Mr. Happy Friendly

I am Queen.  I am Guru.  I am.

I use a bike riding app to record my mileage and other stats. One fun side effect is that there are various "courses" throughout town that either other riders have designated or the app itself feels should be a course.  If a rider using the app goes along one of these courses, their statistics are automatically tabulated against all of the other riders that have covered that same course.

From what I've gathered, courses are either hills that have an appreciable elevation gain along an appreciable distance, or they are flat straightaways along appreciable distances that allow for getting good and speedy.  Points are earned in various ways - that I'm not even sure of.  But doing courses several times earns points towards "guru", and being the fastest male or female earns the designation of "sprint king/queen" for straight courses or "king/queen of the mountain" for hill courses

In my e-mail today, I learned of my latest achievements from a ride I took yesterday:

I do the whole PrintScreen business because I want it blogly recorded that I am currently Sprint Queen of "Goose Poop Slalom Southbound" and Guru of "Goose Poop Slalom Northbound"!

I don't know the person who set up and named these courses, but I find the names very appropriate.  This  is a straightaway portion of the bike path that travels along a reservoir that is a popular place for goose families to hang out - thus the slalom element.

But really, I'm not interested in bicycle racing, either as a spectator or participant.  I consider myself just another happy commuter.  I think, in general, the bicycle commuters prefer to distance ourselves from the bicycle racers.  Going out of our way to NOT wear spandex and/or clippy shoes so as to not even appear to be "one of them".   

Often the speedy spandexed racers have a general arrogance about them.  I know when I see one coming my way when I'm on the bike path, I make sure to give them space, because those serious racers on their expensive fast bicycles shouldn't have to slow down for a lowly commuter.  *eye rolls*.  Although I know there are exceptions, I confess to usually assuming their guilt.

There is one such super fast and spandexed rider I've come across on several occasions.  

First time I "met" him, he was headed in my direction.  Streamlined, coming in very fast.  I thought, "Whoa, better give this guy room so he doesn't get pissed off for having to break his momentum" and moved far to my right to give him ample space.

But something was a little off.  Yes, he was lean.  Yes he was going very fast.  But as he got closer, I saw...

He only has one leg.  His right leg is totally gone.  His left leg is pumping like a well-oiled machine component, propelling him forward.  

But maybe the bigger surprise is that, when he goes by me in a whoosh, he's got the biggest smile on his face and always gives a hearty greeting.  

"HELLO THERE!!"

And then he's gone.  In a flash.

I have no idea who he is.  Does he race?  Or does he just like to ride fast?  How did he lose his leg?  How does he stay so happy?  He absolutely radiates happiness and friendliness.  

... which makes it a bit of a shame that he goes so darn fast.  

Hooking up with Mama Kat again today

1.) A blog post inspired by the word: surprise

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while the gettin's good

In the parking lot...

"Sh*t, did you bring sunscreen?"

"Oh.  No."

"I always forget to bring the f&%*ing sunscreen"

"*GASP*  Don't forget the water.  Last time, I forgot water and I got halfway up and was like, 'Omigawd!'"

"Yeah, I remember that.  I thought you were going to pass out".

"SHHhhh!  Don't say that!! This is Cheryl's first time!"

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Two years ago and beyond, I thought The Incline was silly.  Then last year, I let the universe talk me into doing it.  Now, this morning, I found myself on it again for the second time in as many weeks.

I posted a pic on facebook after Chaco and Wolfgang and I were there a coupla weeks ago.  One of my friends was all,

"What!?  I thought it was closed!"

And so I was all, "It's closing in August (for repairs after last year's floods), so better get you some now!"

So she was all, "Thank goodness, I can do it this summer!"  (She's a teacher)

Then a few days ago, she put out a call on facebook, "Anyone wanna do the Incline with me Wednesday morning?", and some people were all,

"NO way!"

"Can't get a babysitter"

"Eww, gross (her sister)"

I don't have any tutees scheduled today.  Weather looked good, so I said, "Hey, I'll go".

I'm starting to become one of these Incline fanatics, it seems.  But really, it is going to close in August for repairs and general cleanup, so might as well pack 'em in.

And as always, it was a good time.  We planned to meet at the base at 7 a.m., but she called and said she was running late and showed up closer to 7:30.  So I chatted with a few others waiting for their climbing partners too.

