A Week of Cycling Ups and Downs

So this week saw a huge swinging of ups and downs as far as the Connor's Army cycling world was concerned.

Now to begin, I'm not really a technologically driven person as my wife (and pretty much anyone else) can attest to.  I use the computer and the internet but I'm not one of your more cyber-savvy types.  My phone is not "smart" - in fact it's probably somewhat mentally challenged - and is an older flip-type phone.  My wife constantly laments the fact that I can't seem to successfully program our VCR without messing something up and I can't tell you how many times I seem to have lost documents.

On the other hand, I have friends with whom I occasionally ride who extremely adept at all of the technological advances to be had with cycling training.  They log their rides on Strava, they have heart rate monitors, Power tap meters from CycleOps and can tell you which of their legs is putting out more watts depending on the readouts from the ride.  These guys are serious about their fitness.  And I have nothing against their technological superiority.  I envy them the time they have to train and the results they get.  I'm usually envying their techno savy as I watch them disappear in a cloud of spandex before me.

I on the other hand in my Luddite fashion do the best I can by just riding as much as I can and monitoring how I feel.  Now I'm not a complete throw back to the 19th century, my bike does have pneumatic tires;

(Here I am on an early morning training ride - the beard really keeps the face warm)

And I do try to take advantage of the wonderful gift my sister gave me, my Garmin Edge 605;

(Notice the bright colorway schematics)

Its does tend to cause no end of consternation amongs my Amish training partners, especially becuase of the brightly colored display which tends to go against the usually staid color combinations we prefer - and now you know why my bike is black!

Anyway, I tend to rely on two things when I train - how I feel and the readout from my trusty Garmin.  I've had to use the GPS feature more than once to save me when I was lost but the feature I really use the most right now is the training partner feature.  You see, on your workouts you can program it to have a virtual partner.  I use the simple workout tool and I set it for an average speed of 17 mph since I figure if I can maintain that during the cross country ride I'll be able to cover the distance I want to cover every day.  It looks something like this;

and much of my training consists of trying to beat this little guy.

Well this week was full of ups and downs.  Sometimes I got him and somtimes he got me.  That's pretty much the extent of my techno-training on the bike.  I try to better my time every day and try to be able to have a better average mph that I had last week.  The readings from this week, however, were just higgeldy-piggeldy which loosely translated means "was just a mess."  Its a great phrase.  So much so that its the title of a poem (nursery rhyme actually);

Higgledy Piggledy,

My black hen,
She lays eggs
For gentlemen;
Sometimes nine,
And sometimes ten,
Higgledy Piggledy,
My black hen! 
 
So too was the output of my speed erratic;  My average speeds went something like this;
Monday - Didn't ride so that would be an average of 0 mph.
Tuesday - 27.21 miles at an average of 17.58 mph.
Wednesday - 29.59 miles at an average of 18.24 mph.
Thursday - 27.17 miles at an average of 17.17 mph.
Friday - 27.34 miles at an average of 17.62 mph.
 
As you can see I was all over the map in my commuting this week.  I mean, really fluctuating between 17.17 mph and 18.24 mph?  That's a range of 1.07 mph that was lost!  That means if I stay at that lower level during the cross country ride, after 16.6666666667 days (at an average of 6 hours of riding a day) I will have lost an entire day of riding - 107 miles.  We can't have that, now can we?  I'll just have to train harder.

But in all seriousness.  My hope is just to be able to maintain somewhere in the range of 15 - 17 mph every day.  In that way I should be able to cover at least 90 to 102 miles a day as we travel.  Depending on the terrain, some days more and some days less.
Speaking of terrain, check this out;

Believe it or not, that's not the topography of one of the legs of our trip - its the weekly activity on our blog during the same week I was shamefully fluctuating in my commuter training.  Becuase of you dear reader, we have quietly surpassed the 17,000 all time views mark on Connor's Army.  That means someone out there is actually looking at this blog and some of that set might actually be reading it!  I thank each and every one of you becasue it means you're getting the message about our mission to help the kids of Sunrise Day Camp!

