Nice Enough

No memory of weighing myself this morning...

Worked on the bike last night, after my visit to the doctor. Fingers are still pretty numb but Doc thinks it isn't too bad -- B vitamins, physical therapy are the new order of the day. I'll be starting PT sometime next week, after getting back from my trip to Utah.

Meantime, the bike: there's a squeaking & creaking, almost drove me nuts on the ride Sunday. I think it was either cranks or the suspension pivots, so I tightened this & lubed that; hopefully it'll be quieter on tonight's ride.

One Tin Soldier Rides Away

Morning weigh-in: 174#, 14% BF

Fourth Horseman: Really cool article about the Black Death and AIDS over at Daily Kos. What's not mentioned though, is the connection between rising standards of living (and population) in the 12th & 13th centuries, and the decisions, worldwide, to squander their built-up wealth and people in a series of wars -- thus making all of Eurasia ripe for the plucking when the pandemic finally came. How many horsemen?

Meantime, rode yesterday, the ride I wrote about. It was quite fun, but the weekend took its toll and now my legs are so tired they're sore...

UPDATE: Thank you, Fafblog!

Halcyon Daze

Beautiful day today. I went to the coffee shop, then the gym, then Nature's Way, then Genesis where I bought a new multitool, which is what caused me to beable to find the one I though I lost... Then I went for a hike at Dunfield Creek. That place sure looks different since I was last there, before the hurricanes of 2004. I miscalculated the amount of daylight I'd have left, and had to run down the mountain to get down before sunset but I made it in time -- good thing because all I had were my prescription sunglasses, I'd have been blind in the dark.

Now I'm off to Which Brew, where I-don't-know-who is playing (I expect the answer is "nobody") but they have Magic Hat Number 9, my all time favorite beer, on tap. Woo Hoo! Think I'll walk down... Tomorrow is a long day in the saddle, riding downtown (coffee shop brunch) then to Sals for a ride plus a little trailwork. The weather should be really nice again tomorrow.

The Beavers Are Moving East

Rode the towpath tonight, abbreviated ride because the wheel I'd had repaired had a flat, tube probably got pinched when it was put back together -- doh!! I happened to notice lots of signs of beaver along the trail, only much further east than I've ever seen them, very near to the Bethlehem Boat Club launch. Now more than ever, don't drink the Lehigh water...

Curses, Foiled Again!

Morning weigh-in (Thursday): 178#, 10% BF
Morning weigh-in (Friday): 175.5#, 7% BF

Went to pick up my wheel last night. I dropped it off the night before, actually expecting the work to be done on the spot but the mechanic/owner wasn't in; when I went to the shop last night (plan: run in & get wheel, run out, rush to Jacobsburg before it gets too close to dark for a worthwhile ride) I find that the service tag left by the counter girl was cryptic, and the mechanic hadn't even started the job, "but I can do it right now for you." Well OK, but he's the only one there and a bunch of people come in, then problems arise during the fix... um, I didn't go riding last night. Very frustrating, should have just done it myself.

So instead I played around with awk, went to bed at midnight & forgot to eat dinner. Interesting tool, at least to me it was last night. Tonight is definitely the towpath, then maybe I'll go out but I'm not really in a party mood, so we'll see.

Meantime, here's more about those magic mice, and here's more about Korean stem cell medicine, and here's one about religion. In the immortal words of Emily Dickenson, slipping is crash's law...

A Fun Game for Bookworms

I found this via Pharyngula and Majikthise: the American Library Association has posted its list of the 100 most frequently banned books from 1990-2000. How many have you read? Here's the list; the ones I read are in red bold:

