giwiganz

Ludie's Cornbread Dressing

2011-11-13T16:46:00.000-08:00

Ludie’s Cornbread Dressing Bake 1 hour 350°

2 pkgs. of Corn Kits. cooked

(she told me that for years that she made homemade cornbread, but

when she discovered Corn Kits she never used anything else, she said that they are just as good).

4 slices of toasted bread (cut in small cubes)

1 stick celery, chopped

1 onion, chopped (Dad likes the onion sautéed)

6 eggs

1 ½ to 2 cups chicken broth [she just estimated this & usually added more]

1 ½ cup shredded chicken

½ cup butter, melted

2 Tlbs. Sage

1 Tsp poultry seasoning

Salt & Pepper

She told me that she always stewed & deboned a chicken the day before so that she would have the chicken and the broth for the dressing.

She also said that when people arrived they were always hungry, so she had the deboned chicken to make chicken salad for them.

Directions: As told to me by my mother: You can cook the cornbread the day before. 1. Use a big mixing bowl and crumble the cornbread with your hands and add the toasted bread.

2. Add everything else.

It should be a little soupy. It will be moist when cooked.

Put into an oblong baking dish. Bake @ 350° for 1 hour.

Javascript GMT Clock

2011-06-30T09:20:00.000-07:00

/*
** quackquackgmt
**
** This script will display Greenwich Mean Time also known as
** Universal Time Coordinated.
**
**
** Simply refer to this script using:
**
** <script language="JavaScript" src="quackquackgmt.js"></script>
**
**
*/

function quackquackgmt() {

var today=new Date();
var h=today.getUTCHours();
var m=today.getUTCMinutes();
var s=today.getUTCSeconds();
m=checkTime(m); // add a zero in front of numbers<10
s=checkTime(s); // add a zero in front of numbers<10
document.getElementById('id_gmt').innerHTML=h+":"+m+":"+s+" GMT";
setTimeout("quackquackgmt()", SetTimeOutPeriod);
}

function putspan() {
document.write("");
}

function checkTime(i){
if (i<10) i="0" + i;
return i;
}

var SetTimeOutPeriod = 1000;
putspan();
quackquackgmt();

What You Get When Your DC-3 Goes Down

2010-12-10T10:53:00.000-08:00

This is the list for the emergency ration kit for the DC-3. Looks like they weren't expecting to get picked up for a few days.

Rotate Images with PHP

2010-11-05T11:57:00.000-07:00

Here is one way to create a collection of images rotated at one degree intervals.

Savings Rate Higher but Still Has Some Way to Go

2010-09-29T08:24:00.000-07:00

The annual savings rate in the United States in 2009 was almost two percentage points higher than in 2008, climbing to a 17-year high of 5.9 percent. However, this level of savings was more than 20% lower than the 1929 to 2009 average of 7.5 percent, and ranked 52nd during the 80-year period.

An analysis of the moving averages during the period provides evidence that we may have reached a turning point; a moving average crossover occurred for the first time in about 30 years. That is, the 4-year moving average was higher than the 10-year moving average rate. This suggests that the personal savings rate may start trending higher. What remains to be seen is if it will persist as long as did in the 1960s.

Data courtesy of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, National Economic Accounts

WR-3 Receiver - Initial Impressions

2010-09-15T06:41:00.000-07:00

Recently I received a radio built by Stephen McGreevy, N6NKS. The WR-3 is a hand-held VLF receiver designed for especially for listening to naturally-occurring extremely low frequency (ELF) and very low frequency (VLF) radio phenomena, like lightning storm atmospherics. The WR-3 converts 0.2-11 kHz radio frequencies directly to audio signals, which can be monitored and recorded directly from a portable hand-held unit powered with a 9-volt battery. Using this and similar models, Stephen produced five natural VLF radio MP3 Albums, including, "Electric Enigma" and "Aurora Chorus". For an example listen here.

As Steve notes, "Everyone has seen or has at least heard of the hauntingly beautiful Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights but only a select and elite few have experienced their spectacular, compelling and beautiful sound". Steve has for the first time in history, captured and recorded "the sounds of the Aurora Borealis and the EMF discharges of lightning bolts bouncing and stretching through the earth's magnetosphere."

Yesterday afternoon I drove out to a place called Little Mountain on the Natchez Trace Parkway at Jeff Busby Campground in Mississippi, turned off my car, plugged in some iPhone earbuds and then the W3R. Initially the earbuds literally buzzed in my hand after I turned on the receiver; I'm glad I did not have them in my ears, but I had read about this and knew to be careful.

After adequately grounding the radio (or was it just hand capacitance?) the earbuds stopped chattering in my hand and I carefully put them in my ears. First I heard a slight bit of power-line hum and lots of noisy interference, which I attributed to some large machinery a few miles away. The North American Coal Corporation’s Red Hills Mine is just a few miles away, in Ackerman, MS.

I moved the radio to the other side of parking lot at the top of Little Mountain and things settled down nicely. I then could hear some actual sferics, but they were quite distant I'm sure - the weather in the southeast is now very calm so I figured it was from some thunderstorms in the Midwest. I never heard any whistlers or anything quite so dramatic as what McGreevy has recorded, but I did hear insects flying near the antenna. McGreevy notes that, "this effect is caused by electrostatic discharges each time the insect's wings flap".

Later I moved to another location on the Natchez Trace, and tried again. This time there was quite a bit of power line hum; I was sitting in my car with the antenna propped on the plastic side-view mirror enclosure and the radio resting on my left bare leg. After I placed my hand on the side of the car outside the hum disappeared entirely. Ahh...properly grounded, I think. Then faintly I hear what sounds like an alarm clock beep beep beeping just above the noise floor. I'm not sure what it was, but I timed and counted and came up with between 220 and 240 beats/beeps per minute. After about 10 minutes it abruptly stopped. I heard more insects too, and more distant lightning sferics.

I'm looking forward to spending more time with this radio and learning more about natural ELF and VLF emissions. It suits me well, as I enjoy spending time outdoors and in remote places.

Fun with Google Instant

2010-09-08T13:50:00.000-07:00

Google Instant is Google’s newest search engine; just start typing in search terms and Google will display real-time suggestions and even the page results.

For example, typing in, "lollipops are " results in lollipops are illegal in Washington; typing in, "science is " displays Science is real, while religion is the opiate of the masses -
I suppose Karl Marx would be proud, even if perhaps out of context.

As a followup to science and religion (note however I don't give much credence to the warfare hypothesis), I entered some selected topical subjects about politics, and found that:

sarah palin has breast implants, and...

breast implants are gross.

Well that's plain, and droll, enough - how about we start with the president:

Obama will not rest, yet...

the GOP looks west, and...

the West is the best, which is...

the best thing I ever ate.

Actually the best thing I ever ate was mother's home made lasagne, and my grandmother's vanilla ice cream...still, you can have some fun with Google Instant, even if it still has some way to go.

Where's My Hat

2010-09-08T06:34:00.001-07:00

Housekeeping on my laptop...here's a trivial little fragment I wrote a few years ago. I was playing around with a symmetrical rhyme scheme using couplets and never finished it:

I have a funny hat.
I'm not sure where it's at.
Perhaps it on the kitchen table.
But this may be a feeble fable.
Perhaps it's on my own portmanteau.
Or out on loan to my friend, Thoreau,
Who makes a stir with his own chapeau,
Covered in mink and azure sable,
Worn in town or at the stable.
etc....

How to Unfriend Someone on Facebook

2010-08-28T11:14:00.001-07:00

Discussions revolve around the correct use of unfriend (or should it be de-friend), and reasons why one would want to unfriend someone (e.g., 8 Reasons Why), yet the actual process itself is not mentioned much, most likely because processes change, and people assume it to be as simple as the friending (or is it the befriending) process.

Unfriending in Four Easy Steps

It's actually pretty simple, but does require a few mouse clicks. Click on Account (page upper right next to Home...Profile...), and select Edit Friends; this will open a page where on the left side you will see Lists, under which are links to: Friends, Pages, SMS Subscriptions, etc.; click on Friends. You will see all of your friends listed and an X next to their name. Click on the X next to the friend you want removed, and when a confirmation window is displayed, click on Remove. That's all there is to it.