No, if you really want to see what the terrain will look like, you can check out the page that my brother-in-law Per did in which he took the google maps bike routes and gave the topographical profile for each leg of the trip.  You can check it out here! It was so nice of him to take all of that time to do it and this way I have a warning what to expect each day.  For instance, this is the profile for the leg between Hindman, KY and Rosedale, VA.  Notice how it looks very similar to the activity associated with this very blog!

And although it seems to go up and down and up and down (sort of like the teeter totter pictured at the top of this blog) or like this little guy here;



or even this bigger guy here;



Or what is billed by National Geographics "Mad Scientists" as the "World's Biggest Teeter Totter"

But ups and downs aside, not all of my days of pedaling are going to be that teeter tottery.  Take for instance this day which shows the highest point we'll reach all summer, just outside of Fort Garland, CO.  Don't let the 2812 meters fool you - it actually comes out to be 9,235 feet!!!!

And lastly in the ups and down's section.  We have been nothing but slow and steady ups on our facebook page!  Thanks to those of you who have been subscribing and "liking' our page we are up to 1,378 likes!!!!  We are so close to 1400 that I can tast it - or at least see the light at the end of the tunnel.  If we could gain 1500 likes and then each of those likes could donate $5 (yes, just a little more than the cost of a Venti cappucino at Starbucks) we would be able to raise $7,500 - more than enough for a child to attend Sunrise Day Camp.  I'll admit, its a dream but I think a good one.

And now for your musical dessert, and to continue the theme of "Up and Down" a musical offering from The S.I.G.I.T. (abbreviation of The Super Insurgent Group of Intemperance Talent) is an Indonesian rock band based in Bandung, Indonesia. Although the band doesn't like to be categorized, they've been described as a garage rock band and often compared to Wolfmother and The Datsuns, even dubbed as 'Indonesian Answer To Wolfmother' by some Australian media -  whatever that means.  And here ya go;

Honorificabilitudinitatibus! - Part Deux

(It's so shinylicious!)

Last week I attended the monthly Town of Huntington Council Meeting and my arrival there found me experiencing an interesting mix of excitation and trepidation on so many different levels.  Let me 'splain.

You see, a few months ago we (I use that to mean Connor's Army, not the empirical "royal" WE) were honored with an article in the Syosset Patch about our (again, I'll explain, I'm not being a royal pain) cross country trip  - http://syosset.patch.com/articles/syosset-teacher-goes-the-distance.  Well, not too long after that article came out, another article came out in a few local papers that are under the Long Islander umbrella - the Record and the Northport Observer. It was a 3/4 page article and it really gave us a lot of glowing compliments.  Since it also is published in the Dix Hills area, one of the Town of Huntington Councilpersons (Susan Berland) happened to read it and decided to honor Connor's Army with a town proclamation!!!!! 

However, also at this particular Council meeting there was also a protest going on in which many of the members of the community were up in arms about the financial accounting of the Town of Huntington and were demanding an audit of the books.  I was excited about getting the award but very nervous about being trampled on by a rampaging group of conservatives!   I sort of felt like my family and I might end up running for our lives like young Simba;



It was so strange walking in to the place and seeing all of these signs saying "Audit the Books Now" with people wearing shirts that say CSA.  Now I'm from the south and to me CSA means Confederate States of America which I'm pretty sure is not longer in existence - except for those guys who do the reenactments;



(It's just like the clip above, only they're moving slower!)  It should be mentioned here that these are not actors who have been hired for a new Ken Burns movie - these gusy do this for fun - and some people think I'm crazy!!!!  Do they do it for the glory?  Do they do it for the prestige (well, maybe), do they do it for the press coverage?  Do they do it fore the town proclamation?  Do they do it so they can be more Honorificabilitudinitatibus?  I think the honest answer to all of these questions is "NO" they simply do it because they enjoy it, it mkaes them feel good, and they have a calling - though I'm not so sure what that calling is.

I don't know for sure though about THIS version of the CSA but I'm highly suspicious of a group that lists as their internet address the date 1776 and state that "YOU represent the only chance to stop the continued assault on the freedom, innovation, and spirit that made America great. Please join with us -- not to TALK about our problems -- but to finally stand up and ACT!"  Its like they are telling ME that I'm their last great hope!



I don't know about you but that's a lot of pressure for me - I'm glad there is another that the CSA can pin their hopes on!