1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
8. Forever by Judy Blume
9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
11. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
14. The Giver by Lois Lowry
15. It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
18. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
19. Sex by Madonna
20. Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
21. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
23. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
24. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
25. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
26. The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
27. The Witches by Roald Dahl
28. The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
29. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
30. The Goats by Brock Cole
31. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
32. Blubber by Judy Blume
33. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
34. Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
35. We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
36. Final Exit by Derek Humphry
37. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
38. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
39. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
40. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
42. Beloved by Toni Morrison
43. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
44. The Pigman by Paul Zindel
45. Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
46. Deenie by Judy Blume
47. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
48. Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
49. The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
50. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
54. Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
55. Cujo by Stephen King
56. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
57. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
58. Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
59. Ordinary People by Judith Guest
60. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
61. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
62. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
63. Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
64. Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
65. Fade by Robert Cormier
66. Guess What? by Mem Fox
67. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
68. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
71. Native Son by Richard Wright
72. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
73. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
74. Jack by A.M. Homes
75. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
76. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
77. Carrie by Stephen King
78. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
79. On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
80. Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
81. Family Secrets by Norma Klein
82. Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
83. The Dead Zone by Stephen King
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
85. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
86. Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
87. Private Parts by Howard Stern
88. Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
89. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
90. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
91. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
92. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
93. Sex Education by Jenny Davis
94. The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
95. Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
96. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
97. View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
98. The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
99. The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
100. Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

I got thirteen total, not great but then again they look like "young adult lit," with a bunch of "what is sex?" books thrown in -- in other words, the kind of stuff that:
1.a library would want to carry, and
2. would eventually get challenged by someone.

An Amazing Difference

Morning weigh-in: 178#, 12.5% BF

I got a new rear derailleur and cables/housing last night and put them on the bike, unbelievable how much of an improvement it is. Unfortunately, I found a broken spoke which I'll hopefully get fixed tonight. Went to Which Brew afterward for my usual Tuesday Night visit, and the usual crew were there. The music was pretty bad eighties, so I busted out my Rhino Postpunk Chronicles CD Scared to Dance, and we jammed to the "good eighties" for a little while. No exercise tonight, must finish up the weekend chores/errands that were pushed back by the VT trip.

Bounceback

Morning weigh-in: 179#, 11.5% BF

Ate an entire pepperoni pizza, all but one slice, for dinner last night. Guess what I'll have when I get home tonight? Meantime, I must pick up a new rear derailleur and cables on the way home, start fixing the ol' drivetrain -- other than that it's just laundry nite...

Vermont 50-Miler Photos

Saturday: Ascutney Mountain
Originally uploaded by donXfive.

I posted my photos from our road trip to Vermont, you can find them here. This shot was taken on Saturday, the day before the race, by far the better day weather-wise. The sky was so blue-and-gold it looked more like California than New England.

Road Trip Review

Morning weigh-in: 174#, 12.5% BF

Friday: Travel Day. Got to VT at about 2:00 AM.

Saturday: Tourist Day. We got up around 10:00, couldn't get breakfast so we had lunch at the general store, then drove around that part of Vermont, sightseeing. "Sightseeing" in this case meant: going to Woodstock and getting turkish coffee, then going to the Long Trail brewpub, then returning to the hotel for race registration, then going to the Harpoon brewpub, then having dinner in a train station in Windsor. Bedtime was 9:00.

Sunday: Race Day! The weather was mostly cloudy and a lot cooler than I expected. Since we'd have to stage before sunrise in the freezing, foggy dark, & stand around like that for about an hour, we were dressed appropriately (arm/leg warmers, jacket). The layers came off as I warmed up, but went back on as the day cooled...
The course itself was great. The first half reminded me a lot of Blue Marsh, except with hills, while the second half was a mix very hilly dirt roads, and "real" Vermont singletrack, ie hardwood forest, with lotsa roots etc. I felt better on the second half, and I think miles 30-45 were my best -- after that I was just tired and trying to get it done. Finished with a time of 7:21, which gave me 99th place in Sport Vet. I came home with a few bike problems, which gives me something to work on this week.

Sunday was also a travel day; we were home by 10:30 but that was one tough drive. Luckily, I slept through most of it...

UPDATE: Fixed some typos.

Off To Vermont

Morning weigh-in: 175.5#, 8.5% BF

Did a towpath ride last night, then hit Which Brew (no bands), then over to Porters (open-mic night, but it was lame). Last night was my Friday night: I expected today to be a travel day & took the day off, but we're not leaving until 7:00 or so -- been doing bills, other stuff around the house. Now it's time for prepping the bike, packing etc. VASS VT-50 is on Sunday. B'bye...

