I'm Outa Sorts Tonight
I don't know why but I'm feeling out of sorts tonight. I think I'm preoccupied about some issues at work. I have no idea how this is going to play out and it has me worried. I went for a long ride Thursday after I woke up. I was hoping to sort through some things and I think I did that but it still leaves a lot of questions unanswered and that is the source of my anxiety.
Thursday was a hot day with the temp well into the 80s. It's been so cool the entire month of August so I really wanted to be in the hot sun. I rode out Cedar ave into a southwest wind gusting to 25 mph. I zigged and zagged until I got to Hwy 2 and took that west through New Market I continued on Hwy 2 struggling to maintain a good speed with the wind making the ride difficult. It had been years since I'd taken Hwy 2 this far and I really wasn't sure what to expect. I went through the town of Union Hill and remembered how I used to come through this area on my trips back from Huron with Noy 20 years earlier. I contemplated how fast my life was moving and wondered if I'd still be actively riding in another 20 years or would I get my clubs back out and rediscover my passion for golf.
Hwy 2 abruptly turned into a dirt road at the junction of Hwy 11 so I headed south on 11 until I picked up Hwy 19 and rode that west to Hwy 169. I took 169 south into Le Sueur and stopped to refuel at the Holiday station. Back on the road about 15 minutes later and I found myself climbing 169 with a tailwind out of Le Sueur.
It's a steady 5 percent grade, not quite a mile long and I always enjoy the challenge. It was odd when I came upon a bunch of corn stocks along the shoulder of the road. I'm guessing some grain truck must've spilled the corn last season and they sprouted there. It's amazing what can grow out of asphalt.
Along the way, my mind kept returning to my situation at work and I was working through several different scenarios in my head trying to decide what to do. Just as I got to Jordan I decided I needed to approach management and level with them about my troubles. It could cost me my medical certificate to be a controller but I had to do this for my peace of mind. I'm hoping the loss of my medical will only be temporary and that we'll be able to work out a solution where I'm able to take myself off the boards when it becomes necessary to work through the headaches. I stopped at the Burger King in Jordan and sat with a drink while I phoned Tammy and told her of my decision. She's very supportive and is in agreement that I should be upfront with management about my situation.
I pedaled home with what felt like renewed energy from the weight that was lifted after making this decision but I think it may have simply been the 10-minute rest and bottle of water. Anyway, I decided that rather than go straight home I'd stop at Mom's and visit with her and her company.
Some of my aunts and uncles are staying with her for a couple days and I really haven't had much time to visit with them. I rolled in there as they were sitting out on her back patio enjoying some drinks and conversation. I'm not sure how many times we'll all see each other again as some are getting quite old. They were all interested in my bike and its technology...my mp3 player, heart rate monitor, shoes and all the other stuff that goes into riding. They brought up the time in '81 when I rode to Michigan for the family reunion and had to do 196 miles on the last day to make it. I have one photo of myself from that day but apparently, both Maria and Eva have other photos as well. I'm hoping they can send them to me so I can scan them. That was one of my more memorable days as there was no way I was trained to do that many miles but I was able to and I was and still am very proud of that achievement. I sat around with them for 45 minutes then had to hit the road and get home for dinner. I finished with 111 miles on the day and my 20-century ride of the season completed.
After dinner I sat down and composed an email to my union rep at work—oh yea, I'm in the union now as of last Monday. There are so many problems with management now that I had to finally join. I think our membership stands at around 76%. Many of the controllers I associate with aren't in and most likely never will be but that's their decision.
Anyway, I wrote Rob, my union rep and told him of my situations with the Cluster headaches and what my intentions are. It's Saturday night and I still haven't heard back from him as to whether or not he agrees with my intended approach. I'll see him tomorrow at work and talk to him about it then.
We went to the Minnesota State Fair today and totally wore ourselves out. We got up way too early for us...6:00am and got there by 8:30. It was another hot day so it was nice to beat some of the heat. Rachel had her picture taken with the Lollipop Kid munchkin while we were there. His name is Jerry Maren and he was there with another one of the munchkins to sign autographs. Tammy asked if she could take Rachel's photo with him and he was happy to do that. Just as Rachel settled in next to him he pulled out a lollipop and presented it to her in the same way he did to Dorothy in the movie. It was very sweet.
Thursday was a hot day with the temp well into the 80s. It's been so cool the entire month of August so I really wanted to be in the hot sun. I rode out Cedar ave into a southwest wind gusting to 25 mph. I zigged and zagged until I got to Hwy 2 and took that west through New Market I continued on Hwy 2 struggling to maintain a good speed with the wind making the ride difficult. It had been years since I'd taken Hwy 2 this far and I really wasn't sure what to expect. I went through the town of Union Hill and remembered how I used to come through this area on my trips back from Huron with Noy 20 years earlier. I contemplated how fast my life was moving and wondered if I'd still be actively riding in another 20 years or would I get my clubs back out and rediscover my passion for golf.
Hwy 2 abruptly turned into a dirt road at the junction of Hwy 11 so I headed south on 11 until I picked up Hwy 19 and rode that west to Hwy 169. I took 169 south into Le Sueur and stopped to refuel at the Holiday station. Back on the road about 15 minutes later and I found myself climbing 169 with a tailwind out of Le Sueur.
Along the way, my mind kept returning to my situation at work and I was working through several different scenarios in my head trying to decide what to do. Just as I got to Jordan I decided I needed to approach management and level with them about my troubles. It could cost me my medical certificate to be a controller but I had to do this for my peace of mind. I'm hoping the loss of my medical will only be temporary and that we'll be able to work out a solution where I'm able to take myself off the boards when it becomes necessary to work through the headaches. I stopped at the Burger King in Jordan and sat with a drink while I phoned Tammy and told her of my decision. She's very supportive and is in agreement that I should be upfront with management about my situation.
I pedaled home with what felt like renewed energy from the weight that was lifted after making this decision but I think it may have simply been the 10-minute rest and bottle of water. Anyway, I decided that rather than go straight home I'd stop at Mom's and visit with her and her company.
After dinner I sat down and composed an email to my union rep at work—oh yea, I'm in the union now as of last Monday. There are so many problems with management now that I had to finally join. I think our membership stands at around 76%. Many of the controllers I associate with aren't in and most likely never will be but that's their decision.
We went to the Minnesota State Fair today and totally wore ourselves out. We got up way too early for us...6:00am and got there by 8:30. It was another hot day so it was nice to beat some of the heat. Rachel had her picture taken with the Lollipop Kid munchkin while we were there. His name is Jerry Maren and he was there with another one of the munchkins to sign autographs. Tammy asked if she could take Rachel's photo with him and he was happy to do that. Just as Rachel settled in next to him he pulled out a lollipop and presented it to her in the same way he did to Dorothy in the movie. It was very sweet.
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