But once I got over the fear of the maddening hordes of CSAers I was able to relax and enjoy why we were really there.  Councilwoman Berland introduced me at almost the end of all the presentations and I was very appreciative of all her kind words.  It was also very fun to see my friend Stephen Jimenez and Councilman Mark Cuthbertson both of whom I haven't ridden with for a very long time.  I extended an invitation to each of them to ride with me again but so far the phone hasn't rung yet - damn!

In a previous post I introduced to those in Connor's Armydom the word Honorificabilitudinitatibus which can best be defined as "the state of being able to achieve honours". Although many of our better words are complete inventions of my favorite playwright and yours - that of course is William Shakespeare - this one, alas, is not (read further down on the link to see). However, its a great word and the longest word in the English language featuring alternating consonants and vowels

But getting back to the reason for this post.  To be honest, I really didn't feel as if I deserved the accolades.  I know I've written about htis before but I'm goin gto put this out there to all of you right now - the accolades really should go to my wife Amy, my duaghter Sarah and her Sarah's Giving Tree, to all of the people who have fundraised for CARAAM (Connor's Army Ride Across America), to all of the people who have given to Sunrise - really to all of the people who are making the REAL sacrifices.  Especially to those kids who are fighting this disease and hoping for a victory every day!!!!  I'm just riding my bike for 3700 miles - those are the people who are truly putting their bodies through hell in order to get better.

Yes, my friends, THOSE are the people who are truly Honorificabilitudinitatibus - they are the ones who SHOULD be receiving awards.  Don't get me wrong, I am grateful that people are writing about us, honoring us and talking about us and I am trying to do what I can to help the children of Sunrise but without my wife and my family I couldn't do it at all - they TRULY deserve awards. 

Without my wife Amy working so hard to make everything possible, I wouldn't be able to contemplate this cross country ride.  If you want to know the truth, everything wonderful that has happened to me since I stopped my career as a performer (all the awards, accolades, praise, etc.) is really because of her.  Without her there to support me, to raise me up when I'm at my lowest, to accept me (huge San Adreas sized) faults and all, adn to make our life around us possible while I chase these gooses, I couldn't do half of what I've been able to do.  Its said that behind every good man is a better woman - well somehow, someone decided I needed the best, just to pull me out of all the messes I probably would have gotten in without her.

Without my children looking at me with those eyes of love and support - I wouldn't have the strength to get on my bike and train.  When I feel like giving up I remember how proud they are of me that I'm going to do this.  And looking into their eyes and holding them reminds me of how lucky I am that our children are healthy and cancer free.

And the faces of all those who have fought and won, fought and lost, or are still fighting - they all deserve honors and awards, they are the inspiration to keep pedaling.  When I'm cranking up a really steep hill and I think I can't do one more revolution the memory of what they have (or had) gone through reminds me that thsi pain is nothing.

So you see, its all about perception.  I am TRULY grateful for the honors , the articles, and the awards , but it really doesn't feel like it will mean much unless we can raise the money to help the kids of Sunrise - those who are truly Honorificabilitudinitatibus.  They are the ones ALL  the towns and villages of Long Isand should be giving proclamations to. 

But YOU too can be Honorificabilitudinitatibus, by going to this link and giving to help the kids - I'll do the pedaling, it's the easy part!  But you will be truly worthy of honor by helping these kids have the chance to enjoy the kind of life that others do without worry about what tomorrow will bring.
And if you are on Long Island and you REALLY want to help, go to Sarah's Giving Tree and buy some tickets to see 42nd Street  at the John W. Engeman theater in Northport.  Its a great show, a great cause and you'll be making a difference!

I guess in the long run, how worthy and deserving one feels about accolades is all a matter of perception - as is all reality, n'est-ce pas?  And now, your musical dessert - what really is reality?  A fun little video by Jessica Frech;



Stay well folks and I'll see you out on that road (if there really is a road as we perceive it)!

Planning The Trip - The Best Laid Plans

Okay so once again I find myself apologizing to all of you out there in cyberland. I really have been trying to post more often and keep you all updated on the twists and turns that are the Connor's Army Ride Across America.  But as the Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote in his poem "To A Mouse On Turning Up Her Nest With a Plow" (composed in 1785);

"But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane
    In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
    Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain
    For promis'd joy."