"First time I did this, I had only been in Colorado for two days.  I felt awful, but stopping only made me feel worse..."

"This time, I'm going to make it to the top.  Last time I had to bail out and it's bothered me ever since!"

"Back when I was younger, I could do it in under thirty"

My friend's dad also joined us.  I'd never met him before and he's quite a character, but a pretty fit late 50s.  He kept saying things to the other hikers like, "here let me stick an ice pick in your achilles!" and my friend would have to reign him in while I'd be explaining that I only just met the guy.

She'd warned me she was "slow", but I said I didn't care about speed, just happy to hang out on the Incline with her.  It took us about an hour and 15 minutes of slow and steady.  And it was HOT.

One guy near the top didn't look so good.  He was young, like college aged, really struggling with each step, and I was a bit worried for him.  This is actually a common scene, and those people are usually with someone, as this guy was.

But I was worried that he'd try to be all macho and not want to slow down his friend.  In the end, he gratefully finished and the two of them did the customary selfies at the top.

So, good times.  There are some concerns about the repair work - that it will make the Incline less rugged, yet that's what people like about it.  I share that concern.  I hope to get in at least one more climb before August, maybe a "real" one to see how fast I can do it.

But today, no clocks.

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are you sure that's a good idea?

It was a 50K bike ride.  That thing.  On Sunday.  Magnum found it after my fail.

It was an event to support [THIS] very friendly looking group that provides services and activities for autistic children and their families.  I'd never heard of them.  I never heard of the event.  Had I known, I would've very possibly done the bike ride.  Maybe next year?

I often hear about these worthwhile events after the fact, much like the Doggie Dash the previous weekend.  But although China's come a long way since her shelter days, she's still not that comfortable in a crowd, so maybe no Doggie Dashes for her.  But I know Alice and Bella would both be up for a Pedal Through the Puzzle!

In the meantime, we have our own interventions to be concerned with.  It's Meego.  He's kind of started hanging with a different crowd.  Magnum and I aren't too concerned as we trust he has a good head on his shoulders, but Chaco's big brother engines are revving.

Last night, he drilled Magnum and me.  Did we think it was a good idea to allow Meego to do these activities?  What about peer pressure?  He's at that susceptible age.  And just what are they teaching him?  And how?

See, Meego's gone Biblin' again.  He's volunteering all this week at a VBS down the street.  Recall that he did similar volunteer work last summer, but that was at a different church.  That was at the Methodist church UP the street, not the church DOWN the street.

SOURCE

The church DOWN the street is a relatively large evangelical/born again church.  At least it's not THAT Big BIG evangelical/born again church in our fair city that attracts all the (well deserved?) snarky publicity.  If it were there, I might honestly have some motherly concern.

I won't get into a long, drawn out biography of my own church experiences and opinions.  Suffice to say that, like many others, the hypocrites drove Magnum and me away from church.  Suffice it further to say that the biggest examples of the hypocrisy have been a couple of neighbor families who claimed both the most blatant bullies and the most disrespectful kids I've ever known.  This along with both families' hateful stances against homosexuals.  One family went to that big BIG crazy church, the other, the church down the street.  And there've been other examples along the way.  I do get along fine with the families, one has since moved.  Just let's not talk religion, and don't expect me to be best buddies.

And now Meego is a VBS volunteer down the street and I'm fine with it.  Two of his good friends are at the upper age limit and are attending.  They don't belong to the church, they're just doing five fun days of 3-hour VBS, so Meego and another friend his age from the neighborhood decided to volunteer.  The whole gang will likely do similar at the more-acceptable-to-Chaco church UP the street later this month.

"Of all the things a 14-year-old kid could be getting into, I'm okay with it being VBS volunteering", I told Chaco.

But it's nice to know that Chaco cares.
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Silver Liningness Sunday

I thought that when classes ended for summer, I'd blog more, get back into Illustration Friday, etc.  How's that working for me?  Well, I'm still planning to do the things... I have an idea for this week's illustration, that's something, right?

But it does seem that the weeks have been a-flying by, doesn't it?  Or is it just me?  At least I have these Silver Liningness Sundays to help me stop and reflect!  I took a nice bike ride this morning, then I ate like, two breakfasts.  Now I'm sort of in a post 2-breakfast stupor, but here goes.

