Fall and the end of the Summer Days

A blog is not so important during the warm outdoor days of Summer. Not so much time to write. It's, get out time. Do the things there is only a few days to do. Sunny days are few on the Island here. Very few. Add this to La Nina, the extra cold water. The normal Summer has been short. La Nina will fade about December of this year. Then with luck next year will have a longer sunny season. It will be a shorter winter season to. So for now it's out doors. The road, the beach, the little sailboat. These are the events of my Summer. Blogs play a short role. Though the blog needs it's time. Needs the up date. Miles of road time. Hours of everything else. Blogs for me are shorter sun days. There will be a lot of those coming soon. So for now, I have put hour of road time in. Hours of everything else to. Just a few lines in the blog. Life is good today.

The Days Of the Past

In the lack of writing comes the price of memory. Less detail to the truth. More addition and subtraction.
The Sailboat (Little Siren) a nice 17' pocket cruiser. There has been several adventures. Life by the tides in Useless Bay. Some few, very few rides with guests. It would be more fun with a friend or 2 to share the ride. The little boat though is a friend in itself. A nice and kind sailing boat. Friendly in it ways. It loves to dance the dance of the wind and small waves. I'll put a photo of one of my adventures.
The bike has got no less attention. Every other day has been the way. The heat of Summer baking me well from the refrigerator of Spring and Winter. Long miles and the short days to. Short days of 40 miles and one long day of 94 miles. Every other day except when more recovery is needed. The #1 bike working well. The roads less filled with cars. Gas prices are a blessing in some way. David at Half Link, our local bike shop, selling more bikes than ever. He can not keep up with folks getting tune ups on their older bikes. More people riding to the store. It's great to see. Even if it's just for the good weather. Every bike on the road is one less car for the moment. There are a lot more people walking to. Not all the roads, but Bayview that leads to 2 food marts has walkers and bags all the time. We live on Bayview. I need to get in the habit to. I just do not like leaving a $3500. bike in front of the market. I think I will ugly down my single speed for trips to the market with my back pack. Some kind of lock as the wheels are worth $500. with out tires and tubes. That's another $180. So the plan is made. A little spray paint, matt black, my old saddle, and a lock of some sort. Milk, 1/2 & 1/2, a few simple things, no gas. $1.50 saved every trip. It's only a few trips a week. I want to be one of the one's showing the way in this area. Seattle is bike city. More commuters on bike than I have ever seen. Keep the faith. The road is long for a reason.

