Monthly Archives: April 2013

To me, Satan ultimately represents rebellion.
Marilyn Manson

Back in the late eighties I was a cycling fool.  When I tell the wife that she says I’m half right.

The summer of ’89 was hot.  I used to ride south of Elyria into Amish country.  I would take two water bottles and usually after an hour or so I’d run out of water.   First time that happened I was passing a farm with a pump in front of the house.  There was an old man sitting on the porch.  I rolled up and asked if it would be okay if I filled my water bottles at the pump. He told me to take as much as I wanted and after I filled them he invited me to sit on the porch for a bit.

The water was cold coming from the well and I put the one bottle back on the bike and carried the other up to the porch and sat down. The man and I hit it off immediately.  He told me about his life and family.  As he talked I took a swig of the water and my eyes bulged out.  The water was heavy in sulfur and hit me like a rock to the side of my face. I had to get back to my ride so I bid farewell and headed off.

I drank that nasty sulfur water and it was brutal.  It affected me in many ways and I can guarantee that no one drafted me after that.

Every time I rode south I would stop at his farm, load up on the sulfur water and have a nice visit.  One time he pulled out an old guitar and played a beautiful spiritual.  I took my turn with the guitar and played an old Mississippi John Hurt song.

This went on all summer long and as Autumn came in I rode up to his house and we talked and told him I probably wouldn’t be on the bike until Spring.  He said he enjoyed my visits but had a question.  Why did I drink that nasty water from the well all summer?  He said that he had city water and that no one drank from the well because it was so nasty.  He said his grandson drank from it once and called it Satan’s Well.

I went back a few months later and the farm was up for sale.  The old man had died right after Christmas.  I’m lucky that I got to know him and it was worth it, even if I had to drink from Satan’s Well.

The truth is you don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow. Life is a crazy ride, and nothing is guaranteed.
Eminem

Playing in four tournaments in a row this weekend.  I’ve cashed in three and I’ll be leaving for the fourth in an hour.  Yeah I know, this is a weight loss and cycling blog but it’s also about my life.

Due to the craziness that is my life I was barely able to get on the bike yesterday even though it was a beautiful day.  I hopped on for a short ride and immediately I could tell that my legs were coming back.  Plus I’m relaxing.  As I rode that short bit i saw some vultures, some wild turkeys and a fox.  It’s nice to live in the country.

It’s supposed to be in the seventies starting tomorrow so I’ll definitely be on the bike.  Now it’s time to get the miles in and take some pictures.

Everything…affects everything
Jay Asher

Life is funny.  You make plans in a vacuum and then everything gets in the way.

I’ve been playing poker and I’m butter, on a roll.  I’ve won or cashed in four of the last five tournaments I’ve played in.  Last night I was in a tournament and while playing got a message that my niece’s ex-boyfriend, now her best friend committed suicide.  Depression is a horrible disease.  I stayed and cashed in the tournament, nothing I could have done.  Today is another matter.  I will spend time with her and hope to console.

I went to Century Cycles yesterday and picked up a book called Pedaling to Lunch by Stan Purdum.  It is a collection of rides around the area along with history of the places and where to eat lunch.  I will be doing many of the rides and will preface them with PTL Ride #7 or such.  It will be fun.

To be idle is a short road to death and to be diligent is a way of life; foolish people are idle, wise people are diligent.
Buddha

I had a friend ask me what this blog and especially what I’m doing at this point in my life.  At first I wanted to say that I wanted to lose weight and get in shape but after a few seconds I thought about where I’m at and revised that.

Year and a half back I retired from a job that I had done for thirty-seven years.  The stress of that and my brother dying at the time was incalculable.  Six months later he died.  I did what I could.  Shortly after my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer.  Over the past year I’ve watched the person that I’ve admired more than anything fade, ever so slowly.

Back in 1997 my older sister developed a brain tumor and a year later died.  The very next  year my older brother developed colon cancer, the same cancer that has killed numerous people in the family.  He died of a heart attack during treatment.  All three of my siblings died at the age of 48.

I see this weight loss, this cycling, this effort of mine as a coping mechanism.  I see it as a way of taking back some kind of control.  As I age I realize how little control we have over our lives.  I’ll do what I can.

A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.
Lao Tzu

The plan was to get up this morning and go for a ride.  Unfortunately my father-in-law needed his garden dug out and the dirt carted out.  I got a load into the wagon and the wagon had a flat so I needed to empty the cart, fix the flat and then reload.  Then dump the dirt, come back, reload the cart, dump the dirt and so on.  Then I mowed his and my lawn and then weed whacked.  Finally I was free to get on the bike.

It was a beautiful day.  I headed southeast from my house just trying to slowly up my miles.  I need to get miles on my legs.  Spring is finally popping out all around me and it was pure joy to ride.  My legs are starting to come back.

Practice puts brains in your muscles.
Sam Snead

Spent most of the day with my mom but the weather was so nice I had to get on the bike, even if it was for a short ride.  Half way in my legs kicked in.  They will come back.  Supposed to be nice tomorrow

Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.
Walter Elliot

I mentioned the other day that I was cleaning out the garage and found some old jerseys and some bib shorts.  What I didn’t mention was that I found a patch from an organized ride that I did in 1990.  It was from the River Rendezvous Tour from Zanesville to Marietta.  I remember the ride well.  I think I did it on my old Schwinn Traveler and it was sixty-five miles each way.  We rode there, slept in dorms and rode back the next day.

The cycling itself was wonderful.  Lots of rolling hills and beautiful scenery.  I just went to their website and they are still doing it.  You can check it out here.

A little learning is a dangerous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.
Alexander Pope

The rain and wind persisted most of the day yesterday.  In the evening I played in a poker in a small tournament and as I left it began to snow.  Give me a break!

I’m so disgusted I think I’ll go do some bike maintenance.

If we can clean up our world, I’ll bet you we can achieve warp drive.
William Shatner 

It’s raining again with high winds.

The plan is to take my mom to the doctor’s.  After that I’m going to try and get on the bike.  In the meantime I’m cleaning up the blog.  I have a blogroll on the side of the site and it’s time to prune.  For Example;. 100 Pounds hasn’t updated his site since January.  He’s gone.  I’ll be going through each of my links and see if they are still active.