An Invitation, a Celebration and a Decided Nation

My neighbor, Mark, has been kicking around the idea of getting a rode bike for a few months. He's got a hybrid bike which he's been trying to lighten with new parts but I think he's squeezed as much weight out of it as he's going to. I asked him if he'd like to accompany me on a ride and use one of my bikes to get a feel for a real rode bike. He jumped at the chance.

His longest ride so far is 29 miles so I figured a 27 mile loop on a nicer bike would be a good distance for him. We road side by side along the shoulder of Cedar avenue as we headed south into a 10mph. I let him set the pace. He was riding harder/faster than I expected him to and before long the pace began to take its toll. I asked him what his heart rate was and he replied, "169". I was worried that he was pushing himself too hard as I was hovering at 102 bpm. I could tell he was caught up in the feel of a light, responsive bike under him. Any half-serious road cyclist can relate to that.

My hope was that he was able to whet his appetite for rode cycling on a bike unlike any he's ridden. I think that happened.

Some newly minted air traffic controllers I work with threw a party last night to celebrate their recent certifications. A good time was had by all and in a few cases maybe too good a time. It was nice to see my co-workers outside of our work environment where we enjoyed some drinks and spirited conversation. Here's a link to a set of photos from the night that I uploaded to my Flickr account.

I'm no fan of John McCain. I simply don't like the man. There's an article in a recent issue of Rolling Stone magazine which describes McCain's life of privilege and the double standard he enjoyed while serving in the military. He's an ego-driven man who in my opinion lacks the intellect and composure to lead our country.

Yes, I know that Rolling Stone is a liberal magazine but the author makes some good points that cannot be ignored.

Both Democrats and Republicans have their base voters who will vote for them no matter what. I had an email exchange with a friend this week who is a strong McCain supporter. It was a disappointing exchange because he would only speak to me with Republican talking points rather than direct his responses to specific questions I posed. It appears that his mind is made up and he's reluctant to engage in any discussion which would cause him to rethink his beliefs. To me that is sad.





Comments

John A Hill said…
That's quite the article on McCain. Some of it I had heard, much of it I had not.
One of the things that I've said to my wife is that being a POW isn't much of a qualification for being President.
Kevin Gilmore said…
I agree, John. I've never been comfortable thinking of him as a hero. A survivor, yes. A hero, no.

He's not an honorable man in my opinion. He's abused his position in life too often for me to think of him as a self-made man.
John has this problem of believing everything he says no matter how wrong it is. I know guys that make up stories and eventually they think that it really happened that way.
John thinks of himself as a hero. Of course we all know what a hero is. Someone that NEVER speaks of their heroic efforts. All John can do is continue to remind us that he suffered in Vietnam because he wasn't a very good pilot and wrecked his body bailing out. Sorry John

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