And so it has been with this past Spring Break here in the Connor household.  I had truly hoped to spend this week racking up all kinds of training miles but one thing led to another and before you know it all I had was 80 measly miles to show for ten days off. 

And now I find myself 68 days away from departing from San Diego to start the journey and I think to myself, "Gee, you had better start putting in some miles - and a lot of hills."  For you see, the first day of our journey out of San Diego looks like this:

As you can see from the elevation chart, I'm climbing from 0ft to over 1200 feet in the first 50 miles of traveling.  I certainly am going to feel like this if I don't get some climbing miles under my belt;

Yes, like I'm going nowhere fast - or in reality, probably more like this "Wee, sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie";



pedaling, pedaling, pedaling and getting nowhere fast!  Of course the poet Robert Burns never tells us what happened to the mouse after it was turned up - it could be a dead mouse, not to be confused with the group Deadmau5.  WHAT???  You're not familiar with the work of Deadmau5.  Well for your education and edification I give you "Alone With You:



Its great music to listen to as I climb the hills of Long Island on my bicycle!

And of course, now the temperature is starting to kick up and I need to take advantage.  So tomorrow will see me racking up the miles again.  So far this year I've managed to log in just over 1000 miles since January and my goal is to try to get in 2,000 before I leave.  That basically means I have to log an average of 120 miles a week from now until the day we leave.  I figure if I can manage to put in that much mileage I'll be in relatively good shape - but then again, the best laid plans, yes?

In other good news, our major sponsor Smiles for Scott has also generously offered to sponsor our jerseys for the ride.  We're now in the process of getting new jerseys printed up with all of our sponsors (and of course Smiles for Scott will hold a prominent place) and we're also getting some for the kids since they'll be riding with us part of the way as well.  Can't you just see it?  The kids and I riding our bikes along the road in Kansas (where it's flat) all wearing our new jerseys and looking so professional!  We'll be a bit shy of a peloton but we'll manage somehow!

We've also been able to finally get in contact with a cyclist from Colorado who has advised us on the route from Four Corners, AZ to Pueblo, CO.  It will be hilly and hard but doable - just as long as we plan for it (ah, there's that word again).

In other news, we are going to start blogging for the Syosset Patch soon.  We'll be doing a weekly update for them and there is a possibility that Northport Patch will hopefully pick it up too!  That way we can share with more of the good folk of Long Island what is happening on the road.  Aaaaaaannnnddd, once we actually get Skype loaded onto our Notebook, I'm hoping we can work something out with Sunrise so we can Skype to them every Friday from the road!

We're still seeking sponsors to help us underwrite the cost of gas for the trip since there is most likely no way I can do this unsupported in the time I have available so if any of you reading this would or can help us in that regard, please let us know - we could really use the help.  Of course, donations to help us reach our fundraising goal would be nice too!  Or, if you are a new reader to this blog show your support to the kids of Sunrise Day Camp by going to our facebook page and adding us to your likes.  We're hoping to get 3700 likes (one for every mile of the journey) to show the kids they are not alone in their fight.

In further positive developments, we have recently been in contact with some good folks in San Diego who we are hoping will help us get a media event together for the kick off in San Diego and perhaps a few California folk will join us as we begin our trek!   Now if we could only get the New York/Long Island media to cover us!

So, what's the plan?  How do I anticipate making God laugh next?  I'm going to just plug in my Deadmau5, get on my bike and ride a lot!!!!  I'm hoping all you good folk out there will help me do the rest.  And now, because we all need a little vintage Pink Floyd in our lives, I present to you "Bike".  And if you listen closely to the lyrics, in keeping with the theme there is a homeless mouse named Gerald;



And there you have it my friends, Pink Floyd's "Bike"!

Stay well my dear friends, I WILL see you on the road , hopefully a  LOT!