Tropical Depression FIVE (Advisories 1-4)

2010-08-11T10:04:00.000-07:00

This is an animated image of NOAA's Coastal Watches/Warnings and 5-Day Track Forecast Cone for Tropical Depression FIVE. The animation is based on advisories 1 through 4, the most recent of which, Advisory 4, was released at 10AM (Central Time) on Wed August 11, 2010.

Cost of the BP Oil Spill

2010-07-28T13:15:00.000-07:00

The cost to clean up an oil spill is a function of many factors, including economic losses, environmental damage, and legal fees. Many of the costs come from cleanup personnel and the opportunity costs as employees focus on spill-related objectives, rather than their usual duties. Additional costs which might be overlooked include things such as regulatory and permitting changes, and capital investment costs as new equipment is purchased.

As of 22 July, the BP Oil Spill was between 50.7 and 145 million gallons of crude oil, or between 1.21 and 3.45 million barrels. Using the Oil Spill Cost Calculator, which was developed at Texas A&M University by Kartik Gandhi and Vijay Chennoju, I estimated that the cost of cleanup is between $7.6 billion and $43.5 billion. These estimates are based on a simple cost ratio and may not account for many economic and environmental losses, including adverse impacts on tourism, commercial fisheries, recreational and entertainment services, and others.

Sources:
NYT Oil Spill Tracker
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/05/01/us/20100501-oil-spill-tracker.html

Professor Hann's Oil Spill Technology Page
https://ceprofs.civil.tamu.edu/rhann/index1.asp

ESTIMATING CLEANUP COSTS FOR OIL SPILLS
Dagmar Etkin, Oil Spill Intelligence Report, Cutter Information Corp., Arlington, Massachusetts, U.S.
http://www.environmental-research.com/erc_papers/ERC_paper_1.pdf

CCA Ceviche

2010-07-22T11:25:00.000-07:00

1 pound medium shrimp, tails removed & deveined

½ cup fresh orange juice (1 large)

¼ cup fresh lime juice (1 large)

1 serrano chili, diced

½ cup red onion, diced

2 cups watermelon, cubed

1 mango, cubed

3-4 mint leaves, cut into thin strips

2 tlbs. orange zest

1 tlbs. grated ginger

Coarse sea salt

Coarse black pepper

Bring 1 quart pot of salted water to a boil and add shrimp. Turn off the heat & let the shrimp sit in the hot water until cooked thru, 2-3 minutes. This ensures the shrimp will stay tender. Drain the water & place shrimp in a large bowl. Add the citrus juices & diced serrano. Cover and marinate at least 15 minutes.

Pour off most of the juices & add the watermelon, mango, red onion, & mint. Toss lightly. Add the ginger, the orange zest, and top with the salt & pepper immediately before serving. Garnish with a sprig of mint and lime wedge.

Serves 4-6

Source:
CCA Tide magazine July/Aug 2010
Julie Hettiger, Food Stylist & Culinary Consultant
Juliehettiger.com

Top 20 Most Populated Places in Mississippi

2010-06-11T10:32:00.001-07:00

Bulldog Cycling Time Trial Results (June 2010)

2010-06-09T13:43:00.001-07:00

Bulldog Cycling Time Trial Results (May 2010)

2010-05-04T23:57:00.000-07:00

Here are the results from the time trial last May. Domnin's time was incorrect - it should have been 18:11. The route is 7.76 miles (12.49 km). See below for a link to the route.

MapMyRide

Bulldog Cycling Time April Trial Results

2010-04-23T07:42:00.000-07:00

1: Delynn (Boomer) Burkhalter 19:38
2. Adam Xaysuda 20:43
3. Drew Anthony 21:02
4. James Henderson 21:15
5. Gunnar Olsen 21:41
6. Phil Gullett 22:25
7. Jeff Hatten 22:28
8. Mary Hetrick 22.29
9. Crystal Boudreaux 24:30
10. Meg Henderson 24:49
11. Alex Rowe 25:49 (went off course)
12. Michael Lee 27:21 (went off course)
13. Domnin Gelmedin (Did not time... went way off course)

Agriculture in Mississippi

2010-01-19T08:35:00.000-08:00

Mississippi’s agriculture and forestry resources play a substantial role in the economic prosperity of the state. Not only does agriculture and forestry generate sizable revenue through its own value of production, but economic activity
resulting from agriculture and forestry production has far-reaching positive impacts to the economy. Producing and manufacturing agricultural and forest products creates economic activity in other sectors of the economy, and when that activity is considered in its entirety, the economic importance of agriculture and forestry can be fully appreciated.

Extracted from Henderson, J., G. Evans, and S. Spurlock. 2009. The Importance of Agriculture in Mississippi. In: Economy Watch, Vol. 1, Issue 4. Mississippi State University College of Business

Sesame Chipotle Salmon

2009-12-21T06:20:00.000-08:00

Inspired by Jamie Oliver, I've been baking vegetables and fish this way for the past few years. It takes about 5 minutes of prep, is the antithesis of fussy, and the results are always delicious. Huzzah!

Ludie's Pecan Pie

2009-12-01T07:13:00.000-08:00

I think my favorite pie is a pecan pie.

When I was a kid there was pecan pie tree in the backyard and we could simply walk outside on a crisp Fall day and pick pecan pies right up off the ground. Most every place I've lived since then has had a tree in the yard. When I moved to Mississippi I bought a pecan pie tree. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that a house and a yard came with my tree.

It is about 35 feet high and provides a lot shade in the Summer. I have lived next to my tree for about 6 years, but it has not given me one pecan pie. I am nonplussed. There is such potential - they start out green but then the squirrels chew them up, and they spit them out. Across the street there is a funny little church with about seven acres of pecan pie trees. I am exaggerating, but I would bet you two doughnut holes to a dollar beer prize that there is at least an acre (about 0.4 hectares) of pecan pie trees across the street.

Both of my grandmothers made a terrific pecan pie. Sometimes they would pick them right off the ground and serve them with ice cream (and sometimes with beer when we were older). I like pecan pies served as I like my cheesecakes served; even though cheesecakes do not grow on trees I like them both served plain. If they are naturally warm then I like them like that, but I would probably not put one of them in a microwave, or both of them if there were two plates of pie, or cake, or a combination thereof. If you have a pecan pie tree then you probably know what I mean.

Economic Impact Analysis

2009-10-20T09:33:00.001-07:00

Economic impact analysis measures the cumulative effects of how the economy responds to an initial impact, such as a capital-intensive project or a natural disaster. Economic impact analysis is also useful for identifying the contributions of existing economic sectors, such as healthcare or agriculture, to the rest of the economy. Impacts are measured in terms of gross spending, employment and income for a study area, such as an individual county, or a group of counties, or the entire state. Public policy analysts, elected-officials, and regional decision makers often use this information to assess the priority of new projects, to measure the extent of adverse natural and human-induced impacts, and to identify the direction and level of public funding.

King's Inn Tartar Sauce

2009-09-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

I'm not a big fan of tartar sauce. When it comes to seafood, especially fried shrimp, I just prefer a quick squeeze of lemon or lime. A few days ago, my dad sent me this recipe and I started thinking about tartar sauce, which is really just a mixture of mayonnaise with herbs and spices, vegetables, and what-have-you.

This recipe is supposedly from from King's Inn, a restaurant that opened in 1945 on Baffin Bay south of Kingville. It is seriously out of the way, and it's a bit of a South Texas icon now.

Online sources suggest that, "King’s Inn invented [a] really good tartar sauce and Mr. Ware is the only one who knows the recipe." I'm not sure who Mr. Ware is - I guess the owner, and if this is really his recipe, well then the secret is out!

But the recipe is actually pretty vague, which can be a good thing - there is plenty of room for innovation. For example: what kind of salad dressing; what kind of crackers? For a really quality hand-made tartar sauce I'd probably make my own mayo for this too:

King's Inn Tartar Sauce

1-1/2 cups salad dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise
Minced jalepeño, minced to taste.
4 boiled eggs, shredded
Some pimentos
1/4 of 1 stack of crackers, crushed
2 ounces bell pepper, shredded
2 stalks celery, shredded
2 ounces garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Mix all ingredients and chill. Great with fried fish or shrimp. A South Texas favorite.

