Monday

We have started off the week with heavy thunderstorms beginning sometime last night.  I had my AC on and didn't hear anything until I got up this AM...to the sound of my sump pump running about every 20 seconds.  When I left for the office, I drove past the golf course on Middle Road, and there were streams of water across most of the fairways.  But Duck Creek wasn't out of it's banks, so the storm couldn't have been around for that long.  Whatever.  We needed some rain.

The ride to DeWitt for breakfast yesterday was probably a little longer than I needed given my modest level of training thus far this year.  Actually, the ride to DeWitt was fine.  We had a tail wind.  It was the ride home against the wind that pretty well confirmed my lack of stamina.  Fortunately, my pal Pete was there to pull me along.  I just need to get more miles in to build the base.

Here's a good story from yesterday's final round of the PGA tournament in Connecticut.  The winner was 44 year-old Ken Duke, a journeyman who had never previously won a tour event.  I've met the guy.  He's played several times in the local John Deere tournament, and when he has been here, he's stayed at my pal Roy's Bettendorf house.  (Not sure where Roy made the connection, but it is more than a casual acquaintance.)  We did a Biaggi's dinner a few years back where there were just 5-6 of us at the table.  He's a very soft-spoken guy who doesn't look like much of an athlete.  But he can golf his ball.  Good for him.

There's some possible good news that may suggest that the death of the Beater was a premature conclusion.  I had told my Perfect Neighbor that he should tell his friend who does fix-up-and-sell work on old cars that the Taurus was his for the taking (with a 15% commission to me upon sale).  The PN came over yesterday and said that he had done some under-the-hood inspection and he thought that the oil leak may be as simple as a bad installation of the oil filter.  OK.  So he's going to replace the filter, re-fill the oil intake, and we'll see what happens.  I have no problem putting in a quart of oil every week or two.  I mean, its an old car with a few problems.  I had concluded that it was a bigger issue than the oil filter.

Des Moines was the host last weekend of the USA Track and Field Championships.  Drake stadium is one of the top tack venues in the country, but I doubt that it will replace the likes of Eugene, Oregon as the fav among the athletes.  None the less, these annual national meets normally rotate to different spots around the country.  Getting the meet every 5-10 years is a good target for Des Moines.  The track produces some good times, and ultimately, that's what gets the attention of the athletes and the governing organization.

Finally, get ready for the Tour de France which starts Saturday on the island of Corsica.  With all the doping stories from the last couple of years, the shallow interest of the US public in cycling is even thinner than ever.  But it remains huge in Europe.  A little like maybe baseball here.  There was the "juicer era" of the long ball in MLB not that long ago, but the fans never really went away.  (As an aside, a new major sponsor of a Dutch team in this year's race is US-based Belkin, a technology company.  Among other products, they make the key-board that pairs-up with my iPad.)

Hey to 3 and 3.1 who are still in Italia.  Hope the trip is going well.  Enjoy!

Busy week for me.  Dubuque meeting this afternoon.  Actually have to go to Minneapolis later in the week when the Harvest Path family is here!  #poorplanning.

Thanks for reading.

BCOT