A Hell of A Sunday

So last week I wrote about a particularly good ride I had with my friends Mike Foresto and Glen Corso.  Although I got spanked a bit (or at least mussed up) it was good to get out and push the hills with others as opposed to the solo flogging I usually give myself.  In this regard I sometimes feel like the little monk from this historic clip from Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail (I've included subtitles for the Latin impaired);

But it was Palmarés Sunday and as such I owed it to myself to performance a penance of some sort as I tried to haul my Drahtesel  around trying to keep up with their speedsters.  As I also relayed, it was also a Holy Sunday of sorts for cycling fans as it was the Sunday of the Ronde van Vlaanderen one of the great spring cycling classics.  As anticipated by many "in the know" it was one by a certain "Tom Terrific";

Oops, sorry, not THAT one (although I'm not sure if what he's riding would be considered a Dachsundtesel or not) even though he is holding up one hand in the obligatory winner salute.  No it was won in an exciting sprint by this particular "Tom Terrific" of Belgian descent;



And with the similar (yet mirrored) one hand salute you can see why I got my Tom's confused.

This week brought us another Sunday that is holy to many faiths, most notably the followers of Christianity and Cyclinganity - Easter Sunday and what the French refer to as l'enfer du Nord - "The Hell of the North".  Now as far back as the Dachsund's back (that's "Old School" to you and me)

this race has often been held on Easter Sunday, a fact which at one point angered the Catholic Church and set them at odds with the French populace - particularly those followers of Cyclinganity.  Since this conflictfirst occured in 1897 we don't have any actual footage of the protestations but I imagine it probably went something like this (I've combined the reenactement of the first two conflicts but many more have occured on our way up the Dachsund's front haunches and up to his chin);

As you can see, despite the insistence that the followers of Cyclinganity conform and attend mass, the Cycling-crazed French would rather fling the contents of their mussette bags (thereby depriving themselves of mid-ride sustenance) and risk excommunication rather than give up their love of this torturous race.

This holy Sunday was almost a repeat of the last blessed Sunday in that one individual rode his Drahtesel to the adulation of the adoring faithful - yes, that blessed one - Tom Boonen;

he performed the miracle of entering the velodrome at well over a minute ahead of his nearest competitors.  And here he is kissing the holy relic of his miraculous endeavor;

As you can see, he is reverent and humble in partaking of the dirt and the soil of France - even if he is a Belgian.

And for those among us who are faithful to the calling of gears changing at 30+ mph, to whom the whirr of the peleton is like an angelic chorus, yet were not able to witness it ourselves because the evil of cable has deprived us of our sports channel, here are highlights from this most special of Sundays;

Of course, considering the miraculousness of his not only winning today's race (arguably one of the toughest races ever) he also won the Tour of Flanders last week.  I'm sure the UCI will start an investigation into whether or not he used performance enhancing substances or some other device that gave him an edge (similar to the allegations made about Fabian Cancellara when he one the race in 2010).  Well, I think I've found the answer - a plastic Jesus;

(I Don't Care if it Rains or Freezes)

But to be honest, it was indeed a most blessed and holy Sunday in other aspects as well and for those of us who are practicers of two faiths and who feel our souls pulled between two callings, it was a day to attend church and be reminded of the meaning of Easter.  We had the opportunity to travel to Swedesboro, NJ and be with my sister and her husband Per and my niece Anika.  Although we attended the 9:00 mass it was standing room only and as we arrived at 8:50 we were standing.  Yet it was a joyous occasion in which it was touching to see so many people there together to celebrate a common miraculous event - the resurrection.   We reaffirmed what we believe and shared in communion of something we hold as holy and we did so without guise and in humility.  If only ever day could be that simple and we could always come together in such simplicity and harmony.  It would certainly cut down on a lot of the political drivel that seems to get spouted/slung/flung/sicked-up-upon the general population of our country.  Ahh, but that's a posting for another day.

We spent the rest of the day celebrating in our family traditional way which is is to say searching for eggs (we had to find 49 of them this year), eating the eggs, lounging around, playing with the kids in Angela and Per's massive back yard, tiring out their three-year-old retriever Viking, lounging, reading, taking walks and having a fantastically prepared Easter dinner.  It is truly a joy spending this day with my sister and brother-in-law (and niece) every year.  We missed it last year but were able to come back to what's important.  It gave us this kind of joy to be able to play and laugh forget our cares for a while;



I didn't get to ride this Sunday.  Although every year I keep making plans in the back of my head to bring my bicycle and explore the roads of South Jersey, once again I failed to do so and instead got my excercise from chasing around the children and trying to retrieve chewed up balls from Viking.