First of all, the morning was sort of cool/foggy.  I snapped this pic at an intersection that is usually sunny at that time of morning

It felt good now that temperatures are usually pretty warm.  I welcomed the coolness and the clouds keeping the sun out of my eyes.  (Note to self:  put that headlight on Alice).

Also, like last week, there was evidence of some sort of event going on along the bike path.  I have yet to find out what it was, and I'm quite curious.  I came upon a very large woman wearing a very large fluorescent green t-shirt, setting up an aid station.  By "very large", I don't mean that she was a big girl, like in the UFC, but she was just large.  Over 300 pounds, I'm certain.  

There was another similarly large woman in the parking lot near this aid station.  She was also wearing the very large fluorescent green "volunteer" t-shirt and seemed to be loading supplies for the volunteer station.  On my return trip, both women were still there plus a sign that said "Rest Stop" and a table overflowing with bananas.  

Now I'm really curious, but my feeble detective attempts on google have brought up nothing.  And I'm not disrespecting on large women, not at all.  It's just an atypical scene, hence the snoopiness.

In other curiosity news, I got an e-mail recently from brooksrunning.com  wishing me a happy half-birthday.  How the heck did they know it was my half-birthday?  I hardly even keep track of whole-birthdays.  

But anyways, after they were done reminding me that I'm that much closer to the big 5-0, they offered me free 2-day shipping and a running hat if I spent over $50.  Hmmm... well, I'm a minimalist, but I started thinking...

I've never had racing flats. I just run races in the same shoes I run around for fun in.  There were some racing flats I'd checked out a while ago, but didn't buy.  I went to check them out again, and what do you know if they weren't $30 off to the bargain price of $55?  It was destiny!  (Or good targeted marketing)

I got 'em this week.  I like 'em

loud enough for ya?

I took them for about a 2.5 miles test drive, and I think we'll get along nicely.  Maybe I'll review them further once we've spent some quality time together.   Oh, I like the hat too.

So Happy half-Birthday, or three-sevenths-Birthday, or whatever you're on!  And if anyone knows what the heck was going on on that pathway this morning, text me, k?

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that summer

End of July, 1981.  I was 16 years old - summer between my sophomore and junior years of high school.

It was morning.  Early.  My dad came into my bedroom and woke me up.  Said we needed to get up.  This was weird because (1) my dad never entered my bedroom during all my teen years, and (2) my dad never entered my bedroom during all my teen years.  I think he was kind of afraid of me at that stage - a teenaged girl with who-knows-what going on hormonally at any given time - even though I was his own kid.

He'd said something about how there was no water.  I still didn't know how that equated to us having to get up at butt crack of dawn.  In fact, to this day, I still don't.

The thing what happened was, the water main into town broke, so there was no running water for anyone.  Nowadays, I hear about water mains breaking and people being out of running water for a couple of hours.  In my hometown, in summer of 1981, we went for two weeks.

We'd been made aware of the impending stoppage of water flow.  The break was somewhere upstream from town, so until the main was emptied, we still had running water, which everyone proceeded to hoard.  In our house, we filled our bathtubs and some big garbage cans.  We were not immune to the hoarding.

And then, just like that, the water stopped.

For two weeks.

Several restaurants and other businesses closed.  People ate with plasticware off of paper plates.  I remember feeling hot and sticky all of the time.  Prince Charles and Lady Diana got married while we were having our waterless summer.  My best friend and I watched the glittering ceremony on TV while hot, dirty, grimy, and snacking on canned Chef Boyardee with a spork.

And then there were the water buffaloes.

See, the army came to the rescue, in the form of water buffaloes.  Not the big cow-looking animals, but these things:

Water buffaloes were stationed at various places, and our neighborhood had one at the end of the street.  Each household was allowed a certain  number of gallons per day.   I don't remember the circumstances, but it seems like it was usually me that was sent to fetch the water.  In the beginning.

I'd just walk down the street in my short shorts and flip flops and have the empties filled up by the young, strong, heroic army guardsmen.  Maybe we'd chit chat a bit.  Then I'd lug the water home.

One evening, my mom came with me to help lug the water.  I remember the concerned look on her face as she sized up the young, strong, heroic army guardsmen, then looked to me in my summer outfit as my heart rate probably increased and my pupils probably dilated.