Boeing 787 and the iPhone 3GS

2009-07-14T23:25:00.000-07:00

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner is a superefficient airplane with new passenger-pleasing features. It will bring the economics of large jet transports to the middle of the market, using 20 percent less fuel than any other airplane of its size. The specs for the lower deck of the 787 suggest a capacity of 4400 cubic feet. The iPhone 3GS has a volume of 5.184 cubic inches and a weight of 4.8 ounces (i.e., 27.778 iPhones/cubic foot), thus it is possible for the 787 to carry as many as 122,000 iPhones. Interestingly, the iPhone is less dense than freshly fallen snow, which weighs in at 10 lbs per cubic foot.

Tour de France - Predictions After the First Rest Day

2009-07-13T14:20:00.000-07:00

General Classification
1st - Alberto Contador
2nd - Lance Armstrong
3rd - Andy Schleck

King of the Mountains
1st - Egoi Martinez
2nd - Franco Pellizotti
3rd - David Moncoutie

Points Classification
1st - Thor Hushovd
2nd - Mark Cavendish
3rd - Oscar Friere

Evacuation Patterns - Hurricane Katrina

2009-07-01T12:06:00.000-07:00

I'm helping colleagues on a project that surveyed residents about their evacuation plans in the face of another large hurricane. Using a combination of PHP and Google Maps, I was able to plot the locations of survey respondents and one of the hypothetical tracks used in the survey. The underlying data is being used to analyze factors that might affect evacuation patterns. One of those factors is a distance-based measure: the distance from landfall, and the distance from the track itself. Preliminary analysis suggests that distance to landfall is a significant factor, yet distance to track is not.

Ten Commandments of the Paceline

2009-06-26T13:54:00.001-07:00

Riding in a group is a lot of fun, and working together any group can ride consistently faster than a single rider on their own simply because it is more efficient. But only if the riders stays together - and that is why it is called a group ride. IT IS NOT A RACE. Riding in a group as if it were a race is NOT SAFE.

Because of the mixed abilities of riders it is not always possible to keep a group together. Yet, it is a simple courtesy to re-group at appropriate points during the ride, and for stronger riders to pull off and drop back to help gapped riders bridge up on long stretches.

There are many rules of the road that will take time for new riders (whether strong or not) to learn, but the following "10 Commandments of the Paceline" are generally agreed as the basics for proper paceline etiquette:

-

TEN COMMANDMENTS OF THE PACELINE:

Thou shalt MAKE NO SUDDEN MOVES, neither by SURGING AHEAD, nor by BRAKING, yea neither left nor right.

Thou shalt LEAD with STEADY TEMPO, neither slowing before nor whilst pulling off, nor ever soft pedaling downhill.

Thou shalt EVER HAVE an ESCAPE route.

Thou shalt WATCH MORE than the wheel in front of thou.

Thou shalt WARN thy FOLLOWERS of UNEXPECTED DANGER.

Thou shalt PULL THROUGH, if second wheel.

Thou shalt NEVER USE AEROBARS.

Thou shalt CONTROL thy EGO.

Thou shalt strive to PULL OFF INTO THE WIND and DRIFT BACK TO THE END of the line.

Thou shalt strive to keep thy followers out of the gutter.

Wonderful Rub for Aches & Pains

2009-06-22T20:45:00.000-07:00

Someone on my father's side of the family wrote this down. It is a recipe for a home remedy for "aches and pains", most likely for rheumatism, since almost any list of home remedies for rheumatism contains alcohol mixed with mint oils, chloroform, etc. I don't know if this works, but whoever wrote this thought it was a "wonderful rub", and so it must have been:

1 pint of rubbing alcohol
4 ounces wintergreen mint oil
30 Bayer aspirin

There's Not Enough iPhones to Circle the Earth

2009-06-19T18:12:00.000-07:00

-
Piper Jaffray's senior analyst Gene Munster thinks it's going to be a good weekend for Apple as companies in 8 countries roll out the iPhone 3G S today. Yet will it be good enough?

Analysts expect half a million units will be sold today. That's a fine mess of finger-sliding real estate (actually about half an acre of touch screen mess-ness), but hardly enough to have any kind of global impact - at least not in a strictly geospatial sense. How many iPhones has Apple sold? How many iPhones would it take to circle the earth? Clearly these are VERY IMPORTANT questions! Well not really...but wouldn't you like to know?

The first iPhones were sold on June 29, 2007, and 3G sales started a year later on July 11, 2008. Today you can buy a 3G S. According to Aayush Arya (macworld.co.uk, 03/24/2009), Apple sold 13.7 million units in 2008, for a total of 17 million iPhones. Using data from Wikipedia by March 30, 2009 Apple had sold 21.17 million iPhones.

The iPhone measures 4.5 inches in height by 2.4 inches in width and by 0.48 inches thick, so 21.17 million iPhones, laid end-to-end would measure about 95 million inches, which works out to be 1503 miles. This figure depicts the range, or how far out from Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California you could go by laying all these iPhones end-to-end. It's a long way, but it won't reach around the world.

The trend for iPhone sales is positive, so using the data I wanted to find out when there would be enough iPhones to reach all the way around the world. With ZunZun, an online curve fitting resource, I was able to fit this data with a second order polynomial with good results (the model estimated that Apple would have sold a total of 2.7 million iPhones by March 30, compared to 2.2 million that were actually sold). Here's what the fitted curve looks like:

Along the X-axis are the number of days since the the iPhone was launched, and the Y-axis represents the total number of iPhones sold. Here are the estimated parameters for the 2nd order polynomial trend line:

With this information you can work out the estimated total number of iPhones sold at any given time. For example, by June 30, 2009 (the 732nd day since the iPhone launched) the model estimates that Apple will have sold a total of 2.76 million units. My guess is the number will be a little higher because of the hype associated with the 3G-S. Even so, consider that the Earth has a circumference of about 24,902 miles. So we're going to need 350,620,160 iPhones laid end-on-end just to get close. That's a lot of iPhones, right?

The model predicts that by the end of 2019 Apple will have sold more than 342 million iPhones, and the big day comes just a few weeks later. On January 16th, 2019, on the day that Ernest Shackleton discovered the magnetic South Pole, Apple will have sold enough iPhones to circumscribe the globe. In the meantime we'll just have to cool our jets, playing flightcontrol and waiting for the next update.

Visualizing with Wordle

2009-06-09T19:43:00.000-07:00

I was playing around with Wordle this evening. "Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes."

What I like about the web site is that one doesn't have to register to add content to the public gallery. Just type in your username when you submit a wordle.

I did five projects right away. The first was Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. This was followd by the abdication speech of King Edward VIII, Richard Nixon's resignation speech, and then two Hello World projects, one for ANSI-C and one in Assembler. By the way, I also created a wordle using the text of this blog post. Nifty, huh?

http://www.wordle.net/gallery?username=GiwiGanz

How many beans are in a pound of coffee

2009-06-01T19:56:00.001-07:00

I'm intent on finding out. What got me interested in this was a recent TWIT podcast that highlighted Wolfram Alpha, which aims to "make all systematic knowledge immediately computable...", yet a search for How many coffee beans are in pound of coffee turned up nothing. So does anyone have any idea? My last "pound" of coffee (they sell 12 oz "pounds" at Starbucks) was pre-ground, so I'm going to have to wait until I have beans before I can start my research. I'm guessing that moisture content is important.

In the meantime...here's some anecdotal evidence from ground coffee to get things started: I measured a coffee scoop (2 TBS) of ground Starbucks Kenya and it weighed 9.5 grams - enough to make two cups of coffee. Now 9.5 grams is 0.335 ounces, and since there are 16 ounces in a pound (yes there are - don't interrupt me, SBUX), then there are 47.761 scoops in one pound. But we're talking Starbucks here...so that would be 35.8 scoops of coffee in a Starbucks "pound" - enough to make almost nine 8-cup pots of coffee.

St. Joseph Peninsula Beach - Winner of 2009 Best Restored Beach

2009-05-22T04:27:00.000-07:00

One of the winners of ASBPA's 2009 Best Restored Beaches is St. Joseph Peninsula Beach. This 7.5 mile beach has also been designated one of the pet friendliest beaches in the nation, and the St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, located on Cape San Blas ranked first in America's Top Beaches 2002.

