Monday, May 30, 2011

For Benjamin


Do not cry, nor fear for one
Passed beyond this life.
They've left this world and passed beyond
The torment, pain and strife.

They've found themselves caught up again
In Father's loving arms.
He'll keep them close in his embrace
Apart from toil and harm.

It's hard for us, those left behind,
Caught up in woe and grief;
We have work here on this earth
Before we find relief.

Remember those past on before
To heaven's grand mansion;
For when we die, we meet again
A joyous reunion!
-Criss F. Rosenlof 5/30/2011


-PB

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Michelle

LeAnn and I went to visit my sister Michelle's grave today. I brought the sunflowers. I'm not sure who the other flowers are from.



I miss you, sis.



-PB

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Zombie Apocalypse Preparedness From The CDC

This is funny. The CDC, showing that a government agency can actually have a sense of humor, has put out a preparation guide for the "Zombie Apocalypse". Check it out:

If you're    ready for a zombie apocalypse, then you're ready for any emergency.    emergency.cdc.gov


 
Great, huh?

-PB

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Weather Woes

These pictures depict the weather I have been combating on my daily commute by bike. These shots were all taken within a 5 day period.

We've had sun...

Water, and...

Yes, snow. 

Ahh, Utah.

-PB

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Century Report

Today was the Cycle Salt Lake Century ride. It started at the Salt Lake County Fairgrounds, went north along the frontage roads, out to Antelope Island and back for a total of 108miles.

The ride was well supported, and I can't say enough about how good the volunteers were.

This is my brother-in-law Jeff, my nephew Ryan, and me.


About 10 miles into the ride, Jeff and I (along with a large group) got caught by a train. We had to wait about 10 minutes for it to go by. There was a loud round of "clicking" as everyone clipped into their pedals and tried to get moving again. What a pain!


Here is a shot of a few riders at the lunch stop. At this point we were 36.8 miles from the start. 


Once we made it past the HORRIBLE causeway out to the island, we began the climb.  This buffalo was just off the side of the road while we were circling the island.


Here's Jeff and Ryan as we made our way around the island. A lot of fun, but it's tough to climb after 60 miles!


Unfortunately, my camera SD card fried, and the shots LeAnn took of us in the last 10 miles and at the finish were lost. :(

I made the 108 miles in 7 hrs and 3 minutes. Not too bad for a guy that's still 50 lbs overweight and riding a 41 lb mountain bike!

-PB

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Swept Away

I now have photographic evidence that a teenager will sometimes, without being asked, work!  I know, right? Should I call the Guiness Book of World Records?


I'm just kidding you Spence!  I have good kids. I'm really quite lucky!

-PB

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Quite an interesting morning.

First off, I want to thank my friend and co-worker Dan. He happened to have an old 27.2x350mm seat post in his pile o' parts, and gave it to me. That saved me $100, which makes me VERY happy! Plus, it let me get back on the road this morning!
My morning ride to work started out well. The weather was quite mild, and I think I could have lost the long-finger gloves, and maybe even the base layer. I took the 12 mile route to work this morning that runs up Pioneer and straight up 800 South to the hospital.
As I traveled east on 800 South at about 1500 West, I came across a man standing in the middle of the street, covered in blood. I stopped to see if he was ok, and he told me he had been attacked by four men who beat him up and "took everything". He was even bare-foot.
He either had a severe head injury, or was on drugs or alcohol (which would be my guess), because his speech was disjointed and he was unstable on his feet. As I pulled out my cell to call 911, a truck with two young ladies stopped to help. While I was on the phone with the EMS, a police car happened along and I flagged him down. Within just a couple of minutes, there were three police cars there and the siren from the ambulance could be heard coming closer.
The cops took over and let me continue on to work at that point. They took my number if they have any questions, but I really didn't see what happened.
After that, by blood was up with the adrenaline from the incident, and I made great time to the hill on 800 S. at 900 W. by East High. That hill is KILLER!!!  I have ridden it 3 times now, and I have yet to make it all the way up without stopping to rest.  One of these days… One of these days.
Quite an interesting morning.
-PB

Thursday, May 12, 2011

What a Way to Start The Day!

