Happy Birthday Melissa

My daughter Melissa was born 29 years ago today. Born a preemie, 10 weeks early. Isn't she a cutie? Not only that but smart, National Merit Scholar, full ride at Iowa State, a chemical engineer, a wonderful, wife, mother and daughter. Yahooo.


Here we are proud papa, and daughter.



I will have to get a bigger picture of this, this is Melissa and her lil Cole. And in her honor I took the day off biking. Well ummm actually I was really pooped. :-)
Thanks for stopping in.
Dave

Same-O Out riding around after work, till darkness. Had fun riding around on pavement on the north side of town. Same side I live on, as well as my parents, and my sister and the hospital I was born in a long long time ago.

I came to this fork in the road and thought of something Yogi Berra once said. "When you come to a fork in the road take it"

So I am going to "make" myself take a day of from riding tomorrow. The plan is to try to store up a little energy for some weekend journeys. Yahooo!!

A guy at work asked me today if I am going to put my bike away when the weather gets nice and "normal people" start riding. Ha ha, He knows better.

"that proves you are unusual, "returned the scarecrow, 'and I am convinced that the only people worthy of consideration in this world are the unusual ones. For the common folks are like the leaves of a tree, and live and die unnoticed" Frank Baum (The Land of Oz)

Have fun, be different.
Dave

Day, Sunset, and Night.

Rode in town after work. Saw the sun set, go down, and darkness all in one ride. People at work ask me how can you do this, it seems crazy to me. I figure, if you don't know, I'll never be able to explain it to you.


Sun going down, it was wind chill 9 degrees F out. My finger tips got cold with Bar Mitts removed.

A good lighting system (magicshine) makes riding in dark, reasonably safe, and a lotta fun. This light has 900 lumen's for 3 hours. I also have two blinking red lights on my back side, helps to keep 2 ton metal boxes on wheels from riding over the top of me.
So happy rides to you, and a good night.
Dave

The weather, the gravel, and the girls.

I got the extended forecast for Iowa today. LQQKs like we are going to have weather, whether we like it or not. After the first few snow falls this season I was enjoying the new style of riding, the challenges, the staying warm tricks, among many other changes. BUT!!!! Enough is enough, now I want the "speed" back, the sweat, the shorts, socks, shoes, and jersey rides.


Went out and rode tonight till dark, I live on the north edge of town with offers roads, and gravel, trail, and rolling cemetaries. all close by. My legs were telling me they need more rest then I have been willing to give them, I just wanted to get out and pedal, as always. I pedaled up to ma and pa's for visit. My brother Mark and wife Sheri came up from Florida to live with ma and pa for a spell to help them out. So very sweet of them.

Oh LQQK, the girls (mother and daughter) are enjoying knitting and chocolates. I don't have the patience for knitting but do for chocolates.

Over and out, and thanks for stopping.

Dave

Just a Sunday ride

This is the Veteran's Memorial that was built last year along the river. Thank you all vets that I have freedom because of the sacrifices all you made.


A Bridge crossing over one of the Mississippi sloughs. Single file only here.



One of the Cemeteries in my neighborhood. I went riding all over today on my CX. Through 3 parks, along the River, rolling through cemeteries, I had fun. Came home and cooked chicken with rice and veggies.

These ice patches had the potential of ruining your day, or longer, did not want to slide out on one and break a few body parts. It would be the forced time off the bike time that would be the most painful. Still keeping the Nokian Studs on the bike.


These grave sights look like giant chess pieces. I rode by fast so they could not capture me.
Well glad you stopped by. Hope your day went well.
Dave

Oh Goodie more snow today

My bike froze itself into a single speed gear on today's ride. Rode for 5 hours didn't have the "zip" but none the less it was a good ride, would have liked to ride longer but the legs didn't have the gas, so I thought I better listen to them and not dig myself into an exhaustion hole. Forecast is for 12"s more of snow tomorrow. Seems it has been a long winter, well the good side of this is I kept my bik'n "legs" and got plenty of rides in this winter. Tomorrow a winter storm is supposed to start about noon. I'll have to get out early and ride tomorrow and see the storm come in while on a bike. :-)
Oh and check out my honey's Esty site and check out all the homemade things for sale she made.
And thanks for stopping in.

Dave

Bik'n Bar

Riding in the Grave Yard.

Riding around the grave yards in the neighborhood. It's a nice way to pedal, didn't run into one car, lots of curves and rolling hills. That was day 6 for riding in town. Tomorrow a "forced" day off, and then this weekend hope to ground and pound out in the country trails. Yahooooo.

Guess what I did tonight?

Nope, guess again. OK give up? I went bicycling. Didn't ride over one speck of ice out on the pavement. Could take the studs off, I suppose. That makes 5 days in a row. All the rides have been "short" 60-90 minutes with lots of all out effort on hills. Plans are to ride again tomorrow, then tell myself, to take Friday off, to store up some energy, remove some lactic acid, and do some longer riding this weekend. Pack up some food, drink, and ride out on snow mobile trails.
Last year at this time, riding time was zilch, nada, nothing. I had to work for 10 weeks, 10 plus hours a day, 7 days a week. Was installing modern control systems, and automating a large power plant boiler that was originally was built in the 1950s. Was fun and challenging, but it took biking time away, glad that doesn't happen often. I am convinced our play is more important then our work. I believe in working hard, and playing harder.

"Find your own play, your own self-renewing compulsion, and you become the person you are meant to be" Dr. George Sheehan.

So don't forget to play, and enjoy.
Thanks for stopping in.
Dave

Setting Sun viewed from a bike.

View from a bike, setting sun. I have Eagle Point park all to myself again, as usual this time of year. Beautiful up here riding on Bluffs above the Mississippi River. 164 acres all to myself. I don't have to head home have a good lighting system on my bike. I still have the studs on my Treck XO2 CX bike, would like to put on some rubber tires and not make so much noise like the studs make on pavement but I do run into an occasional ice patch. There isn't going to be any significant thawing occurring in the 10 day forecast. That's OK as long as I can get outdoors and ride. Which I will. Really hope to do some serious bicycle riding out on the snowmobile trails this weekend.
Everybody at work is getting in "the biggest loser" contest, to see who can loose the most weight by Labor Day Weekend. 20 dollars apiece. I am in it, not to try to win, but would work out perfect for me, to lose some pounds. There is the Colesburg gravel race Labor Day weekend I would like to enter, and like any biker knows any weight loss really helps you power up hills. Besides this old carcass could stand to lose a few.
Thanks for stopping in, peace and happy and safe rides to you.
Dave