"The St. Joseph Peninsula Beach Restoration Project is located along the western portion of Gulf County, Fla. Over 250,000 people visit St. Joseph Peninsula each year and provide substantial economic benefits to the local economy. A key component of the project’s success was the support of the local community, who donated time and resources to make this project a reality. The project included beach restoration along 7.5 miles of coastline, including areas with critically eroded beaches. The project’s success is based on excellent sand quality and design, resulting in an enhanced recreational beach, increased storm protection and an extended habitat for marine life."

Top Designer

2009-05-13T07:37:00.000-07:00

Di Anna Borders is one of my favorite designers because of her versatility. Previously a lead designer at a Fortune 500 company, she coordinated pattern and colors for wall coverings in most of the swankest hotels and resorts, from Texas to Dubai. In fact the background for this page is one of her own design. She is now a freelance artist and modern photo-savant and her photography and print work can be viewed at selected art festivals.

And her photography! Well, let's just say that it embraces the serenity of postmodern naturalism viewed from the perspective of a curious outsider looking ever outward: light and shadows - beauty, tempered with nuanced incomprehensibility. Through this vision she abstracts nature into a new contextualization of light and image.

Click here to visit DiAnna Borders Designs

Regional Bike Trails in the Deep South

2009-05-03T11:07:00.000-07:00

Natchez Trace Parkway (20 miles west of Starkville, MS) is prime cycling for weekend metrics, and loaded touring. Amazingly, the entire length of the Parkway is designated as a bicycle tour route, and although there are no bike lanes, it doesn't really matter - most of the time you have the entire roadway to yourself. When there is traffic it's non-commercial only and 50 MPH. Natchez Trace Parkway

Longleaf Trace (196 miles southeast of Starkville, MS) is a 41 mile paved trail, and the longest rails-to-trails project in the South Central US. It runs from Prentiss to the University of Southern Mississippi campus in Hattiesburg. Longleaf Trace

Chief Ladiga (203 miles east of Starkville, MS) is a 33 mile (22 miles continuous paved) trail that extends from the north side of Anniston, Alabama to the Georgia State Line. There are plans to join it to the Silver Comet Trail in Georgia. The Talladega Mountains form a backdrop for any riding in this area. Chief Ladiga

Silver Comet (282 miles east of Starkville, MS) is a 60 mile (40 miles continuous paved) trail that runs from Smyrna, GA to just northwest of Atlanta. Highlights include crossing the Pumpkinvine Creek Trestle, a 750 foot long, 126 foot high bridge, and passing through the 800 foot Brushy Mountain tunnel. Silver Comet Trail

Tammany Trace (312 miles south of Starkville, MS) is a 31 mile paved trail just north of New Orleans. The highlight of the ride is Abita Springs Brew Pub: handcrafted beer and good southeast Louisiana seafood. Tammany Trace

2009 Jeff Busby Time Trial - Spring Edition

2009-03-05T13:34:00.000-08:00

Jeff Busby Time Trial with Di Anna and Joel. Beautiful weather.

Old Trace: 18:50.16
Little Mountain: 42:43.78
Hwy 415: 53:05.59
Little Mountain: 1:05:04.34
Little Mountain: 1:12:25.46

2009 St. Valentines Day Dinner

2009-02-14T14:12:00.000-08:00

2009 Happy New Rear Ride

2009-01-02T13:36:00.000-08:00

2009 Happy New Rear Ride with Mike and Uncle Jimmy. Strong headwinds outbound and functional rest stops. Uncle Jimmy breaks away and turns correctly, leaving Mike and I to complete the longer route. Wonderful tailwinds, then very strong crosswinds for last 9 miles.

2008 Six Gap

2008-09-29T13:41:00.000-07:00

Hogpen is just brutal.

Accumulated time splits from my watch:

Neels Gap: 1:47:45 (17 minute stop)
Jacks Gap: 3:01:51 (8 minute stop)
Unicoi Gap: 3:41:38 (20 minute stop)
Hogpen Gap: 5:27:38 (40 minute stop)
Wolfpen Gap: 6:51:47 (no stop)
Woody Gap: 8:02:46 (11 minute stop)
Finish: 9:01:47

Tour de Georgia 2008

2008-04-27T13:27:00.000-07:00

Joel, James & Meg. Mist and light rain in the morning delayed our 10AM start to 12:30 - leaving Crystal and Mary with no choice but to return to Starkvegas before today's ride. Camp Wahsega-Black Mtn.-Stonepile Gap Rd. At Stonepile Gap Meg fell over on the steep switchback, yelling "ZMPFR" all the while. James and turned back just as Joel arrived. Meg was fine, but the skies opened up and we found little shelter in the wet woods as violent rain shower passed through the mountains. We returned and then rode Wash Rider OAB, and then Wahsega to its paved end at the Ranger training camp.

2008 Tour de Georgia

2008-04-26T13:27:00.000-07:00

James, Meg, Mary, and Crystal arrived last night and I cooked an Italian sausage and penne for plenty of carbo-loading and afterward we watched Brasstown stages I had compiled from the previous three years. Breakfast was granola and yogurt with strawberries - my usual. We had a relaxing depart this morning - caravaning three cars about 10:30 AM to the intersection of 180x129 - but had to park on the other side of the bridge because there were so many people already parked nearby. Meg started out too fast and blew at the first 10% climb to Jacks Gap. Crystal was dizzy but recovered with a gel, and later Meg was fine too. Climbed Brasstown to the wall, then turned aroun and watched the race below the 3km-to-go sign with Crystal and Meg, while everyone else made their way to the parking lot. Cary stopped to chat for a while, and we spent an hour or so with a course marshall, and good weather as the race came by in the afternoon. Fast return and then found out Meg had hitched a ride to the car while we waited.

2008 Tour de Georgia - Ride Report

2008-04-25T13:28:00.000-07:00

Tour de Georgia Stage 5. Left the cabin at 11:AM riding south on Camp Wahsega Rd. Saw a few riders after turning onto Black Mountain Rd., who left us with directions to Stonepile Gap Rd. Climbed the backside of Woody Gap (a first for me and Joel) - a lot of fun. On top, before the race came through it rained and we sheltered with some new friends - Robert of Cummings, and Auden from Atlanta, both racers, and an older guy who offered us cookies, but had none to share:) The return was just as nice with the very long descent down Woodys to Stonepile Gap, and then on to the cabin for roasted salmon and basil pesto and pasta.

Six Gap 2007

2007-09-30T13:25:00.000-07:00

First time to ride Six Gap, and first organized century ride with Escher. Met up with Billy D. at the top of Unicoi, and then rounded out the group with Mike M. on Wolfpen Gap. Perfect weather. The only thing I'd change is to not climb Hogpen (especially), Jacks, and Unicoi two days before Six Gap. Lot of fun. Total Times:

00:00:00 Start
01:41:13 Neels Gap
02:42:03 Jacks Gap
03:21:48 Unicoi Gap
04:06:23 Start of climb to Hogpen
05:03:10 Hogpen Gap (00:56:47 timed)
06:14:32 Start of climb to Wolfpen
06:38:04 Wolfpen Gap (00:23:32 timed)
07:41:11 Woodys Gap
08:39:43 Finish

2007 Birmingham Bicycle Club Century

2007-09-08T13:29:00.000-07:00

Birmingham Bicycle Club Century. Di Anna, Joel and I drove to Alabama Friday evening, ate dinner in Tuscaloosa at the Mellow Mushroom, and stayed at Holiday Inn Express in Calera. Saturday morning we rode the metric century. Highlights: 15 mph headwinds for the first 34 miles; Di Anna surges past 50-rider pelotons to avoid yo-yo-ing pacelines; no rest stop at the metric turnaround; 15 pmh tailwinds for the last 50 kilometers!

Pedernales Falls

2007-08-21T13:25:00.000-07:00

Borders and I were both non-motivated to do much of anything, while at the same time wishing we could do anything! So we drive out to Pedernales Falls SP, one of my all-time fave spots in the LStar state to hang out and watch some liquid nature refold itself into a pleasant swimming hole a few miles downstream. Drove on to the overlook and parked, and then against a wicked bit of southeast wind set off toward Highway 290, some 11 miles distant and over a swarmy succession of 8 to 10% stingers overlaid with dryland cedar and scrub oaks. Borders turns back a tad early leaving me to fend off the leather-clad motorists who are way lost and the ugly gusts on the last hill to 290. Turning around I made half the time and we were happy as two paddlers on a downstream shindig. Truly - these days a chicken leg is a rare dish!

