Circumstances

I am very positive with the circumstances of Highlander, Goose made a good decision of not going. With all the flats - add Goose into that - Egg would have been very busy. With the weather coming back - I am positive I am glad we didn't go. I still remember our return from Helen, we caught the front at one point and the after at another of a tornado. I know there were points that I wanted to pull over. I probably am over cautious when we travel with AJ, but I don't like high winds on or off the bike!

With that - Goose rode Sunday and ran into Mr and Mrs Helldawg out of the roads. He came home and said - great day to ride, wish you would have ridden with me (NOT!!!!!!) I saw the ind gusts and knew it would kill me today. I had trouble walking into the wind and knew it wouldn't happen for me. We are sorry everyone had flats, but glad it was a good trip for all.

Goose canoed with Rick Kitchen on Monday and said the Bellbrook river is a mess. Guess the plan is to keep the tri on track. Hopefully the river clears up before then.

I was going to ride today. I drove the rodes and saw the power lines down and trees still in the road on the back roads. I decided not to get myself in the way and picked up the never ending branches from our yard and to walk. I think we will be cleaning up the yard this time next year.

Great year - Goose has one more tri and the TT then it is time to scale back the training for a few weeks. Looking into new DVDs for this winter. Time to have more fun.

Dog Update

AJ and I decided to go on a picnic today, so we headed to Taylorsville Dam. There just happened to be an Animal Control Officer on her lunch. After she was done, I explained my situation to her. She said since the water made the dog more aggressive, do not use mace. I gave her the address and she said she would check it out. Just got a call from her. She said the farmer has a beautiful kennel for the 2 dogs - nicer than most homes she has been in. There was a younger gentleman there who works for the farmer (he wasn't there) and said yes the dog is a huge problem. He has chased a number of cyclists and witnessed what happened to me yesterday. He said the farmer has obsolutely no control of the dog. The Animal Control Officer left a warning and said she would do a follow-up. She gave me a card to carry with the number I needed to call if it happens again.

I hated to report the guy, sure I could make another route, but I do like this one. I am glad to hear it just isn't me. Jeff said he has riden that route many times and never had a dog come out after him. Oh well, I am not riding tonight, decided to walk to see if I can work out the "bug" in my hip, but I do plan on riding Friday.

Wednesday

Dropped the CD off for Ron to give to his mom. Goose was early - again! When he got home he said he was happy with his ride. Still recovering from his Tri on Sunday. Didn't get a blow-by-blow like Eggie gives. Shower - dinner - a few cold ones - he should be good the for the night. Looks like almost everyone is heading for Highlander - Goose will have to ride alone on Friday night.

Me? What a day. AJ was line leader (if you have ever had a child in pre-school, you will know what a big deal that is!) I got to walk my 5 miles while he was in school and really enjoyed it. After Andrew got home, I went out for my ride. Not a good thing. All I can say is that dog needs to be restrained, police are a waste of time, motorcycles are good things, the dog I think threw my hip out or strained a muscle when he hit me. Definitely getting mace before I ride that way again. Owner doesn't understand he has to restrain the dog.

To everyone going to Highlander - Have fun - takes lots of pictures. Travel/Ride safely.

Say It Really Is So

Well after reading Egg's blog, I must admit I was excited about Lance. Then I read Dobo's and thought shit. Well NOW YEAH:

"I am happy to announce that after talking with my children, my family and my closest friends, I have decided to return to professional cycling in order to raise awareness of the global cancer burden," the 36-year-old Armstrong said in a statement released to The Associated Press. "This year alone, nearly eight million people will die of cancer worldwide. ... It's now time to address cancer on a global level." In an exclusive interview with Vanity Fair, Armstrong told the magazine he's 100 percent sure he's going to compete in the Tour de France next summer. "I'm going back to professional cycling," he said in the story posted Tuesday on the magazine's Web site. "I'm going to try and win an eighth Tour de France."

Looks like a great Tour for 09 and who knows, maybe Tour De Georgia can be saved. That would be awesome to see him ride there.