After that, Mom made sure that she or someone else came with me to get the water.  Moms.

Eventually, we townfolk were told to open up our faucets because water would soon flow again, and a sudden spike in pressure could break the pipes.  We opened and waited as nothing flowed from the faucets.

Then one day it happened.

I remember it clearly.  I was bored and went out to pedal around on my bicycle for lack of anything else.  I was slowly rolling around on the street in front of our house when I heard the most eerie sound.  Like a ghost moaning.  Not that I've ever really heard a ghost moaning, but like I imagine a ghost would sound if it were moaning.

I stopped pedaling and looked around, thinking Armageddon had arrived, when lo and behold, water began spewing forth from the lawn sprinklers.  From everyone's lawn sprinklers.  Cool, clear, beautiful, magnificent water.  Came in sputtering at first, but soon flowed like oil from a struck well.  It was like Christmas only way better.

I think of that summer every time I flush.

Not really.
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Hookin' up with Mama Kat today
3.) A memorable summer.

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the continuant

Last day of school for Meego.  Finally!  We went to the 8th grade continuation ceremony last night.

I will say, right at the get go, that I'm not a big fan of these 8th grade continuation ceremonies.  I mean, okay...  Have some sort of commemoration for leaving one school building and moving onto another school building, but other than that, I don't think finishing 8th grade is all that much more ceremonious from finishing say, 7th grade or 9th grade...

The last of these I went to was Chaco's, six years ago.  It was long, overly dramatic, and a bit ridiculous.  I missed Wolfgang's the following year because I was teaching a class that night.  Despite my lack of enthusiasm for these things, missing Wolfgang's 8th grade continuation show will remain a source of everlasting Mom-guilt.

When did he get taller than me??

Anyway, I'm glad to say that Meego's shindig was not as long or dramatic or ridiculous as Chaco's.  Maybe the school got feedback.  Maybe I'm not alone.

It was, however, just as hot as I remember.  With everyone and their grandma crammed into the non-air-conditioned high school gym, furiously fanning themselves.





So today was just the typical last day of school.  Be rowdy, sign yearbooks, etc.  I perused through Meego's yearbook, filled with various messages about how he's "nice" and "fun" and "nerdy" and "smart".  I'm particularly proud of the "nerdy".  *sniff* chip off the old blocks!

I'm leaving in a little bit to go tute.  This student is a high school junior who also celebrated her last school day today.  She's leaving tomorrow for a fun camping trip with friends.  She's nice and smart, and not notably nerdy.  If it were up to me, I'd give her a pass on this session, but I suspect her hard-driving parents want her to complete and not skip this after-the-last-day-of-school-before-going-on-a-fun-camping-trip tute.

I'm sure she'll be totally into it.
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Silver Liningness Sunday

Happy first day of June!  And a lovely day it is.  I went out to go for about an hour-long bike ride this morning, but it was so darn nice, I just kept going.  A weak sense of responsibility made me eventually turn around.  That and hunger

Plus, while I was riding along the path, I saw some chalking indicating a race of sorts.  "Doggie Dash".  I also passed a couple of, what looked like race volunteers setting up water stations.  I figured I should probably get off the path soon or be swarmed by a bunch of pooches-and-their-humans traffic.  After I got home, I looked it up.  Sure enough, the first annual Doggie Dash 5K, proceeds going to All Breed Rescue.

Just goes to show how there's always some charity run going on this time of year.




This was another nice week, the weather has really been good to us.  Got in some Incline adventure on a beautiful morning.  See the summit in the pic?  It's not the summit, but "lovingly" known as the false summit.  Just when you think you're done...


I'm thankful that Chaco's injury wasn't too bad.  He was back able to drive yesterday.





And Meego still has two more days of school!  I almost forget that he's still at the grindstone, but he's managing.  And it's not like he doesn't get in some fun time.

I took this covert photo this morning of this little neighbor kid.  He's just so cute, I can't stand it!  He's the little brother of one of Meego's friends and just sort of pals around with the crew - watching them play basketball or video games.

They better be good role models!  The kids are watching.

Happy June!  This has traditionally been a nasty fire month for us, I've got my fingers crossed for this year! 

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