Tuesday

Another hot one here. I need to get out and do a 20 miler.

4 had another enjoyable entry. In the Air Force, when I was coming to the end of my tour in Korea, I literally counted hours in the last week until my departure flight. I sense that 4 has that same anxious feeling to move on to more interesting and appealing stuff.

I got the phone bill for my cell today, which has the charges for 3 and 4 as well. My costs, including a few calls to Spain, were within $10 of normal. The fee on 3 and 4 was actually less than normal since 4's phone is on a counter at Mom's. 3's on my nickel for another month and then she gets the privilege of supporting a phone provider of her choice (or her company's choice).

Uncle Phil says that all the fires in the news are on the South side of Lake Tahoe. Nothing close to his place at this time. But it is very dry out there. It's always a danger.

On Two Wheels, the bike shop on Kimberly Road just West of the office where I bought my first couple of bikes many years ago, has converted to The Trek Bike Shop. I knew that they were doing a remodel, and somebody at the Criterium last month said that they were changing to a Trek store. But I didn't realize that they were essentially becoming exclusively a Trek dealer. Walking in, you get the feel of a Nike store. Lots of open space. Nice stuff. On the expensive side of things. Very little clutter. Hardly any non-Trek merchandise. Modern marketing.

The owner of that shop was a compatriot of Greg Lemond's on the U.S. National team 25 years ago. The same guy is the racer highlighted in my Criterium Financial marketing materials. That picture was taken a couple of years ago in the same Criterium that I now sponsor. It's a small world.

The Taurus is experiencing another new driver this week. With 3's car parked in Minnesota, she's "renting" the T for a few days. It's a handy extra car to have around for in-town transportation. (I wanted to give my pal Pete the needle last weekend when I counted five cars at his house, but at least he had four drivers. I've got three cars myself. So the math silenced my comments before they were made.)

Stay cool. Enjoy the evening.

Be careful out there.