "work". Work was going to consist of an easy bicycle ride along one of my favorite linear trails. The trail is only 6 miles one way, but there are several side trips into a metro park and back through a housing development to a second metro-park. All-in-all, it is a flat 30 mile ride. The morning began mostly cloudy with a good wind. One of the reasons I enjoy riding early in the morning is that I often am able to miss some of the stiffer winds. This morning was an exception. I headed east so I was aware that my ride back would be into a head wind. The trail was very lightly traveled early on and the users began to steadily increase as my ride moved into the second hour. While, I was expecting a head wind on the way back I was not prepared for the fatigue I felt. I certainly did not lack the motivation to ride, but was wondering whether or not I had the physical strength to complete the ride. I found that the ride quickly moved from a physical "challenge" to a mental one. I found that this morning was a great time to practice the mental messages I send myself. I kept reminding myself that I just needed to keep my feet moving. I legs where fatigues and I felt the "crash". I was surprised because I thought I was well rested from the week. But for some reason there was just no reserve of "energy". Even a short stop for a power bar didn't help. The ride was scheduled to be an easy ride, so I didn't worry about the time and even reminded myself the longer I was on the bike the more calories I would burn. I continued to focus on technique and form and continued to remind myself to keep the feet moving. As I practiced the mental portion of the ride, I quickly noticed that I was approaching my beginning point. Relieved when I was two miles from the end, I decided to see if there was anything left for some short sprints. It didn't take long to be content with just finishing. It is days like this when I am reminded that participating is something enough. I look forward to a mid-week ride to see if the energy comes back.

Ducks on the Pond

When I hear that phrase, "ducks on the pond", I generally think of coming to bat with runners in scoring position. Perhaps that conjures up memories of days gone by when I spent my evenings playing softball. My evenings are no longer spent playing softball, but rather relaxing in the backyard, often reading and taking in the sites and sounds of nature. Tonight, I was "treated" to two mallards who decided to make my pool their pond. As is my routine in the evening, I let my terrier out to explore and do her evening business after an afternoon in the cage. Tonight her exploring kicked up two mallards who immediately flew to the pool. While the picture looks tranquil, it was not, as my terrier started to chase the mallards. She quickly discovered they could fly, and she could not. Her enthusiasm to chase the mallards from the pool only led her to find that stopping on concrete is not as easy as it looks. She skidded to a stop and did all she could to ensure that she didn't go swimming. Thankfully as the mallards took off while she stopped short of a splash.

Happy Birthday Memory

Ten years ago I celebrated the last birthday with one of my best friends, my mother. She was unconscious in a hospital room with days to live. It was a bittersweet moment. Her doctor, who had been treating her for ten years and our family for over 16 years came in with the nurses, bearing a cake with a single candle. At the time the idea of a single candle was lost on me. Today it reminds me of the last birthday. We sang her happy birthday. Three days later she passed away. So, today I remember her and her last birthday. I still love you mother and look forward to an even bigger celebration when we are reunited again one day!

Christmas in September

Ok - I can handle the "Christmas in July" concept. Often used because it is roughly half way through a year. But Christmas in September? You have got to be kidding. It seems that each year, stores begin to bring in the Christmas decoration and "sales" earlier and earlier. Well, this year is no differently. I was at the mall for my one of three annual visits. For me it is a visit in the fall to update the fall and winter wardrobe. Then it is a visit between Thanksgiving and Christmas for the annual Christmas visit - not necessarily shopping, but I really enjoy the holiday decorations. Then I visit in the spring to get the wardrobe ready for summer. But today, I made a rare visit between traditional visits. There I found Christmas decorations in the "Holiday Shop". I figured it was only one store, but no, it was all three major anchor stores. I was flabbergasted. What about those of us who enjoy Halloween? Or me, who really enjoys celebrating Thanksgiving and being thankful for the blessings of the year? So, is the early push for Christmas an ever growing trend, or is this a symptom of the economy and one more ploy to try to people to spend money?

Canada Goose

I work on an urban campus that is very "green". It includes several ponds that attract Canadian Geese. Many Geese. The return in the spring to build their nests. Soon you seem "families" of geese walking around campus. At that point the geese become a bit more aggressive as they are very protective of their young. Through out the summer I get to watch the little ones grow and become part of the growing number of geese that inhabit our camps. This time of year, the geese begin to thin out as flocks of them slowly begin to leave to make their southerly migration. Today there were a number geese who were walking me across campus. Generally they walk away when I walk by, but today they seemed to be interested in gain my attention. They are beautiful, graceful birds. But the evidence of their presence isn't always welcomed. Click here to learn more about the Canada Goose.

