Sunday

The new, in-focus Home Page pic was snapped with the Fuji mini-digi on this AM's DeWitt Ride.  This view is looking South from a small rise on Old Route 61 just South of DeWitt. Nothing special, but it is a typical view on a country ride.

June 1st?  Yeah, May was vapor.  We can officially say that next month is Tahoe!

That ride this morning was something less than perfect.  I could tell once I got out of town on the way up that there was a definite tailwind, but I didn't think it was all that strong.  Wrong.  So I made it to the Sunrise in about normal time, had a nice breakfast, and buckled-up for the return trip.  As soon as I hit the high ground outside DeWitt, the wind kicked-in and it was just a slow grind all the way home.  Nothing fun about a head wind.

I was thinking at one point during the ride about the relative insanity of me doing a 50-mile bike ride as a 65-year-old compared to Daddy as a 65-year-old.  He would have been 65 in 1975 when I was in grad school in Iowa City.  While he was still busy working the farm at that time, and was very active in that respect, it wasn't like he belonged to a fitness club (they didn't exist then!).  The thought of him getting on a bike on a Sunday morning and riding to Albia and back...more or less the equivalent of DeWitt for me...for the exercise of it...was on no radar screen.  Times change.

In addition to the uncomfortable heat that has been our recent weather pattern, we also have bugs.  Gnats.  And lots of 'em. I first noticed them in the parking lot at Geneva on Wednesday night.  They kept the MCSC inside on Friday night, and they were just thick on the golf course on Saturday morning.  On the bike, you're okay, mostly, while you're moving, but they can eat you up when you stop along the road for any reason. 

I don't think that I mentioned here that I picked up two new pairs of glasses a couple weeks back.  I used the Vision-4-Less store down the street from the office, including the in-store eye doctor.  I knew that my prescription had to be slightly adjusted, and I was down to my back-up pair...that was a back-up pair for a reason.  I have no complaints on services rendered, glasses acquired or the financial cost of same. 

I think I had a 2 PM appointment for the exam, and when I was done there, I went right over to the retail section and picked out the frames.  They said that they would call me later in the afternoon when they would be ready.  They did so, and I picked-them up on my way home for the day.  Really a no-hassle experience.  I should be good-to-go for another year or two.

I know we all have the daily task of making sure that our electronic equipment keeps charged.  We all are at wit's end if the phone dies, right?  Well, in addition to the phone, I have the iPad, of course, but also my golf watch and my rear tail light for my bike.  The watch only has to be recharged after a use on the course...which is not all that often, but the tail light is an everyday thing these days.  Its a juggling act for my cord array!  (And that doesn't consider the separate plug-in chargers for the two mini-digi's, or the nickle cadmium rechargeable AAA's for the big camera and the bike head-lamp.  It's a complicated life!)

The Giro d' Italia ended today and I basically recognized no names on the podium.  I guess I'm a child of the Doping Era.

Giving a shout-out to 4 for her participation in the control room today for Maria Bartiromo's Sunday show.  You are a star, Kiddo!

Busy week in my future.  I'll try to ride at least three days before Saturday.  Looks like we have 4-5 riders in our group.

Make it a good week in your neighborhood.

BCOT