So, I'm on my way to work this morning. Jeff is in the lead, me in the middle, and Dave bringing up the rear. We are crossing 2700 west when I hear "crack" and feel myself falling backwards off of my bike! Thankfully my feet were clipped in, so when I pulled on the handlebars I was able to right myself instead of tumbling backwards into Dave's path!  I pulled over, and this is what I find:


That's right, my seat post broke off! Here's a closer look:


So I send the boys off to catch the train, and I stand up and ride back home. What a pain! I do feel lucky, however. If I hadn't been clipped in, or if I hadn't been able to catch myself, not only would I have hit the street in a most painful way, but Dave would then have ran over me since he was right behind me!

Now I have to try to get that post replaced today so I have a way to get to work tomorrow without having to wake LeAnn up at 4:30 like I did today. (Sorry, Liomsa)

Well, I guess it could have been worse. It could have broken when I was 50 miles from home on the Century ride.

-PB

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

75, 93, 210.15!

What do these numbers mean?

75:  That's how many miles I rode today!  I have the Cycle Salt Lake Century coming up in a week and a half, so I'm upping my mileage. I will try to get another 75 miler in on my next day off, as well as getting in a few shorter (20-30 mile) rides. My goal is to have 300 miles in before I do the Century.

93: That's how many miles I have in so far this week. It's only Tuesday, and I only need 7 miles to make my goal of 100 for the week.  Yeah, I think I can do that. ;)

210.15: That's my total so far this month. I don't think getting in another 90 miles before the Century will be a problem, especially if I get in another 75 miler before the Century.

All in all, it's looking good for me!

-PB

Saturday, May 7, 2011

My Saturday

I needed to change the thermostat in my van. A simple, 10 minute job in an older car, right?!?
Here is the engine before I started (with MAJOR help from my brother-in-law -- as in he did almost all the work, being a mechanic and all)


Here's the gaping hole where Jeff had to remove basically half the blasted engine to get to the thermostat.


I want to find the engineer who designed this, and punch him in the mouth!

-PB
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Friday, May 6, 2011

Kickbike

I ran across this odd looking beast at work today.  It's called a "Kickbike". It appears you stand on the platform with one foot, and propell yourself with the other ala a "razor" type scooter.


Looks like a LOT of work, but hey... it's human-powered transport with two wheels!  Rock on, buddy!

-PB

Thursday, May 5, 2011

103+ Miles

Today is May 5th (Happy birthday, Michelle) I have ridden 103.15 miles. My goal is to complete 300 miles before the century ride on May 21st.

Well on the way!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Longest Ride Yet

Training ride for the Salt Lake Century.  50.52 miles in 3hrs, 50 minutes (not counting the time I took to stop and eat lunch and fix a flat tire).

I actually feel really good!  I'm psyched, and looking forward to doubling that in a couple of weeks!

-PB

Monday, May 2, 2011

Total Miles for April

Well, I finished out the month with a 10.3 mile ride with Jeff and Spencer. It was a nice, easy pedal at about 15MPH avg and little wind.

Spence was riding my old 26" Rockhopper, and it was his longest ride to date. He did a great job keeping up.  It was also his first ride using clipless pedals, and he only managed to fall over once when he forgot his feet were now in bindings.  :-)

Once you ride clipless (which is kind of an oxymoron, because the cleat on the bottom of your shoe is clipped into the binding on the pedal), you never want to go back to platforms or toe clips! It makes a huge difference in how much power your pedal stroke transfers to the drive train. Spence was surprized, but really liked them once he learned to clip in/out.

My total mileage for the month of April 2011 is 320 and change.  I am shooting for 400 this month. It shouldn't be a big deal, when you take into account the Century ride I'm doing on the 21st.

These miles are all building up to the MS 150 in June, where I will be doing 150 miles in two days to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society.  If you haven't already donated, you can do so here, and help out a great cause!  I have to raise at least $250 for the ride, so every dollar donated helps!




Please donate whatever you can to help out the National MS Society.

-Papa Bear