Marie Antoinette

2007-08-20T13:24:00.000-07:00

Feeling crosswise with the tequila Borders and I set out from the cabin about 9 miles down the road from Wimberley and headed north to Dripping Springs. Lovely descent through the hill country across a low water bridge or two and then banged up to Driftwood and then Dripping Springs. Stopped at the cemetery and contemplated the benefits of loops versus out-and-backs. The 14 miles to Wimberley was against a stiff headwind and very hilly with lots of long bits in the 6-8% range. Stopped in Wimberley for water and ice cream! The return via 3237 should have been nice with an excllent 15% climb just outside of town - but then some fluent assholes displayed that friendly Tejas spirit and its all we can do to fend off big truck traffic - yee haw! Lucky for us we can cool off in a swank Hill Country pool drinking cervazas fria and lolligaggin with my way cool niece in the shade of cedars and tall grass - Marie Marie Antoinette!

Helotes Ride Report #1

2007-08-18T13:24:00.000-07:00

Di Anna and I drove from the hotel in San Antonio to Helotes and parked across the road from Floores Country Store. Unpacked the bikes and headed over to Scenic Loop Rd. The ride was great - we had some low water corssings that were a bit high, and plenty of the short hilly stuff in the 8-12% - Di Anna was hungover and turned around into a stiff breeze at the Scenic Loop Cafe. I continued on looking for the airport, and then found myslef in Boerne (there's a fantastic dance hall here) and turned around at I-10. Took the Babcock-Cielo Vista Loop and encountered more incredible hills - just lots of stingers with occasional 15% grades. After the ride we went Floores Country Store and had a burger and a beer!

Ride Report

2007-06-17T13:23:00.000-07:00

Nice group to Sturgis via Silver Ridge: Mike, John, Matt, Mike M., Tanner, Di Anna, Joel, Paul, Mary and Kristin. John returns early via 12. Matt, Tanner and Mike M. stronger into Maben ahead of me and Mike. Joel, Di Anna, et al. return via Self Creek-182. Mike and I join up in Maben with others, then faster to Pheba via Hatcher Rd. Stronger riding return 389. Tanner takes sprint ahead of Matt.

Six Gap 2006

2006-09-24T13:20:00.000-07:00

Rainy in Georgia. Zurich did well. Neals Gap longer than expected, but had beautiful twisty bits toward the end. Borders exceeds own expectations. Fifty miles plenty long enough for all the poor weather.

Di Anna's Birthday Metric

2006-07-09T13:16:00.000-07:00

Sunday Refuge Metric. Mike, Di Anna, Chris (visiting from NC) and Racer Ron. Being DI Anna's birthday we headed to the Noxubee Wildlife Refuge. Ron was amped up, and the pace a bit higher than she liked and we waited up a little before she said go on, and then we were compato at the Visitor's Center, which was closed. We noodled on, while Ron, needing water, searched for oases. Farther up the ride and Mike and Chris turn back to get Ron. Di Anna and I headed on, and she wished me well as I joined the group, returned from the refreshment, to Bevill Hill. Ron and Chris made a good bit of work on the hill, with Ron topping first. I caught up on the backside and we ambled into Betheden. I was more recovered on the return and rolled across the backside of Bevill with more energy, and then let the racers fly past on the downhill section. Mike held up, and then I followed on as he caught Chris, and then a mile later, Ron. After stopping at the rest rooms for water (there is a well valve outside; though I was the only one to immediately notice), Mike motioned us on that we might catch up to Di Anna - but we didn't realize that she had turend back far earlier than we knew, and the catch wuld not happen. A bit of a sideways wind returning Oktok, and then Ron sprinted to the corner nearing town, but his wheel fell in with a gully, and there being only one way to go, he smartly, and quite deftly rolled down the embankment, and up the other side - unscathed! Mike remarked that he was the only one to sprint and yet still didn't win. Nu Grape soda on return, and Di Anna rolls by the shop later and has one too - Happy Birthday!

Witch Dance Metric Century

2005-08-02T12:54:00.000-07:00

This is a classic out-and-back metric on the Natchez Trace. The ride starts at Ballard Creek, a historic area and picnic area about five miles South of Mathiston. This is a good staging area for a group ride as well because there's plenty of parking, though there's limited shade. From Ballard Creek ride North, pass Pigeon Roost, and then over highway 82 and northward along a flattish section of the Trace that turns a little more hilly after topping out at about 10 miles (this point is called Eight Mile Hill in some of the routes).

Along the way, you'll pass Line Creek, from there it's a few miles before you reach County Line No. 2, a convenience store in Mantee right off the Highway 46 exit. Then continue on to Old Trace. After Old Trace it's a 10 mile stretch to Bynum Mounds, an ancient memorial and burial site for the Chickasaw Indians. From here you could turn around for a perfect metric, but Witch Dance is only a mile down the road and has lots of shade, rest rooms, and a great story.

Smith Road Metric

2005-07-22T12:52:00.000-07:00

I call this one the Smith Road Metric because it's a metric century and the second turn-around point is at Smith Road on the Natchez Trace, some five miles south of the Jeff Busby campground. Technically speaking, this is a double out-and-back, which allows for plenty of refueling (one time at your car so bring a cooler), or if the winds are contrary and you're too tired to continue, an easy out after only 36 miles.

Park your car at Pigeon Roost - the historic area about half a mile south of Mathiston, MS on the Natchez Trace. The first out-and-back is north for 18 miles to Old Trace - along the way you'll pass Line Creek, after rolling down the highest point of this stage at the eight mile point (I call it Eight Mile Hill, though this only really applies if you're coming from Pigeon Roost). Next up is Highway 46 and, if you need to refuel, the County Line No. 2 convenience store. I haven't used their restrooms - but they have plenty of cold bottled water. Then just a few miles past this is Old Trace. From there it's time to turn around and head back the way you came. The hardest part is the long uphill section back up Eight Mile Hill - it's not steep so much as just one of those that just keeps on going up - in a low gear it's an easy spin.
The nice part about a double-out-and-back is that you can stop at your car and pick up some more water,a beer, donuts, or even bananas. Then it's southward again, but after three miles the road turns rough and stays that way. Another Old Trace comes up at the 41 mile mark, then five miles later it's Jeff Busby - a very popular place on weekends as it's the only place to get gas that's right on the Trace - there's a good convenience store there, and clean restrooms - but save all that and continue southward to the highest and steepest point of this route, a sneaky 3.3% grade at 46 miles. Then onward just a few more miles to Smith Road - time for a breather, then back around, The return climb doesn't seem as bad. After stopping at Jeff Busby for a refuel you look forward to where the road turns smooth. Officially you'll have completed 100 kilometers before the road stops chattering about on hands and seat, and then you are treated to a very welcome return to the car on what feels like the smoothest and best thing ever.

GTR Out-And-Back

2005-07-21T12:49:00.000-07:00

Here's a good mix of an urban start with rural road riding and notable landmarks to land you at the the air-conditioned, vending-laden (yet free cold water) regional airport terminal a few miles west of Columbus. The route starts at the intersection of Jackson and Garrard, which might make for a nice extension for riders inbound from Pheba on Highway 389. The first few miles are north on Montgomery to Butler Road. Turn right on Butler and enjoy a bit of rural sprawl for several miles, passing over a few creeks, and then a short hill topping out at Stowood. Right on Stowood, more unkempt roads, and soon enough the Highway 82 bypass appears on your right. Continue along to Old West Point Rd and turn left at the church with the steeple. Old West Point Road is much smoother than Stowood, and a bit more hilly as you wind around a VFW post, then short rollers to farmland, where the road straightens out and levels at 16 Section Rd. Turn right at 16 Section and watch for trains. Farmland. Descending gradually to some trees look for Sonny's BBQ on your right, then turn left on Highway 182.