Fall is in the Air

Tonight I was able to peddle out 15.5 miles in an hour. The air was crisp. For the first time since May, I used my leg and arm "socks" in addition to my traditional bicycle jersey and padded shorts. I guess dressing the part caused me to notice the little signs of fall. You know.......more and more recently fallen leaves along the side of the road; flocks of geese heading south; hints of color at the edges and tops of the trees and finally color within the bushes along the side of the road. I love this time of year to ride. I can work hard and the cool weather helps me endure shorter, but more intense workouts.  What was ironic tonight was that I saw a ground hog on the side of the road. This ground hog didn't run out in front of me this time, but stayed still and watched me peddle by. I couldn't help think to myself that perhaps this was the same fella who ran out in front of me on June 26th sending me to the ER with a fractured ankle.  Perhaps he stayed still tonight because he "learned his lesson".  Ha! Why the thought?  It was ironically near the place where the first ground hog ran out in front of me and I ended up in the ditch.  Ah, the little wonderful of life on a bike.  

Mohawk Dam Ride

September is one of my favorite months for motorcycle riding. Today was no exception. I awoke to a beautiful, blue, sunny sky at 7:00 a.m. I quickly prepared for a 300 plus mile motorcycle ride through central Ohio to Mohawk Dam. Mohawk Dam is approximately 15 miles west of Coshocton, Ohio and 25 miles east of Mount Vernon, Ohio. Access to the dam is via State Route 36, which connects Mount Vernon and Coshocton. We begin our route by take state route 199 to Fostoria. Just east of Fostoria we traveled along US 224 until we turned south on state route 61. Our journey along SR 61 took us through Amish country. The rolling hills and beautiful farm land, lush in fall splendor, made for beautiful scenery, enjoyed more because the route is lightly traveled. We joined state route 39 and road until we entered the Mohawk reserve area. We found our way to Pleasant Hill Damn where we stopped for an hour to enjoy the beautiful of the water, foothills and lush forest. After an opportunity to explore some of the footpaths we made our way to the Mohawk lodge for a light lunch. After lunch we returned north, retracing our journey along SR 39 until we came to Mansfield. At Mansfield we pick us US route 30 and traveled along 30 until it merged with 23 where we continued along 23 until it ended at Interstate 75. At Interstate 75 we headed back north on the heavily travel freeway. What a wonderful way to enjoy a fall day while exploring north Central Ohio.

A Night To Remember: Ann Hampton Callway

Tonight I had the wonderful and joyous opportunity to make a discovery - a new "artist" to enjoy. Have you ever found yourself agreeing to something before you knew what you agreed to? Come-on, admit it.....there has been a time in your life that you say "ok", then asked yourself - what is that? Well, this time, I agree to attend a fundraising event featuring an artist, with whom I was not familiar. I figure that I supporting a good foundation, so it was more about the foundation than the artist. I was in for an amazing surprise. The event featured Ann Hampton Callaway - a self-proclaimed, American Diva - an outstanding Jazz singer who just mezmerized me through her 60 minute performance. She connected with the crowd with her personality and dazzled me with her amazing voice. A truly gifted artist, I have now added her to one of my favorites. To check her out visit her web site by clicking on the link.

What To Do When Your Team Is Out Of The Playoffs?

Tonight, I attended what should be my final Cleveland Indians home game for the year. The playoffs are no where in the Indians future this year. So, tonight, by any other standard, should have been an ordinary, unimportant game. And it was! So, what keeps 24,842 people's attention during an ordinary, unimportant baseball game? the food? people watching? the give-a-way? At least the give-a-way (a wonderful Indians Logo blanket) was useful to wrap up in and stay warm. Tonight, none of those held my attention for long. It was the offensive output that resulted in a 13 to 6 Indians victory. The Royals didn't even get into the "offensive show" until the 8th and 9th inning leaving we Indian fans thinking about all of the blown wins the Indians already experienced this season. I focused upon Jhonny Peralta who came to bat in early in the game and had such a horrible at bat that I wondered if he even saw the baseball. Then I focused upon him again when he came up with runners in scoring position and lined a ball into the outfield, scoring two runs. So, the third time when he came up I wondered which Jhonny would show up - sure enough he lined another baseball into the outfield for a two run double. He ended the evening with four RBI's. During the 5th inning, one of the shinning stars for the Indians came up in a what was still a close came, Shin-Soo Choo. I sat wishing for a home run to "seal" the game. Choo hit a two-run homer to give the Indians a 5 to 3 edge. And when the Indians didn't hold our attention, we all sat with our blackberry's monitoring the USC-Ohio State game at ESPN.com.