2014 Tour De Rook – Leg #2

~ Guy Hall

To the stats!

  1. Temperature: 73°FTour_Rook
  2. Wind: calm
  3. Humidity: 74%
  4. Miles: 14.92
  5. Time: 01:03:28
  6. Max Speed: 26.9 mph
  7. Average Speed: 14.1 mph
  8. iPhone: Beethoven’s Symphonies; from #3 3. Scherzo, through #4 and #5, and into #6 – halfway through 2. Andante Molto Mosso.
  9. Temperature: 79°F
  10. Wind: calm
  11. Humidity: 61%

So, yes, I’m insane. Another leg right after the first one. And I can definitely feel the burn in my thighs. But I needed the exercise and I want to build up my stamina. Like yesterday, I hit the 45 minute mark and lost all my energy. Actually, I worked a little harder today than yesterday because I headed south today instead of north. That meant the hills between Rutledge and Finlayson. As I’ve said before, they’re not the bluffs in Hastings along the Mississippi River, but they do still have moments of steep inclines. In fact, considering I hit the hills, I’m lucky I only lost 1 mph off my average speed.

Tour De Rook 2014 – Leg #1

~ Guy Hall

To the stats!

  1. Temperature: 64°FTour_Rook
  2. Wind: S 3 mph
  3. Humidity: 64%
  4. Miles: 16.51
  5. Time: 01:05:41
  6. Max Speed: 20.1 mph
  7. Average Speed: 15.0 mph
  8. iPhone: Beethoven’s Symphonies #1, #2, and into #3 – through 2. Marci Fenebre.
  9. Temperature: 70°F
  10. Wind: S 7 mph
  11. Humidity: 60%

It would seem I left off right where I started with my average speed still at 15 mph! Not bad for the first leg of the 2014 Tour De Rook! Oh, and you’ll notice it now says iPhone, not iPod. It sure was nice to be listening to music and know that if a call came through I could answer it without missing a beat. No calls came in, but still.

So, More About The Bad Day

~ Guy Hall

Yesterday was just not a good day. First, I discovered that someone had managed to get my debit card numbers and purchased a few things. I can consider myself lucky, they only managed one purchase that got through. Their attempt at a hotel room somewhere in Kentucky was too over the top and caused my card to get shut down. And the one that managed to get through is actually still on hold at my credit union, which I plan on calling first thing Monday morning.

Then, after returning from Duluth, I decided, it being such a wonderful day (weather wise) that it was time to start the 2014 Tour De Rook. Well, my previous post described that debacle. At least I had a pleasant walk back to my apartment.

However, all things considered, I did have quite a few positive and surprising experiences. My old Nokia (their first attempt at a smart phone), which never really worked all that well, showed signs of dying. As it was 3 years old, I decided to purchase an iPhone a few days ago. An iPhone 5s with 16 GB of memory. I loaded it with music and popped in the ear buds (which are better than I expected). The ear buds have a volume control and play/pause button that if you hold it down when the music is paused brings up Siri. Instead of having to fumble with the touch screen and keypad, I simply spoke “Call Tina, Mobile” and next thing you know, I’m talking to Tina Rife, my girlfriend.

Actually, I was looking at buying some Blue Tooth ear buds and an arm strap for holding the iPhone when I discovered the stolen debit card numbers. However, I listened to them and decided the sound was awful. Apple actually did a good job on the ear buds! The old ones that came with the iPods I bought in the past sucked. Glad to see they finally improved the quality. The only problem with the buds supplied with the iPhone is the cord is too short. It could use at least another 6 or 8 inches.

Anyway, despite some set backs, i.e., my debit card being cancelled and the flat tire, I did have some good things happen. To be honest, the 2.5 mile walk back was really enjoyable. So to was learning more about the capabilities of the iPhone, which I am seriously glad I bought.

Aborted 2014 Tour De Rook

~ Guy Hall

So, it’s beautiful outside I tell myself. In fact, it’s a perfect day to hit the bike trail. What the hell, huh? So, I get my shorts on and tie my hair back with four binders. I pump up the tires, fill the water bottle, and head north on the trail. I’m listening to Beethoven’s 1st Symphony when I suddenly hear a hiss and feel the rear tire start to ride rough. Yup, flat. And I am 2.5 miles or more down the road.

Bright Blue Skies!

~ Guy Hall

Going out on the road to Duluth. I heard about some out of the way coffee shop from a coworker and I want to see if I can find it!

Update: Well crap! I found the coffee shop, but it’s closed up! Bummer.

What Numerian Said

~ Guy Hall

Some days I am reminded of the magnitude of writing I have yet to achieve.

(The Agonist) Almost always I get lost in the process. There are too many hyperlinks to draw you away, and after moving two or three degrees away from what I was reading, I forget where I had started from altogether. There’s so much news and analysis to absorb, that I rarely remember to bookmark the interesting ones. I should have bookmarked one I came across yesterday; it chronicles climate change activity around the world, with some great maps from NOAA and data from various climate centers at major universities. I do remember it was linked here on The Agonist by raja, and it’s a blog by the anonymous robertscribbler. Did you know Queensland, Australia is now entirely in a state of extreme drought? A high pressure dome has formed over Oklahoma that promises to worsen the 10-year old drought over the Southwest US. Temperatures exceeding 100 degrees F. were experienced this week in Nebraska and Kansas, the earliest such high temperatures have been recorded ever in those states. How are farmers responding to these conditions? They’re continuing to irrigate by drawing water from stressed-out underground aquifers. The winter wheat crop is many parts of the US is nearly 95% destroyed, but so is the wheat crop in Ukraine, which has its own geopolitical stresses to add to its problems. A very serious global shortage of wheat is looming. Siberia is once again battling forest fires, and all of southeast Alaska has been put on alert for forest fires. The monsoons that normally arrive in Singapore and Indonesia are over a month late, and what is normally considered jungle terrain is so parched that it can no longer be called a rainforest.

I am in awe. And frightened at the collective denial of the majority of the United States population.

Reconfiguration Of The Castle

~ Guy Hall

04132014173Okay, I bought a cheap coffee table at Wal-Mart yesterday, put it together this morning, and then fashioned a shoot and boot configuration for the waste. Normally there is a small plastic container that holds the scooped liter, but it would be full in two days. The damn things are expensive as hell. So now I won’t have to switch out new containers every two days. Plus the plastic bags are way, way less expensive.

And yes, I have an electric liter box. With the reconfiguration of the waste container I don’t have any nasty cat smell.

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Saturday’s Plan

~ Guy Hall

What to do, what to do?

Well, actually, I do have a chiropractor appointment at 9:45, so that’s already planned for me. However, after that my day is free and clear. I’m wondering if I should go explore the local back roads. I’ve yet to seriously explore the area west and north between Willow River and Mille Lacs Lake. That problem with that plan is it would aggravate my back, which has been acting up since Monday when I made the mistake of quickly bending down to pick up the jello-fruit cup a coworker dropped.

In fact, just sitting here at the computer is causing all sorts of undue discomfort in my lower back. On top of it, the pinch seems to be causing discomfort in my gut. Never a pleasant experience.

Also, I’ve been remiss in traveling to Duluth to enjoy the ambiance of Beaner’s Central. Actually, that might be the ticket. I also need to hit Pet Smart to get some pet mats for my cats’ food station. Kang, the attention-seeking youngster, likes to move the food and water dishes. So I’m thinking of cutting out a place for them in a think, rugged mat so he can’t move the damn things.

I’m not sure what else I can think of for today, so I’ll sign off for now.