Roads and Water

A great combination. Not at the same time. Keeping an open mind might be the best thought for now. There could be a moment.
The road was glorious. Full of Sun. Warm for shorts and a light short sleeve jersey. It would be the white jersey day. Still bright for the traffic to see. The #1 bike working again after a difficult rear gear problem. The gears all work fine except the 13 tooth. It's shot. Needs to be replaced. No hurry, I'll just use the 12 and 14 tooth gears. I do have a new campy 10 speed rear gear set to replace it with. So off the ride went. #1 bike, #1 set of wheels and me. Down the roads I have come to know very well. Out to Bayview corners and beyond to Andreson and Lone Lake. The road that leads to Saratoga and Langley that goes to Landley road and then to Maxwellton. Then off to French road, Bailey, Cultus road and the climb up Jewet road to Glendale and the turn up Holst road and over to Heggenes hill. All these roads except Bayview are climbs and descents. Hard work all the time. A measured ride. The ride is not done till I get back to the house. There are hills to climb at a pace, not at the red zone. Build my strength not brake it down. The ride I take all the time. The ride that helps keep me alive. The ride that keeps the pain a little more manageable. It turned out to be a 50 miler. I was fast. I was not trying to be fast. It was just the power of not going into the red zone. Not over extending my effort. The result is the body gets stronger. You go faster and burn more calories not working at it so hard. Thought some parts of the ride a little push is good. Just to test the high end out. See if the go go still works for a while. The result is making the turn home and knowing there was another 25 miles in the legs. Maybe more to. These are the good days of summer. The warm days. The days where the temperature is not an issue at all. There are a lot more riders out to. The ones that are never out in winter. We are still all true believers in the road. The prayer of the long road. The riders on their own. Riding the circuit to live another day. Keeping the Reaper a little further back. Make him work for pay check. Make him work hard.
The water. The summer can bring water time. The little sailboat. "Little Siren" needs some time out. Out to make adventures again after who knows how many years on the trailer. She is in a good spot on the bay. There is a good mooring. Sound to the winds that come from the South and the North and from any direction. 50 feet of chain and 2 anchors holds her well with a gentle touch. It was a day to become friends. The day for the first sail. A test sail to check out the systems. To test the captain maybe more than the boat. The winds were a bit brisk by high tide. Just the hint of a white cap. The breeze coming from the North Bayview Corners. I had to drag the dingy a bit farther for the tide was still out a bit. Enough water to get off the huge sand bar of the tidal flats. The row to the boat was good the transfer to the sailboat from the dingy very good. The getting ready a bit nervous. The plan a bit conservative. Head sail only to get the feel of the "Little Siren". Motor out to Double Bluff Point. About 8 miles by water I think. Then turn South, pop the head sail from the roller furling. Sail a running reach to Maxwellton across the bay. It all went so smooth. The boat was so kind. There was so tall chop in the bay. Not waves as much as chop about 8 to 10 feet apart. Well it seemed like that. I was a long way out from the house. Several miles out into the bay. On the edge of Puget Sound. Doing a good pace. Going faster than I thought I would. Though as it was a running direction it felt slow. I did surf a few of the taller bits of chop. That was fun and the little boat just was smooth and happy as could be. So was I. At this point I knew I was out far. Then it happened. Ten feet on my left, off the middle of the boat. I heard the sound I have heard a few times before. Dall's Porpoise, taking a breath. The dark wonders that I knew lived out here in a family group of 9 to 15. I have watched these wonderful friends from the house using binoculars. Now here they ere. Right next to me. It was a thrill. Then this one Porpoise turned into 4. As quick as that they were gone. I'm sure I got in their way. These are a serious type of water mammal. They work hard for their living. Not a lot of time to play. I was jut taken by the whole event. Then I realized how far out I was. The little boat was to comfortable and gentle. Kind and sea friendly for her size. I had the swing keel in the full down position. I think that makes a big difference to her feel. So after the excitement I turned towards shore on a long easy angle. No hurry to get close to the land. After losing time and my relationship to where I was. Mary Anne called. Cel phones are great when they work. I was almost to Maxwellton! Time to turn around and head home. I rolled the head sail up and re-started the outboard motor. It was going to be a long drive back. All was perfect. I saw a half sunk dinky and headed over to it. I was going to pick it up and tow it back to my mooring ball. It would be a really heavy tow half sunk. It did have a bow line on it for towing. I just was not up to it today on the first adventure with "Little Siren". So I kept going home. Then the motor slowed to a stop. Not good! It sounded like it ran out of gas. I had 3.5 gallons in the tank. That's hour and hours of motor time. I opened the rear hatch and looked at the now sunken in tank. I had not opened the vent. The vent lets the gas move out of the tank easy. You close it to move the tank or the gas will spill ot this vent. I opened the vent squeezed the pressure ball and pulled the cord on the outboard and it started right up. All was well again. I could see the other boats in our 4 boat Yacht Club a few miles away. When I got closer the weeds got thicker and thicker. I was a little worried about the motor sucking some up in the impeller and making the motor over heat. Never happened. Though I kept a close eye on the water coming out of the cooling system of the motor. If that stops you have a problem. All was well. As I got near the mooring ball I get a little nervous. I'm used to docks. Mooring balls is new to me and the wind was blowing a bit. Making the whole operation a little harder. It took 3 tries to get the line of the dingy. I got the line on that third try and was not about to let it go. So I pulled us into the mooring ball. Holding the line walked forward over the cabin were the lines that go onto the ball and hold the boat were. It all went perfect. I was hooked on and going no where. Just like I wanted to. I put every thing back where in it's place locked the boat got on the dinky and got to shore. It was a great first sail on the "Little Siren".

