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.