Highway 182 is a two-laner with mostly moderate rolling hills. Soon enough you'll pass the State golf course on your left, and then settle in for a good pace on to cross under Highway 82, then over US-45, but not before passing another BBQ joint on your right. After the community college the road takes on a service-road demeanor, passing through more open farmland, and the big, busy highway on your left. This is probably the flattest section of the route, yet it ascends ever so to 789, where you take a right and continue along a nice section of road to the terminal. Refresh yourself at KGTR. Clean restrooms, cold water fountains, vending machines (with sports drinks), air-conditioning, CNN, and mechanical voices telling you to please watch your belongings.

2005 Tour de Georgia - Stage 5 Ride Report

2005-04-23T13:11:00.000-07:00

Today's stage, culminating at the highest point in Georgia, the peak of Brasstown Bald, is expected to be decisive. We woke to a very brisk morning, with lots of clouds, and windy - 20 steady gusting to 35 mph - it felt cold, but it would get positiviely frigid by mid afternoon on Brastown Bald. The drive to Blairsville was more leisurely on the four-lane from Blue Ridge, then we continued on to the intersection just west of Choestoe and parked with some other cars, all cyclists. From here we rode south down the Gainesville Highway to Vogel State Park and turned up Wolf Pen Gap Road. This is the backside of Wolfpen Gap, and is a tad easier than coming from the other direction as we did yesterday. It's also a lot nicer ride - the scenery is really nice, and the road smooth and with much less traffic than the day before. As before, I arrived at the top of Wolfpen only after being greeted by the boys flying downhill. I talked with a coulpe of other cyclists on top who came from the Suches, then returned the way I came, saying goodbye to a hunter who had just appeared with a shotgun. The ride down was terrific, and I had taken enough time at the top to allow the cabin group to start another ascent, who then double-backed behind and passed me on the return.

At Vogel State Park we discussed our options, one of which was a ride up Hogpen Gap. In the end we decided to make our way to Jack's Gap, at the base of Brasstown Bald. This was a long mostly uphill slog for me (about 8 miles), but the weather was chilly enough to stay motivated. Naturally Rob, Ric, Peter, John and Cary, with plenty of winter conditioning, led the way and soon I was dropped as the terrain became more hilly - the rollers to Brasstown. Ric later reported that Peter led the initial charge with Robert along the flat sections (i.e., tops of hills), and battled with Cary and Ric on the climbs. We all had planty of company. There was a steady flow of cars heading to Brasstown Bald, and lots of cyclists as well. So many that it had the feel of very large organized ride, sans rest stops and refreshments, of course. Nearing Jack's Gap there were even more cars parked on the side of the road, tents, canopies, grills, and the road was painted in places with chalk, aimed at the Tour de Georgia, but plenty encouraging for me; then Rabid Chihuahua appears, "it's not far - you're almost there". I'm the slow one on this trip, but having a fantastic time, especially with encouragement like that. Robert descended back down and met me before I reached the base of Brasstown Bald. He said that he, Peter, Ric and Cary were returning to the car for supplies and what did I need, he asked. "New legs?", I thought. They sailed away on a freshening breeze, and I continued on to Jack's Gap where I met with John. We chatted awhile, resting and watching the craziness of walkers and cyclists, young and old, team cars, shuttles and buses starting for the summit. Police and fire, ambulances, and assorted race organizers with lights and funny, squonky horns.

No one knew what was going on in today's stage - the status of the race. Race radio was reserved for tour organizers and the like, and except for someone calling a friend for updates on the Internet, there would be no way to find out. Yet mobile telephone service was unavailable, along with food, water, and warm shelter. It was cold and windy - heavy, winter clouds. I had on an long-sleeve underlayer that I picked up at the cycle shop in Blue Ridge that morning, my short sleeve jersey, and a wind breaker that had had given up its claim to repelling water. John and I decided to ride a little ways up Brasstown Bald and see if we could find a good vantage to watch the race. I tried to stay with him, but the road was very steep starting out and soon he was far away, around a corner, and vanished. I felt pretty good, and rode on, finally stopping above the 5 km to-go mark. The vantage looked good here, it was mostly protected from the wind, which was blowing madly now and colder. There were also enough large trees off the road to provide a little shelter should it have started raining. No one there, among the thousands of people (somone said there 100,000 on Brasstown) was dressed for the weather - the storm that blew through the previous afternoon brought tempestuous skies, temeratures descending through the day, and gale-force winds. I waited around for about an hour, and then in an effort to generate some heat rode up a few hundred meters, stopped and rested, then a few hundred more meters, and stopped again. About 100 meters above the 4 km sign, and breathless I stopped again, thinking how epic this ride is for me, and how impressive it is for the pros to ride at the level they do. Yesterday I had accomplished Cat.2 and Cat. 3 climbs, but Brasstown is considered Hors Categorie, or "Beyond Category", more difficult than even a Cat. 1, yet I was still far from the top, and planned on going on not much farther, or no farther at all. Half an hour went by, and I was sure John had made it to the top and I was glad for him, because it had to be substantial effort. The crowds along the road applauded whenever a rider came by, or the sun popped out, and then Robert appeared with Peter, then Ric and Cary, carrying backpacks laden with food, more clothes, and walking shoes. Robert went on to find John, and returned a short time later to report there was a more excellent vantage above, just below the 3 km mark. I made my way up to them just above a right-switchback along a steeper section, after several rests, and we stamped our feet with everyone else; shivering, walking, eating - anything to stay warm during the two hour wait on the mountain. It was a cruel sky that opened the clouds to let sunshine drench a valley below us to the northeast, as we watched in the shade of clouds lightly spitting sleet and rain. I walked up past the 3 km mark, and Jiohn appeared riding down. I told him of our location and he joined us.

The first riders to appear on the switchback below us, accompanied by photobikes and team cars, were Tom Danielson (Discovery), and Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner). Not far behind were Landis (Phonak) and Armstrong (Discovery), leading out Christian Vande Velde, the CSC rider who we later learned started the first attacks on the road to Jacks Gap. There were a number of other riders that followed like fast stragglers, then a mixed peloton led by a Gerolsteiner. The last man was the determined Phonak rider, Aur�lien Clerc, who was followed, like Death, by the sweeper van. Danielson made it to the top, which we did not know for certain until reading the updates online at the cabin. Robert and Ric had moved the cars about 4 miles up from where we had originally parked, but Cary had been unsure about it and had left my rented Trailblazer. Cary decided to drive back to the car, but I rode on - it was mostly downhill, and it was good to warm up this way. We cranked up the hot tub later that afternoon and drank some beer, then Cary did some cooking, letting his Italian background kick-in for a pleasant Marinara.

Postscript: The next morning it snowed. The wind howled, and only The Rabid Chihuahua talked about a morning ride, though without much glee. We packed up things at the cabin, and got a late start to Blairsville, this time to watch the start of the last stage of the Tour de Georgia, a flat sprinter's stage. The highway was blocked about a mile before we got to the town, but the detour was along the route, and we parked at the top of a rise off the highway. Once again, for the fourth time in three days, we saw the peloton, this time though they were all together, gathering momentum, and blasting over and away to Dahlonega. Danielson would keep his lead, helped by Armstrong. Gord Fraser, the Canadian rider for Healthnet-Maxis, won the stage.

2005 Tour de Georgia Stage 4

2005-04-22T13:10:00.000-07:00

Ride Report

Prelude: Cary and I left Starkville about 2:PM yesterday for a weekend of riding and watching the 2005 Tour de Georgia with a mostly local continengent from Starkville. Robert, who coordinated our stay in Blue Ridge, and John met us at the cabin with Ric, who had driven in from Michigan. Ric and Robert worked up a hearty pasta dinner, while John uncorked a vast array of vintages, and briefed us on the results of today's time trial in Rome. Robert and Cary said Landis would win the Tour De Georgia, after noting that he had won the time trial and posted more than a minute ahead of Armstrong. My bets were still with Lance, thinking there were plenty of opportunities over the next three days, especially in the mountains. Ric quietly chose Leipheimmer and John threw away anothern cork as Robert cranked up the sauna: fat digs!

