| (Long Distance) Ramblings |
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I like to ride my bicycle - for long distances. I have earned the California Triple Crown and finished the Furnace Creek 508. My goals include qualifying for RAAM and ...(read the blog to find out). "The bicycle has a soul. If you are able to love it as it deserves, it will give you emotions you will never forget." "Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride."
"The important decisions in my life I make while out riding my bike."
"Pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever.” Lance Armstrong
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Thursday, December 29, 2005
New Bike Leads to More Riding!Yes it is true. I had Tuesday off, and the weather was drippy. There were showers in the morning, so I worked on my web site (I'm designing an online bike log using MySQL and PHP). But, by midday, my mind was jelly. It was time for a ride. Looking out the window, I was that the showers had stopped so I took the Redline out for a ride. And, just for fun, I headed for the West Salem hills. I rode Gibson and the back side of Orchard Heights twice for a total of 38 miles and 4000 feet of elevation gain. Trust me, a 1 mile to 100 feet of elevation gain ratio is one fun ride! DogsI do not like dogs. I never owned dogs as a boy and then I was a paperboy. Enough said. So, I had just turned around at the near the intersection of Oak Grove Rd and Farmer Rd and was heading back uphill toward Orchard Heights. On my right, a large green field ran up a hill to a home over 150 yards away. I saw three dogs were running down toward me barking. The owner was running after them attempting to call them back. I checked the edge of the field and notice that there was no fence. Sigh. Two of the dogs, perhaps the elder of the three, stopped and returned to the running woman but the third kept coming toward me, ignoring it's owner. I adding my voice to the yelling. "Go home! Go home!" I shouted. It stopped at the edge of the filed but continued to bark. I experience a moment in time where you know you have lost control of your environment. Will the dog come onto the road and attack me, or will I get out of here alive? Then, the dog must have heard it's owner as it turned to look at the shouting, running woman who was still very far away. The dog stopped barking and started wandering around, no longer harassing me, but not obeying it's owner either. I continued up the hill until I was pass the field. I survived another dog encoutner. Wednesday NightI worked out with Martin and then went for an easy ride with my wife. Martin has been in California for the holidays so we had good "makeup" workout. In other words, we worked hard. After the workout, I rushed home and got into my cycling gear and Joanne and I rode 20 miles north of Salem. We took it easy and my average heart rate was just 99 bpm. But, my legs were reminding me of the 500 lb leg presses I had done earlier in the evening.
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