Weird Times, I Guess?

Was out in Portland, OR last week on a business trip, whew! Karma was not on my side, bad plane flights which were cancelled, train rides with really smelly people etc. Finally made it to the hotel for the meetings, a day late & a dollar short.

Portland is a crazy, vibrant town. I have never seen so many panhandlers, freaks, punks, awesome restaurants and the finest hospitality from the people. Everyone was polite, service everywhere you went was great! It was cool!

I have never seen so many of these in one place! Fixed gear bikes! Everyone rides them, It's nothing to see 20-30 at any given time. It was pretty cool!

Riding update: Went out & hammered for 2+ hours solo both Saturday & Sunday am at about 200 watt avg. each day. This was to make up for the week off the bike, eating fatty foods & not getting enough sleep I guess. My "little brother" Ike & I then went for a 15 mile ride yesterday am when I was done, as he wants to be a bike racer! I shall help him with that. We went out & bought him a helmet at Little Ade's Bike Shop Saturday, and cranked out the KJ's on Sunday. He did good, and some base in the off season, he will do much better.

G&I went to the Peoria Art Guild Annual Art Fair yesterday afternoon. This is becoming a yearly event for us, as it was our "first date" when I was still in the wheelchair after my accident. First date means my first official outing out of the house and in public. I remember it like it was yesterday, and still smile almost as much as I did then. She was a trooper then, and more so now. The difference is that I could not go very far away when I was in the wheelchair, so she could keep tabs on me, as I would try some crazy stuff.

Here are pictures of some pieces I purchased from an artist out of Rockford, IL. They are getting matted & framed right now. I saw them, and had to have them. Fit my style? Yes. Weird? Yes. Care? No.


Oh, one last thing. When I came home for lunch this afternoon, I notice something in my front yard, that doesn't look like it belongs there. Yup, it's Terry The Box Turtle. He was cruising across my front lawn looking for some grubs, crickets & bugs in general. He knew where the "real" turtle lived, and wanted to say hi! I gave him a ride to the backyard, and told him to stop by anytime! Isn't he cute! Of course he is, probably a distant cousin or something.

Karma?

I know there is good & bad Karma, so let's see what you think of it all. My buddies, The Badger & Dr. Larry talk me into doing the Illinois Valley Wheelmen Annual "No Baloney" Century Ride yesterday. I have to get up at 430 am, to be there by 630 am. I head out at 5:55, and the highway, I-74 heading both east & west is SHUT down by the police. Fatal donorcycle accident at 4:10 am. A 28 year old man heading east bound in the west bound lanes, head on collision with a car.

Off the highway, through the city, running late etc. I start off the ride, and Dr. Larry & I agree to sprint for the "Stop Ahead" signs for 1 point to the winner of each one. He thinks he takes the first sprint, but it was just a practice. I won the next two sprints, and so on. We were then heading toward what we both believed was a "Stop Ahead" sign in the distance, ( it wasn't) when we lit it up! I hit the 1100 watt mark, out of the saddle, cranking on the bars, when my chain snapped in half! My rear wheel came off the ground, riding a front wheel wheelie, leaning to the left, about a millisecond from doing a face-plant at 36 miles per hour, and then it came back down, and I saved it. No crash, nobody hurt, all three of us just scared poop-less!

The SAG vehicle rescued me, we got a master link on the broken chain, and I was able to complete 1/2 century, as I planned to do from the start.

This am, my partner & I have to go to a meeting in Portland, OR. 6:50 flight. We take off fine, get into the air, start ascending, and then something weird happen. It felt like the plane lost all power, and we were coasting, for lack of a better description. Then we ascend again, then coast. Could not put my finger on it. We then "turned around". No one made any announcements or anything, but I knew were not heading towards Dallas/Ft. Worth for our connecting flight. This goes on for about 10 minutes, when the captain comes on, and states that the smoke alarm in the bathroom has a malfunction, and we have to go back. Really? The flight probably costs $50,000 per hour, and we have to ditch an already in-flight plan?

When we landed, we were greeted by every fire truck & emergency service vehicle at the airport, light on & rolling towards the jet. I think there may have been something else going on besides a malfunctioning smoke alarm, ya think? We de-planed, and had to cancel for today. Try again tomorrow I guess.

Weird series of events. G stopped me when I said I was going to clean the 3 story windows this afternoon, off of the old ladder, and while I was up there, take the power-saw and do some trim work, then repair the steep pitch roof, and replace the broken window on the fourth floor of the house. I think I may count my blessings while they lay.

Seasonal Trivia

Been laying kind of low. Got some pic's, little out of order, but you'll get the point. About a week & a half ago, Dr. Larry & I went to Springfield, IL. for the annual Springfield Bike Club Century ride with Team Mack. This made The Turtle nervous, as he hasn't ridden over 70 miles at one time in over 4 years! We had a pretty small group, that decided that they were going to "race" the ride, which we did. The weather was beautiful, winds were light, and we all had a blast. Uncle Gary was pulling strong, but The Turtle took second place in the sprints competition, as he was keen enough to recognize the "Stop Ahead" signs before anyone else, and took the sprints.

Last Friday Biker Danny & I went down to Jefferson City, MO. to race the Capitol City Crierium. The Tour of Missouri finished on the criterium course between races. It was pretty cool to watch the Pro's come rolling in from the road race, do 2x2.5 mile circuit around the capitol building, then finish! Biker Danny & I did the pro, 1,2,3 event in the afternoon, followed by the 3/4 race at 10 pm. There was a wicked descent, then slight up hill, then another wicked descent, followed by a 90 degree right hand turn and a straight up "wall" of a hill about 1.5 blocks long! Needless to say, The Turtle got dropped like a lead weight in water. Took 2 laps of that, and I was off the back in each race! Pretty humiliating, but I could not pull it off any better. I did my best, and will live to fight another day. Got some cool pics of the pro's afterward, including the final overall winner Christian Vande Velde, right as he was about to give interviews to the press corp. He recognized me, asked for my autograph and thanked me for not being in the Tour of Missouri, as he would have had a tougher time securing the overall jersey!