The Golden Cusp

Morning weigh-in: 176.5#, 7.5% BF (maybe the machine's broke)

Blasting the past: I saw this via Pharyngula....

Rules:
1. Go into your archive.
2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to).
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.

Here's mine, from this post written on Jan 4th, 2004:

I'd been to the Black Bread Cafe once or twice before and liked it, and I
think Doug & his wife (or was it Joe & Cindy?) ate there a few times as
well; it's a somewhat upscale place (though "precious" may be a better term)
with really good food.

Anyway, good meeting last night. Tonight I think I'll celebrate the autumnal equinox with a ride.

Gimme Gimme Octopus

Morning weigh-in: 175#, 8.5% BF

I got a real kick out of this. Thank you, Sadly, No!

This is funny, and so is this, and this -- face it, these guys are evil geniuses -- but this is cool.

Chain Gang meeting tonight.

UPDATE: I think I'll be going to see this show.

I'm Feeling Much Better Now

Morning weigh-in: 175#, 3.5% BF (WTF?)

Had very little to eat yesterday, just a turkey sub but I did drink lots of water, so I was very surprised by that body fat number -- in reality it's probably 12%-15% but my scale measures electrical resistance in the legs, and I interpret low numbers as a sign of dehydration. I've been trying to get that number up, drinking a lot of water lately.

Meantime, the doctor visit. I already feel better. He put me on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory stuff for my wrist & told me to get a wrist brace, wear it especially while riding (hi Karen!), then got yet another nasal spray to open my blocked eustachian tubes, and antibiotics for whatever germs are living in my ear. Like I might have mentioned, I feel better already.

Reading: Just finished Cormac McCarthy's No Country For Old Men, and I'm about to start The Kite Runner.

Wow, Monday Vortex

Morning weigh-in: 174#, 8.5% BF

Body fluids still low... It's been an eventful weekend, possibly why I'm now sick at home instead of work...

RIP Les Korcsmaros: Les was the guy who crashed the van on the PPRAC ride. He broke his leg and had other, semi-minor injuries requiring surgery, but his weak heart couldn't take it -- they had to close him up, put him in an induced coma, and wait until his condition stabilized to finish the surgery. His condition never did stabilize; he passed away, without ever waking up, on Friday. Goodbye Les, you were alright.

Anyway... the name of the band Thursday night was Odd Mercy. Very good show. No riding or other exercise Thursday or Friday.

Saturday was the gym, then a trip to Englishtown for my mom's birthday. Mom, Dad, my brother Chris & his wife Tara, and their son Chris. Nice dinner, birthday cake.

Sunday I got up late, intending to kick back, but it was so nice I went out on the Turner, got brunch at Coffee Works, went to Genesis to buy tubes & found out that it was "Bike to Brunch Day" at Hugh Moore Park so I went there, then rode to Sals & did a very abbreviated loop. Despite all the food, I felt like I was bonking on the ride home.

After that I got ready and went to Megan's going-away party over at Art's house. Very nice, lots of fun, which became craziness as Megan's college, high school and work girlfriends started getting rowdy... Waterballoon fights, dirty dancing and chickenfights, these people keep me feeling young, but also make me feel old...

Burning the candle at both ends while fighting illness, not a good idea -- I now have that vertigo pretty bad, feels like sinus situation developing as well, going to the doctor in about an hour. Strangely enough, this weekend was packed with about a half dozen other things that I blew off: that RCST Bash, the race at Bear Creek, the Hillier Than Thou road century... mother of all schedule conflicts.

Time For A Rest Day

Morning weigh-in (Wednesday): 174.5#, 6% BF
Morning weigh-in (Thursday): 174#, 6.5% BF

Well, since Blogger ate yesterday's post...

Rode home with Scott S on Tuesday. Friend, co-worker, he used to live up the block from me until he moved to Nazareth. (Here's a shot of him with me at Allamuchy.) Anyway, nice guy but fast, he also biked in to work & wondered if I wanted to carpool -- luckily he was into being sociable or I wouldn't have seen much of him on the ride home... He was going to Kim's Healing Center (a Chinese alt-medicine/massage/acupuncture place near me, Scott's into that kind of thing) so we rode almost all the way to my house together. We took my route through Stewartsville, which avoids the battle of dealing with traffic at the 173/US22/I-78 intersection, but took his route through Easton, via Northampton St and Pine Street (which is really an alley, the one that goes behind the old Weyerbacher location).