Wolfpen and Woody Gap. My first foray into the mountains with a road bike. Around the table this morning we finalized our plans for the day, drinking Jittery Joe's coffee, but not anticipating a very strong cold front that would blow through in the afternoon. The plan was to ride some of the stage 4 route in the morning, then find a good spot to watch the riders come through. Stage 4 was from Dalton to Dahlonega and the start was around 10:AM, about the same time we left the cabin. The riders were expected to be in Suches around 1:PM, go over the Category 3 climb at Woody Gap for the first King of the Mountain points, continue on to Neel's Gap, the backside of Wolfpen Gap, and then return to Woody Gap again before descending down to the finish in Dahlonega. The drive from Blue Ridge to Suches was along a very curvy, hilly road with small ranches, clear-running streams, and vacation homes tucked along the edges. Northern Georgia in a beautiful place, and absolutely excellent for hill climbers and Appalachain Trail hikers.. As we approached Suches, we started seeing lots of cyclists. A mile or so south of town we parked the car, and got ready to ride. Robert, Cary, Ric and John led the way into Suches, then turned to the north where the rolling road hints at what's ahead: the Cat. 2 climb to the top of Wolfpen Gap. There were lots of riders - some going up, some flying down. The trees were mostly leafed out, and the road wound around some farms and streams, the the climbing began. I'd never done anything like this; the road was good, and traffic was minimal and well behaved, and then the grade increased, and increased again before getting steeper yet. I was wondering when the climbing would end, and as my legs protested unamicably, Rabid Chihuahua flew past me down the mountain, and double-backed just as easily. "Just a few more kilometers - you're almost there!", I remember him saying. He matched my painful ascent for a few meters before zipping up into the stratosphere again. A few minutes later I I made it to the top of Wolfpen Gap, and without stopping, where the guys, looking calm and relaxed, had been waiting for who knows how long. There were also other riders, and race officials, policemen and barricades, in preparation for Tour de Georgia, which was due through in an hour or so. One surprise was seeing another rider for John Deere, Brady, who Robert said was on his team. A few minutes later we flew down Wolfpen Gap the way we came and returned to our cars. The guys wanted to get in a few more miles from there, and continued on, while I waited, then rain. Then heavier rain. The guys returned soaked, and we spent 45 minutes or so in our cars as the first bit of weather blew through. We learned later that the weather had "gone from bad to worse out on the course." (Scrymgeour, cyclingnews.com):
The rain is really bad now and riders can hardly see in front of them. All media cars and unneccesary cars have been sent up the road out of the way. There is more lightening now and the wind is really blowing and there is even hail coming down now. Seventy miles into the race now and the break is still away and have a gap of 1'35". Back in the peloton Phonak are still setting a steady pace and there looks to be about 60 riders left in this main group. It won't be long now before the race reaches Woody Gap for the first time. Today though, it won't be the climb that is the worry so much, but the descent which has some nasty turns and will be dangerous in the rain.

There was a race marshal standing outside in the rain, and we thought she had a car and just wanted to stand under trees for protection; she seemed content. Soon enough the first cars of the motorcade drove through, then three riders, with Rubiera (Discovery) in the lead! Behind Rubiera was the young rider for CSC, Andy Schleck, followed by Sven Krauss for Gerolsteiner. About 20-30 seconds later the peloton blew through on their way to Woody Gap. The Discovery team, with Armstrong in third position, was at the front behind a group of Phonak riders who were setting the pace. We continued to watch riders come through for another 10 minutes - the stragglers seemed mostly relaxed, but probably knew they were too far behind at this point of the stage to work too hard, coming through ahead of the sweeper wagon at maybe 20-24 mph.

After the riders went through, the weather seemed more stable, and we decided to ride up to Woody Gap behind the riders, where the riders would yet again come through. The climb to Woody Gap, in comparison to Wolfpen, was much easier, yet required a good sustained effort to make it to the top. This was a festive atmosphere, with lots of race officials, loud music, grills and beer, mobile homes, cyclists everywhere, and plenty of folks who walked up from Suches, most of them lining the road to the top. Even Elvis was there, popping wheelies on his bike, and posing with fans for snapshots. About an hour later the motorcade preceded the breakaway group, and just 20-30 seconds behind was the peolton with Discovery setting the pace. Later the stragglers, looking exhausted, but still maintaining an incredible pace with professional legs, yet the pain shows through in their faces. Afterwards we stuck around to hear race radio piped through a loudspeaker and unofficial results that Team CSC's Brian Vandborg had won the stage. Rubiera had won all five KOMs, while Landis (Phonak) retained the yellow jersey. Danielson (Discovery), who would be tomorrow's star, was 5th in the general classification (GC), one minute behind Landis. We returned to the car very hungry, and drove back to the cabin, cleaned up bikes, tooks showers, and I prepared some chicken and roasted vegetables and we all snacked on cheese, wine, chips and guacamole until Peter arrived.

Merry Fitness & Happy New Rear Ride

2005-01-01T13:13:00.000-08:00

January 1, 2005

McKinney, Texas

What a really great way to start the year - on a bicycle. It was cold at first, and trying to warm up fell into a nice slipstream early on. They didn't seem to mind doing all the pulling and I didn't mind either. Great route from the McKinney Horse Park out around past Cottage Hill Cemetary, where it was really nice to look up and see the winter plains of Texas. Stopped and waited for Mom, Mike, and Jimmy at the rest stop - then we all pretty much went on together from there, though Jimy and Mike kept to theior own pace and that was okay with us slow pokes. On the final hill coming back to the horse park, just as you wonder when it will top out, someone had written some encouraging words, "You're Almost There". After the ride there was black-eyed peas, cabbage and cornbread.

End of the Cycling Season in 2004

2004-12-31T13:02:00.000-08:00

Sure enough - I never thought I'd ride as much this year as I did. A lot of it I'm sure had to do with the fact that there was a 13 mile bypass, free of cars in my back yard...well a mile or so from my front yard. Anyway, 2,676 miles seems like a lot to me and it was a lot of fun - especially meeting all the super bike folks in this local neck-o-the-woods. Hope I can get in half as many miles next year - that would be great.
Discoveries

Pay attention when riding in groups. If someone hits your back wheel you'll probably be okay, but if your front wheel touches the back of someone elses...your mangled

Pay attention when riding alone too: cars, uneven pavement, dogs.

Hydration is amazingly important - you almost can't drink too much.

Estimate calorie burn: Calories = (1000*h)+(100*s)-2000, where average speed of the ride (s = speed in miles per hour) and ride time (h = hours).

For most rides all you need is water.

It's easier to get out of clipless pedals than it is toe clips.

Riding in the rain can be fun - especially if the sun pops out, or you're almost home.

I'd rather eat a small bug than have it hit me in the eye.

The draft? Sign me up - slipstreams are aptly named.

Daylight savings time is alright! I say move up the clocks TWO hours in the Summer.

There are the strong riders, and then there are strong riders, and then there's the Rabid Chihuahua.

NuGrape Soda rinses me mash!

Headwinds and hills are exponentially less fun than tailwinds or flatland

Natchez Trace is a great place to ride.

40 miles out without turning around probably means a long ride is yet to come and it'll be windy and hilly all the way back.

City limit signs - where'd everybody go?

Waco Wild West Century - Ride Report

2004-09-30T12:57:00.000-07:00

What a night, then a day - especially for my good friend Escher. Last night started out easily enough with calm winds and warm temps, but the weather soured not too long after dark as a hard cold-front blew in, bringing winds with gusts to 41 knots and more than 3 inches of rain during the night. Escher & Imelda's new tent from Winnebago did not fare well and was filled with water by morning - they "slept" in the car with Astro, my god-dog, but Escher only logged about an hours-worth of shuteye.

The next morning was cold and rainy and windy. Escher and I jumped in my jeep and drove to Waco. On arrival, with Escher snoring with less enthusiasm about riding, I went out and looked around for the others. There were plenty of people on bikes with a light rain and blustery skies. Encouraging - but how do they know the weather wil improve? I returned to wake Escher and ready the bikes. After about an hour of delays the rain finally sputtered, and the ride officially began with Eleanor (my Mom) & Mike, Jimmy, and Mandy. Yolanda and Leslie stayed behind, cheering us on to what would prove an arduous and frustrating ride for several of our group. Escher, Mandy and I contemplated the 50 or 62, but with unpredictable weather and no foul-weather gear we elected to do 25 with Eleanor & Mike and Jimmy.