But I'm acutely aware of the fact that we are only 76 DAYS away from our grand departure in San Diego.  At last count we had raised a bit more than $6,000 in the combined efforts of Connor's Army, Sarah's Giving Tree, and the various student groups at Syosset High School that have been working to help us raise the $50,000 to send eight campers to Sunrise Day Camp.  I don't know if we're going to be able to make it.  I do know that I will keep training and when I get back to Northport I will get back to training, hitting the hills and mortifying my flesh to get myself in shape and ready for the first day of cycling from San Diego to Boulevard, CA.

BUT WE STILL NEED SO MUCH HELP!  I know I haven't been harping on this (I leave that to Sarah) but if you are reading this, please consider donating to our Ride Across America.  Even $5 is a big help to us - yes, the price of a Venti speciality coffee at Starbucks is a big help to us.  The caffeine is nice but think of the buzz you'll get from knowing that you've contributed to helping a child fighting cancer have a life-changing summer!

So this Sunday of so many different miracles we celebrate life, family, giving and cycling!  Please help us combing both by giving to our cause and we promise to give you a shout out from the road!

And because we all need a little help on the road your musical dessert - the ORIGINAL "Plastic Jesus" as recorded by the King Earl Boogie Band;

Stay well my friends and I will see you on the road!

Palmarés Sunday

There is a German word Drahtesel which is a colloquialism for a bicycle.  It literally means "wire donkey" and today is a day we celebrate the importance of the donkey.  For you see, without the lowly donkey a very important event would have been very different. 

Today is Palm Sunday and in the gospels (found in Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-44; and John 12:12-19) we are told that Jesus made his triumphal entrance into Jerusalem while riding on a borrowed donkey as the residents covered his path with palm fronds.   Although we ourselves didn't live back then (that would put us somewhere around the lower back of the dachsund of time);

(Right in front of the rear "hips" would be the famous procession)

Thanks to the imagination of Andrew Lloyd Weber we can see what it might have been given a driving rock musical accompaniment;

How can you possibly feel threatened by guys with open shirts and REALLY tall fur hats?

Despite the heavy metal celebration of the day, devout Christians across the world attend church services and Catholics in particular celebrate by receiving palm fronds during mass.  As I live across the street from  St. Philip Neri in Northport, I tend to find a lot of aforementioned fronds in my front lawn, deposited there by our younger celebrants.  However many of the older devout, not content to leave them in their natural state, turn them into something more by engaging in Palm Sunday folk art from the simple;

to a bit more complex;

A little more complex version of the fish;

To highly intricate and beautiful works of art created out of a simple palm frond;

And if you have followed my blog for any time at all you know that I have problems drawing simple stick figures, much less creating something as beautiful and intricate as that!

Of course, if you are a cycling fan (as I unabashedly am) you will also realize that today (for some) is a day to make collecting palmarés an art form.  What's that you say?  What are palmarés?  Well, its not an Italian dessert.  Nor is it a Tex-Mex side dish or an Andulacian delicacy.  Its the term given by cyclists to honors won while racing and today brought us the Tour of Flanders known to the Dutch as the Ronde van Vlaanderen.  Its held in the Flanders region of Belgium and this year was won by the local favorite Tom Boonen (pronounced "Bone-in") in an exciting fashion and in the process becoming one of only four people ever to win it three times.  Despite his reputation as a bad boy of cycling, when you are Belgian and you win one of the great classic races on home turf, the people are willing to forgive you almost anything, especially when you win like this (sorry, I can't tell you what the commentators are saying, I think its all in Flemish);



Now I myself also rode today but I have to admit I did not earn any palmarés (or Tex-Mex for that matter) but I did manage to spend a large part of  my Sunday morning hauling my ass (I mean that of course in the Drahtesel sense) over various roads of Long Island.  Now you have to realize I was riding with a competetive speed skater who just placed 9th at the World Championships in his age class and a former track racer so the fact I was able to stay within 100 meters of these guys throughout the ride was a palmaré all to itself for me - even if I did have my donkey handed to me on a silver platter;

Nevertheless, I made it back and with the miles I put in getting to Mike's house and back, I had put in 30.2 miles at an average of 18.2 mph (I really gunned it heading home) and still had some energy to spend with the kids.