Days of Summer have come at last

Writing has always been hard for me. To put the lines down. To make some sense of it all. All, being the last hour or so. No world shaking changes here. For me just the events of a few days and I have not been writing for many days. To many to go back and make up. There have been days off, rides, walks down to the beach. There have been lots of important and forgotten days. I'm only sorry to have not made a record of the little bits and pieces.
I got my little sailboat off the trailer and into the water for the first time. I found the little boat in Alburn New Hampshire under eve of a metal roof of an auction yard over 2 years ago. It was pouring rain and all the roof water was pouring into the boats cockpit and into the cabin. The boat was flooded. The outboard motor was in the cockpit totally under water. The motor started first pull after I dried it out. The boat must have weight thousands of pounds with all the water on the day I bought her. The dry weight of this little boat is 750lbs. I could not resist the beautiful little sailboat. It is a Siren. Built in Ontario Canada. I won't hold that against the "Little Siren". Yup, that's it's Name, "Little Siren'. Now in the waters of Puget Sound. Moored below the house on the tide flats with 2 other boats. No rent, just set your own anchors and chain and there you are. Better have a dingy to get out and back. That came last winter in a huge storm. The sea gave that day! So the boat is in the water after 3500 mile on the trailer. From New Hampshire to Salem Oregon to here on Whidbey Island. I was so excited to be on the water. I have owned and sailed lots of boats. Big and small. This boat just talked to me and asked me to save it. I paid the auction $450. It had a rusted out trailer under her. I was lucky to get it home. After draining and cleaning I found a nice new trailer. I paid more for the trailer than the boat. So it's in the water. I can look at it everday when ever I want. First sail will be in the next few days. The tides will be just right. I like looking at that boat everyday.

Saturday

The day I rode. Picked out by the day of my riding needs. I ride to my own schedule. The calendar I keep. A sunny day at last. There has been one other. Maybe 2. It was to be a easy 40 miler. As the last was a 70 miler. Got to think these miles through. The body is old and needs it's rest. The ride was on the same courses I ride thousands of miles. Only a few times have I ridden with anyone. I like the road to myself. The thinking time. Time to just not think at all. I have been pasted twice since September 07. Those times I could not keep up. All the other times I caught right back up and chatted. Well not to all. There are some who just won't look. Some I just pass and never look back as I power away from their cold.
This Saturday ride was the same as always. More traffic than normal. It's the high season here on the Island. All the summer folks are here. All the prices for everything went up June first. Traffic went up with them. The roads I ride for the most part are still quiet. Just 2 are a lot busier. Both have wide shoulders to support the riding public. So it's not to bad. This ride was like most. Easy gears, but on the #1 bike for the first time in weeks. Using the 53X39 chain rings. Stiffer high end, a bit faster. The low end a little stiffer to. Not so kind on the steep climbs. Hard work is good. All the friendly and not so friendly roads. Only hard roads. Those are the less friendly roads on some days. Saturday's ride was just about what I expected. A few more riders going the other way. Mostly tourist riders. A lot of folks ride through this Island on their way to the San Juan Islands. All had gone well. I was drinking my drinks on time. I had a fair amount of food in me. The ride was good. So after 8 tough hills I was looking forward to the last real hill on Bayview road coming out of Langley. It's a hill not a mountain. Though it still must be climbed within a riders pace. I was going up at a nice pace. Not so fast as steady. 39X15 if that means anything. 12 miles an hour. I've gone faster and slower. So I was just climbing this last hill in the middle of my effort. It was a good steady climb after 8 hard climbs. Almost at the top a rider passes me. The "how ya doing" kind of guy as he motors past you. He was in the big chain ring and had been working his ass off to catch me. I was in the small chain ring. It was a bit rude on the other riders part. No chat, just trying to leave me behind. I'm old and a lot slower than I once was, but that was it. I added 2 gears to my pace as we were near the top of the hill. Just a little bit before the down hill started. Steep down hill!! This guy was a stick. No meat on his bones at all. Must have been a vegetarian. As we neared the top we were together. He was working so hard he was going all over the road. I was just keeping my line waiting for gravity. The top came. The interluder was out in the middle of the road, on a road with 5' bike shoulders. He was riding like a fool. I had enough of him. Gravity is my friend at 215 pounds. I was now in 53X12, all the go fast gear I had. With almost no effort I put gravity to work for me and dropped this fool like he was going the other way. Got in a nice aerodynamic tuck and the speed got to 50 MPH. At the bottom there is a long shallow down hill. Just enough to keep some real speed on. By this time the skinny guy was still on the hill some where. I started the push into Bayview Corners. A push at 30 MPH for the first mile then down to 25MPH for the last 3 miles to the stop sign at Bayview Corners. I looked back. No one in sight. I eased off as that effort was taking a bit of a toll on me. It was 2 miles to home. I was on my cool down. Crossed SR525 still on Bayview. Going up a little hill just past SR525 a rider passes me! I thought it was the veggie. It was a new rider. So I just suffered to the top. He was in easy reach. I motored up to him. No, "how ya doing" from me. I just eased up side by side and started a conversation. Etiquette on the road has a few rules. After all we are not racing for real. Just out training. Well, winning "The Tour" to. So both of us started talking. His name was David as mine is. He was new to the area. He did not work. He was a bike bum just like me in many ways. Now how would I have known that with out talking to the guy? There are a few small risers on the road home. I just stay in a big gear and over come them. I do it every time. As I went up one David feel a little behind, then caught back up. The next was the same only he fell a little further back. Hey, I was pushing it a bit to measure this new rider. So we had a nice short ride till I had to turn for home. The veggie was crushed and I met a nice rider in David. Road etiquette is important to keep the peace of the training road.

