About Our Conversation and Tour Time

I had a conversation with a friend from work last week about the possible changes we'll soon see in our workplace with respect to pay and work rules. It was his opinion that we wouldn't have been living under the imposed work rules (IWR) the last three years had it not been for the actions of our union. We brought this on ourselves. I was in a sector which was getting busier by the minute as we spoke so I was unable to engage him as I would have liked. Our conversation ended before it ever really got started. I thought about our exchange the next day while on my weekend and sent him the following email.

Hi xxxxxx,

I know that you're not one to engage in argument and I wouldn't go there with you but I did want to add just one thing to our conversation from yesterday.

The people you mentioned who jokingly point to the Natca pocket calendars as the only good thing to come out of Natca are forgetting Pay Reclass of 1998 which Natca fought for, for all of us, labor and management alike, and won.

Let's hope we'll soon see some extra cash in our checks when the latest contract talks are complete and if and when we do please be mindful that management fought us over it every step of the way. I wish it weren't so but that's the agency we work for. Natca truly does some good work for us all. That's the only point I wanted to make.

Thanks for listening,

Kevin

Anybody interested in a slightly used pair of size 11 Rollerblades? I can't use them anymore because of some serious knee pain they're causing me. I'm quite bummed about this. I don't notice any issues while I'm using them but it becomes very apparent afterward. I'm riding my bike less than I have in many years so I'm certain it's not my riding causing me pain. I spoke with my brother Keith about it and he says he experiences the same pain when he uses his. It must have something to do with the binding forces on the knee when I push off. This actually may be a blessing in disguise as my blades are easily more dangerous than my bike, at least the way I use mine.

With my reduced riding mileage I'm spending more time working on projects around our home. I took some time this past weekend to begin organizing our garage for its face-lift. Keith came by to size up the space for cabinets and a workbench. He convinced me that I'd need a heater and a cable connection for a television suspended from the ceiling in the corner. It didn't take much convincing.

I'd like to apply an epoxy finish/sealer to the garage floor too as it's pitting where we park our cars and the salt sludge from the winter roads sloughs off. Sealing the floor is something I should've done years ago. I'm doing a bit of research first to learn the pros and cons of this sort of application. It's not something that's easily undone should I decide I don't like it.

The 96th edition of Le Tour de France began yesterday in Monaco with a ten-mile individual time trial. In case you hadn't heard, Lance Armstrong is racing once again. I, like so many others, was hoping for him to win the prologue but I knew it was asking a lot. He finished 10th which was very good considering he was one of 180 riders.

I think it will be difficult for him to recover day after day as he was able to when he was younger. I look to see him have days of brilliance followed by days where he struggles. It's just a guess and I hope I'm wrong about the struggling part.

There's the race and then there's the race within the race.

Lance is riding for team Astana of Kazakhstan, easily the strongest team in this year's event. Alberto Contador is the official team leader who Lance will ride in support of but there are many who feel that a race leader for the team has yet to be established. Lance so much as said so yesterday when he commented that while it was true that Alberto was the team leader he qualified the statement with "for now".

Hmm...I wonder if we have another 1986 tour in the makings? In that tour, Bernard Hinault was to ride in support of Greg LeMond but spent most of the race trying to break Greg. He would later say that he was only trying to wear down the competition from other teams but many people questioned his true motives.

I see Lance as being a classy guy although many don't like his attitude and are certain that he's doped. I think he's been great for the sport and should be celebrated for the millions he's raised for cancer research. It will no doubt be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few weeks. How can you not root for Lance?