I went out after that, dinner at Which Brew while the laundry dried, but it became "I 'went out' went out" rather than "I went out for dinner" -- if you know what I mean -- when I ran into Scott U and Pete the radio DJ/mechanic, and Theresa came in, and we all trooped over to Porter's, and Carrie and Megan were having a bit of a goodbye party before Megan left for Seattle, and time passed, and one thing led to another... not that much alcohol involved, or even lateness, but I sure was tired when the alarm went off Wednesday.

The plan came together though: it was threatening rain, so I didn't want to bike commute, and my friend Joe wanted to ride but wanted me to be on my "real" road bike rather than the Iguana so we could fly through one of his training routes, therefore I drove in with the road bike on the roof. The weather was very iffy, I thought we'd probably cancel but Joe said "let's just do it" and we managed to miss almost all the rain. Blistering pace I thought, we rode from his house out almost to Stewartsville, then back to 173 almost to "that" intersection, then down those almost-abandoned roads and along River Road to Reigelsville, then Milford, then back through Holland Twp along roads I didn't know. A little less than 40 miles I'd guess, in about 2:15.

After that I went directly to Brian's house, where the "going to Moab next spring" crew was making travel plans & booking reservations, and after that I went home & fell asleep.

Tonight is rest/gym, then back to Which Brew to see the reunion show of some band whose name I forgot... bunch of friends used to play out around here a lot, I think they had a falling out but are back together just for this occasion.

The Weather Still Holds Steady

Morning weigh-in: 175#, 12.5% BF

Rode in to work today, pretty nice ride but a little warmer than expected, especially in town; it'll probably be hot on the ride home. Tomorrow may be the start of the rain. My plan is to bring the road bike, and ride with Joe G if it's nice enough.

Speaking of hot, this kind of thing really burns me up. My friend Heath got a new dog, a pit bull mix named Isabella. Beautiful & very sweet animal though definitely still a puppy -- Margarita's a gardener, and the dog ate some of her flowers on Heath's watch, so the both of them were a bit in the doghouse when I visited Sunday... We talked about those dudes in Bethlehem, stealing pit bulls for dogfights, jail is too good for them and they probably only got fined.

They Call It Happy Monday...

Morning weigh-in: 173#, 13.5% BF

... but for me it's just another rest day.

Well, I dodged that bullet: I got asked Thursday if I'd be willing to go into the field for a period that could last up to a month (WTF??); I said I'd have to check my situation and get back after the weekend. Today I said OK, and find out that the whole thing's been cancelled -- apparently just some kind of panic attack on someone's part...

Eric

Eric
Originally uploaded by donXfive.

My photos from our ride last week are up at flickr. Here's Eric riding through the blueberries on some rather tight singletrack. He's smiling now, but wait till he sees the scratches on his legs...

"Smashing Stereotypes, One Hit At A Time"

Saw the movie Murderball last night, about Quad Rugby aka "murderball," sort of like a cross between basketball, rugby and hockey in Mad-Max-like wheelchairs. I thought The Constant Gardener was good, but this'll probably end up being the best movie I see this year. Unbelievable, two thumbs up.

Rode today, 52 miles on the mountain bike: downtown for coffee/breakfast, then over to Bethlehem to ride the Sals trails, then back to Easton and down the Delaware towpath (bad idea, it's completely destroyed) and Rt 611 to the Raubsville Inn, then over to Heath & Margarita's (they live about a mile from the Inn, had also biked over) to see their new dog before riding home. I saw: deer, lots of clueless riders on the towpath (hey at least they're out there, they'll eventually learn to steer), a recumbent tandem, and people I didn't recognize at Sals -- cool, maybe the word's getting out.

Friday was the towpath, Saturday was the gym and also helping out at the P'burg Crit, and today was exhausting. I seized this day and throttled it.