George Carlin

Is that his real name or just a stage image. To a broken heart we lose a great thinker. A man who told the truth in a way we laughed till we cried it was so painful to hear. To hear about our self. Our country. Any area Mr. Carlin wished to talk about. To put a show together with. Yes a show. Shows for most of his life. Small clubs to large clubs. Success and failure all at the same time. Abuses to his body, mind and soul. There might be 12 steps in there to.
I will miss George Carlin. I miss him already. The bit. The tears. The thoughtfulness of the material. I will be looking for his material today. One more show. Not the last. A life can go on for a long time in the new age of digital reproduction. Sound and sight all at the same time on the computer screen any time I want. George's words and motions will live on long past my death. George Carlin made a difference. He made us think. There is a record of most of it. Some lost in the daily drone of small clubs. Lost to the lack of scribes. Lost to our memory. Today is a good day to hear his bit again. A broken heart at age 71. I should be so lucky.

110 mile

No not all at once. 2 rides is what it took. One 70 miler and one 40 miler. Both in 3days. For me that's a good number. The longer of the 2 was on some new roads to. Had to go further North to make the course work out. There was lots of new hills. Lots of old friend hills to. It was a great ride. I felt wonderful when I got home. A little hungry. Still not hammered as often happens. It was the food choices. Pizza for late dinner last night. 3 big waffles with real maple syrup this morning before the ride. Also lots of gels for the ride and 2 before the ride. In all no flat zones during the ride. No areas that I was drained of energy. I did not run out of drinks on the ride to. Though a third bottle would have been nice. I could have stopped to get more drinks. I should have. The ride turned out to be well planned The result was worth the effort.
The other ride of 40 miles was also a good ride. It was on a normal course I have ridden many times. I did not plan that ride so well. I was on the tired side when I was through and home. I did not have enough energy in the body for the ride. Food has become a big problem. I just need to be far more careful about what I eat before I ride. How I fill the body. The carbs that I need. Carbs are both friend and foe for a diabetic. To many carbs at the wrong time and that's bad. To few carbs when you need them and that's bad to. It's a big balance game and it changes all the time to. The diabetes is not such a good room mate. It's a room mate you have to keep though. So you have to learn how to get along. Along for the rest of your life.
Well the other news is Mary Anne's new web site is up and running! Look it up and see what's going on. There are still a few little things the web folks need to get done. Though it is a fun site to look into anyway. Blog's, email, classes, inspiration, books Mary Anne has written and is writing, group stuff and stuff I don't even understand. So look at the new kid on the web block today.
maryanneradmacher.net I think that will get you there. If not google it and remember the new site is .net the .com is the commercial site