First I took a little trip to Dunkin' Donuts here in Northport (a favorite haunt of ours) with James to rehydrate and get some carbs in my system.  It was fun hanging out with my little man since he and I don't get to hang out as much or as often as I do with the other two.  William was on a play date and Sarah was hanging out with her friend Cedar so James was by his lonesome.  I just took it as a great opportunity for the two of us to hang and to laugh and enjoy each other's company - gee, all this male bonding in one day!

After I picked up William and brought him home (a chore in itself, he was ensconced at his friend Jake's house with a computer game) we worked on his catching skills.  Apparently on his Little League team he is going to be doing a lot of catching this season so we went out yesterday and bought him some shin protectors.  Today I took him out back and threw some pitches to him so he could get used to the feeling of the shin guards.  I purposefully threw some off target to him to get him used to the idea of reaching and watching the ball all the way into the glove.  The only problem being we got him the smallest youth shin guards they had in the store and they still come all the way up his thighs.  He has now assumed a new secret hero identity - Lobster Man!  and this is what he looks like;

(Beware of large pots of melted butter!!!!)

Okay no, but very, very close.  Here is the actual photo of my little baseballing cherubim;

(They Call me "Catch"!)

Of course I would be remiss if I didn't relay some of what I did yesterday.  The first thing was I entered the Bicycling Magazine's "Win Any Bike" contest. I won't bore you with the rules (you can click the link on the left) but here's the photo I sent;

(ahh, my noble Drahtesel!)

and here is the text I sent them as my entry;

“This is it, end of the line.”  This thought spun through my head as I lay there waiting to be tossed into the back of a trash truck.  I’d outlived my usefulness and was now destined to be left rusting in a dump.  And then this guy stopped his car.  Could it be?  Would he?  He did!  He took me home, he stripped me down ( a little embarrassing!), and painstakingly rebuilt me.  Over the years we’ve traveled many miles together to raise money for cancer charities (over $20,000).  But it’s our next ride I’m worried about, cross country to raise money to send eight kids with cancer to a summer camp.  I’m not sure my old bones will make it.  I wish for my rider to have someone younger to take with him, someone who’ll last.  He’s been so good to me, can you be good to him?

Now I was limited to only 150 words and the theme was "a picture is worth a thousand words - if your bike could talk".  I'm hoping it is quirky enough for someone to them to perhaps see that I'm worthy of a new bike to help haul my donkey (euphemism for body part) across the country this summer!

The other big thing that happened yesterday is I finally heard some great news from the Northport Fire Department that I've been hoping to hear for a long time!  Back in the summer I had put in an application to become an EMT and had my initial interview.  It was then that I was told it might be a while because they had to wait on approval for new hires and that it might take a while.  I am so incredibly excited to say that yesterday I received a phone call telling me that the approval has come through and if all goes well with my background check and interviews, I will be sworn in as a member of the Northport Fire Department on June 7th (a week before we leave for San Diego) and I will start training in September!!!!!  With any luck they'll let me join the bicycle EMT Corps and really combine my passions!

And finally, a musical video (or two) for your entertainment and edification.

Recently a lot of hoopla (the technical term for hula hooping and yelling excitedly at the top of your lungs at the same time) has been made about a drunk Canadian singing Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and the video has gone viral;



Now I'm not sure what is more disturbing, that he can render it word-for-word while drunk, or that Canadians can sing (Rush not withstanding, of course there is Bryan Adams, but don't get me started on Celine Dion!).  However, with all the hoopla (there's that word again) we're losing sight of the really important issue here - NO ONE DOES IT LIKE FREDDY AND THE BOYS! 

So to bring us all back to reality and remind us of why we love this song in the first place, I bring you Queen;



Well, I don't know about you but I'm going to straddly my Drahtesel, listen to some killer Queen and go for a ride!  Oh, and for those of you starting to keep count - 83 days until the Grand Depart (uh, that's French for big leaving)!

Stay well and I'll see you on the road!