After a few slow miles Escher decided to go on and promised to wait at the first rest stop. As we arrived there he was fixing a flat. This would proove to be the first, yet not the only problem of the day for Escher. We rolled on from the first rest stop and within a short time Jimmy and Mandy were a good ways ahead of Eleanor and Mike. Escher and I decided to spend the rest of the ride bouncing back and forth among the two parties. We were sprinting down a little roller and soon caught up with Mandy and Jimmy who were side-by-side chatting along. I transitioned to a spot in front of them and waited for Escher to either pass on by at speed or transition as well. He did neither, but stayed on my wheel, and not expecting me to slow turned his head for a moment. Yet it was less than a moment later that he clipped my rear wheel very roughly from the inside. I knew a wreck was likely and wasn't surprised to hear him go down behind me as I stabilized my bike after a rough blow from behind. Then I heard another crash, and on looking back saw Mandy ride handily over Escher's leg, which was on the ground with Escher. One would think Mandy would have fallen as well after running over such an obstruction, yet she was fine - it was Jimmy who had crashed - a hard pull on the front brakes caused a spill next to Escher. Escher was appropriately brushed up with plenty of road rash and an increasingly sensitive shoulder.

His helmet was fiercely cracked, and he spent the rest of the day with cranial disharmony after his involuntary dismount! Jimmy was in much better shape with only a rough knee and a clipped finger from a place on his bar. Other than some shredded bar wrap the bikes were okay. After Eleanor and Mike arrived we had a good laugh and on we rode - Eleanor keeping up a relatively (and surprisingly) fast pace with Escher as they lead us on through the last 7 miles or so to Waco. Yet Escher would have another flat. It was Mandy, who with a full cabinet of pharmaceuticals and bike repair parts (all miraculously organized in a small tool pouch - how does she do that?), who would come to the rescue with an extra tube, and which Escher punctured in the haze of increasing concussion and shock. Exasperated, he might have considerded SAG had it come along, yet with encouragement and the timely arrival of a Rider Assistant that he was soon underway. The remainder of the ride was fortunately uneventful. The skies had cleared, it was breezy and cool - a perfect day for a ride.

Camping and Riding in Waco, Texas

2004-09-29T12:55:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Waco at the campsite on Wednesday the 29th. Up early Thursday morning to tour the countryside and ride into Waco, about 20 miles from the campground, for lunch and to noodle around. Everything looked good: great weather, bike's in great shape with new bar wrap and Rivendell's beautiful lugged stem, but ehn...where's the pump? Without a frame pump I didn't feel comfortable with the tour and rather drove to town to buy *another* Zefal frame pump. Ate lunch at the Elite Cafe, an 85 year-old historic cafe that has been spruced up nicely on the east side of I20 south of Waco. Tilapia with a light cilantro sauce with polenta and spinach. Then back to camp. Dexter (my Dad) had arrived with my old Trek 1000, and later in the evening so had Escher with his steel Bianchi that he purchased earlier this year. Up lazily the next morning for a ride to Waco with coffee at a downtown morning cafe. Escher and I rode along China Springs Rd, the backside of the airport (KACT), and on to Waco via Lakeshore, and MLK. I have a new appreciation for Waco and the ride was splendid. The return followed the well-marked routes of the Waco Wild West Century, which is tomorrow.

Cyclists Curing Cancer 2004 Century Ride - Clinton, MS (3rd Annual).

2004-09-18T13:06:00.000-07:00

Another very early morning alarm with a packed jeep and on the road by 4:AM. Arrived in Clinton with about 45 minutes to spare and was one of the first to pick up a pre-registration packet. About 100 riders.

All routes were South from Clinton on the southern section of the Natchez Trace. Just for kicks, rode the first 11 miles at a very slow tempo with Joyce over mostly flat roads - the first 6 miles through town and the latter 5 on the Trace. Average 12.2 mph. Picked up a coupla fig bars at that first rest stop and said c-ya to Joyce (who was turning around), then picked up the tempo some, passing the 20 mile rest stop with a steady, yet light, north tailwind. Starting to catch up with the rest of packs, most of the 50 and metric riders returning in packs of six to 10. More hilly in this section.

Passed the 30 mile rest stop, riding a few miles on to the metric turnaround, then made the stop to refuel with some Gatorade, M&Ms, and bananas. Took a breather and made a few phone calls, then waited around for a group to slip in with on the return, but noone came along and I shipped out solo against the wind, which was slowly strengthening. Very short stop at the 20-mile rest stop for a few salty crackers and some cold water to dilute the Gatorade from the 30-mile stop, then on again under more wind, yet more even terrain.

As I was about to pull into the 10-mile stop a group of 6-8 riders was pulling out and I joined them, savoring the slipstream for the first time on this ride. It was a medium paced group and not very organized or consistent. Three riders on the back pulled around the rest and I followed. Over a hill and it was the four of us only now at a reasonably steady 18 mph pace. One of the riders touched my rear tire but didn't crash, yet he was wobbly and unnerved from the experience and dropped off the back. The balance of the ride was with Bruce and Ronnie. Bruce was strong and pulled a few more miles, then Ronnie, who wasn't as strong. I took my place on front but the pace was too much for Ronnie and we slowed down and made introdutions. The rest of the ride was at a slower pace, maybe 16-17. Although my first 11 miles on this ride were averaged at 12.2, the average over the rest of the metric was 17.6 mph, and most of that solo.

31st Annual Birmingham Bicyling Club Century & Double Century

2004-09-11T13:08:00.000-07:00

31st Annual Birmingham Bicyling Club Century & Double Century

Alarm at 3:AM. Dressed, breakfast, and on the road by 4:AM. Drove to Montevello, Alabama via GPS routing, except for a re-route through a wildlife management area. Arrived at the Montevalle High School a bit before 7 and found a shady parking place on the University of Montevello campus. Unloaded the Rambouillet and after picking up registration package sat down in a folding chair and listened to La Bottine Souriant's Quebecois. 8:AM start looped us around town a little and then it easy pedaling for the next 4-5 miles or so, then the first hill: up and down. Missed the 10 mile rest stop as I jumped from group to group, then the memorable section...as Robert says, " a nasty set of rollers". Wasn't as bad as I had made it out to be - mostly, but definitely memorable...each one starting gently enough but having a quarter mile section on each with 7% grades. The 20 mile rest stop marked the end of the rollers - then it was just rolling farm and timberland. I rolled on by the 30 mile rest stop for a few miles, then turned around and enjoyed the refreshments put out by the Alabama Bike Coalition. This was the best stocked rest stop I've ever seen - trail bars, bananas, oranges, nectarines, grapes, pb and jelly sandwiches, potato chips, opwerade, water, etc etc...While the rest stops were excellent, the ride was not well marked and I missed several turns, then had to turn around after a 1/4 to a mile out. The rollers on return were less fun, and especially with noone else in sight (there were only 200-300 people total for the ride) - then I missed another turn, huffing up a steep hil only to realize that the cyclists who were previosuly ahead of me were unlikely to have gone so fast as to have disappeared. Few dogs, fantastic rolling curvy scenery the whole route, and a temperate day in September.

Cycling

2004-01-01T13:01:00.000-08:00

2003 was the first year I started keep a record of my cycling, yet it was only a numerical log - no comments about fascinating stuff like the weather, or fixing flats in the dark, or the buses running over cyclist in College Station. My first groovy bike was something I built up from a now vintage Trek 1000 frame (ca. 2000) that Escher sold me. Between him and a Canadian veterinarian I got up the nerve to do the Waco Wild West Century - and I've returned every year - for me it's the Mecca of organized rides, what with rest stops competing against each other to a degree you can get homeade pastries, and stop at the famous (and fabulous) Mars Bar Candy Factory rest stop on the 50-mile route. That first year and the next a few of us traveled around Texas, riding the hills of East Texas, the flats near Houston, and always looking for an unusual t-shirt to be the prize. It still is. 2003 - 524 miles. 2003 was the year I built up my first bike, a Rambouillet by Rivendell. My first ride on it was a very hot mid-August (8/17/03) metric from College Station to Caldwell - did I say it was hot - man it was hot. 2002 and before - maybe it all adds up to less than that - but the miles - brilliant!