Say What?

I had to work today (Father's Day) so Tammy, Rachel and I went out for dinner Friday night. We called ahead to Outback Steakhouse and got our name on the list to shorten our wait for a table. I don't think we've ever been disappointed with our food or service there. Tammy had asked me what I wanted for Father's Day and my reply was 'a chamois' for cleaning our cars. She gave me a funny look but I told her that I could really use a new one and that I'd be happy if that's what she got me. Anyway, sitting at the restaurant she brought out a couple of gift bags for me to open. Inside the first bag, I found a sweet new camera. We were browsing cameras a couple of weeks ago at the evil BestBuy but I wasn't very intent on buying anything...at least not from them. (It's a bit of a story and can be found here ) The camera she bought me is much nicer than those I was considering at BB. It's a Panasonic Lumix They also bought some accessories to go ...

Tammy was out of town with her mother and an aunt over the weekend. She'll put well over a 1000 miles on her wheels before she returns sometime tonight. I was able to get out and take advantage of some beautiful weather, if not just a bit breezy, for some nice rides over the last few days. I got up early Friday morning to take the little guys for a walk so as not to leave them feeling neglected while I spent the day on my bike. I ran into a neighbor, Tom Ferguson, as we were finishing our walk. He was curious about my riding and wondered how I handled the occasional flat tire. I told him how flats weren't really much of a problem as I'd sometimes go over a thousand miles without flatting. I carry two tubes with me and seldom have I ever had to use them both on a ride. But what if I flat twice he wondered? Tom is a pilot for Northwest and I'm sure it's only natural for him to think in terms of worst-case scenarios. I told him that if I were to flat 3 times during a...

My cousin Deborah came into town on a few hour layover Memorial Day with her Fiancé, Mark. She and Mark have been engaged for a few months and until recently it's been a guarded secret. Jerry and Jackie picked them up at the airport and brought them by our house for pizza. It was nice to spend time with all of them. Of course I had to break out the video camera for an addition to my YouTube account. Being the proud parents that we are we also had to pop in the DVD of Rachel's recent dance recital. Toby and Allie loved all the attention. It would've been nice to have a few more hours with everybody. I need to make more of a point of getting up to see Jackie and Jerry. They're only 40 miles away but they may as well be 400 miles away for as infrequently as we get together. I had a really nice ride yesterday. I got up early and took the pups for a walk then got suited up and was on the road by 7:30 am. I've done a lot of riding this year but no rides pushing the 1...

Tammy and I went up to Virginia , MN, (215 miles north) this past week to see her father at the nursing home where he's staying. When we last spoke with him a few days earlier he wasn't at all happy about being admitted to the facility knowing that he wouldn't be returning home. He was caught off guard by his doctor's decision to have him remain at the nursing home and by the agreement of most of the other members of the family about the decision. Tammy went to Slumberland and picked out a recliner to bring up to him. There's a recliner in his room but it's seen better days. We also put together a couple of photo collages for his walls—one of black and white photos from his childhood and another of more recent photos. Tammy also picked up an inexpensive DVD player for his room for the occasional DVD we put together—mostly stuff of Rachel. Speaking of Rachel, we brought along a DVD of her dance recital from last weekend. This is the first dance recital of her...

In my last entry I wrote about Mike, a friend who had been in a bike crash the previous week. He's doing well, all things considered. He's pretty certain he'll never ride again; at least not on the road. He may do some tandem riding with his wife on the trails but not much more than that. I know how much Mike liked to ride so this isn't going to be an easy thing for him to let go of. I try to imagine myself having to put an end to my riding and those are thoughts I'd rather not have. Recital weekend is over for another year. Rachel has really found her stride with the Senior A company and is thriving in that group. Tammy went to all three shows while I opted out of the last one. There was no dads' dance for me to participate in this year; maybe next year. Videotaping the performance is not allowed as there is a videographer present who sells a DVD of each show for $45. That's fine but if you want to actually get some close-ups of your child you need to do ...

A good friend of mine, Mike Koch, is in the hospital. Mike was riding his bike Monday afternoon when an older guy in a car crossed the center-line and hit Mike head-on. Mike suffered a compound fracture in one of his lower legs with six breaks, a severely separated shoulder, and broken shoulder blade, several broken ribs and a punctured lung. He's expected to remain in the hospital for the next week before he's transferred either back home or possibly to a transitional care unit. Mike has been a roadie for the 25 years I've known him and I think this is his second crash. I hope he'll one day find the desire to ride again but I'm sure it's going to take some time. When I first heard about Mike's crash I thought that maybe an inattentive driver using a cellphone was to blame. That's my biggest fear out on the road these days. Last month I had a car pass me on the white line with me just to the right of it. For the split second that the car was next to me...

In 1977 I was living in San Diego, assigned to the USS Fresno working my way through a 4-year enlistment. I had a bottom bunk in OI berthing which opened up to stow my clothes and other stuff in addition to a stand-up locker which had even less room. Some of the guys would go together and rent apartments. These were usually the same guys who owned cars. I had neither. I lived a very meager existence. Much of what little I got in pay was sent home and put into a savings account which by the time my enlistment was over had grown to over $5000. I wasn't making much more than $8000 a year then so that was a lot for me to be able to stash away. I'd eventually find an outlet for my money. 30 years ago today I went to the Navy Exchange in San Diego and bought my first road bike...a white Peugeot for $155. I knew nothing about components, bike handling characteristics or sizing. All I knew was that it would give me independence in a way the buses in San Diego couldn't. I'd...