Well ok, I have had my fix on spandex today.

Race Day

Talking strategy? Who knows - but Jeff Coudron decided to ditch his shoes/socks at the last minute.

Plowin' around the corner. They both were very smooth in the boat today.

They came in before I expected them. Photo is blurry - was too busy cheering them in.

"God Am I Finally Done?" Goose is very pleased with his race today.

Well it really started last night. Goose went out to get the crap out of his legs - came back in the that smile upside down :(. He has "pulled" his calf muscle a little earlier in the week. Not much to talk about so he didn't Well yesterday, he must have finished the job. So he started icing his leg hoping to get rid of the pull. As of 8:00 last night, he didn't think he would race. We talked about him canoeing and riding and then not running. So he put a call into Egg to tell him save your gas - he just wasn't sure.

This morning, leg was still really tender, but we headed out. Beautiful overcast/cool day - perfect day to race. Talked to his partner, Jeff Coudron, about the running portion. Like Jeff C. said, "we are here to have fun - do what you can and HAVE FUN". The took off in the canoe like people were sitting still. They ended up being the second canoe in - they had staggered starts, which put them out front at this time. Goose and Jeff had already decided ahead of time that Goose would just stay on his wheel. Coudron is a strong cyclist and knew he could pull old PoPo around (hehe). We did the math and it looks like they averaged 24.99999 mph - Goose is really happy with the bike portion and THANKS TO ALL THE COWS! I really wasn't sure if he was going to run, but he headed out. The motivation sat in and discovered his leg wasn't going to hurt any more if he ran faster. So he did. He finished within seconds of his last year's time, but given the fact that his calf muscle is pulled - he is thrilled.

On the way home I asked him if he would classify this as a no chain day - YEP!

Lake Loramie

Usually this means the end of the racing season, but Speedy Feet has added one more Tri and a new TT. I always looked forward to the end of the season, that meant Jeff was more flexible in his training, was home more, etc. But I must admit I hate to see this year end. He has had so much fun training, less on the running and more on the bike. We have taken a couple of really neat trips, met new people at the Tri's and gained many new friends.

Jeff has gone out to just get the crap out of his legs - easy training day. Early dinner and early to bed. Looks like we plan to leave by 5:45 in the morning. He has his pre-race rituals and can't screw with them! Weather looks perfect for tomorrow. The water looks like it might be a low - but it is low for everyone. Hopefully a couple of the cows will be there.

Hoping for a good race day!

Labor Day

Yep - it definitely was a "labor" day. It started off with the door bell. I was sound asleep and it woke me up. First thought was "Oh shit - Jeff overslept". Nope he was already out of bed. Lazy me (and half asleep) yelled out the window and it was Viper (which I will call Vinnie Bear - courtesy of his best half!) Not long after that the green Big Tim taxi pulled and everyone loaded up and headed for Minister. Backing out Egg yelled he didn't know when they would have Goose home. Now that I was wide awake, I decided to get the errands done and then head out on my bike.

I couldn't decide which route I was doing. I had 2 really bad rides and 1 so-so earlier in the week. So I decided just to do the 16 mile. At the end of that route, I had found my legs and decided to go a little further. It got to the point either turn around and head home or it would be too late. So I decided just to do the loop again. As I turned on to Silver I clipped out of my pedals to stretch my very tired legs. Got to the stop sign and got a nice little honk from the Taxi - well crap - what to do? Of course -- clip shoes back in and try to go like hell. Told Craig "I would never ride that far again". He said take a shower and eat, then decide. We I did and I still said that. Today - well maybe I will go that far again :)

Jeff had a great ride, minus the flat. Hopefully Egg didn't get poison ivy. He was pleased with climbs (if ya want more details - Read Egg's blog). What really thrilled him was the pat on the back front Vince, all the coaching and encouragement he got from everyone. Got his belly filled with pasta and he was done for the night.

I think he is ready for Sunday - pray for no rain and a NO CHAIN DAY!