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A life without dreams
is like a garden without flowers.
Everything has its beauty
but not everyone sees it.
→ Confucius
This week I’ve ventured to the Parkway four (4) times. Imagine riding the same stretch of road four days during a week. I did and it was truly wonderful. Why? Because it’s all uphill, the scenery is beautiful, there are no dogs, and you can obtain water (free) at the Look Out camp site. While the BGE rules my heart, and Hawai’i is #2, the Foothills reside in 3rd place. Repeated visits to this stretch of road this week were driven subconsciously by a desire to extend summer. I vowed today to keep her on my weekly ride list over the late Fall and winter months. So it is written – so it shall be done. Ride “oneth.”
So it was written by Confucius,
so it shall be “doneth.”
To see what is right, and not do it,
is want of courage, or of principle.
“Making dinner is really simple, but
we insist on making it complicated.”
Confucius
Somewhere near Clarksville a bunch of cyclists assembled for the Sunrise Century Ride sponsored by even more companies. Seriously, about 300 cyclists showed up well before dawn supported by a sponsor list that looked pretty long too (the list was on the tee shirt).
What about the event?
Let’s cut to the chase. It’s fast, hard and not for those who “think” they can ride with an elite group. Let’s put it this way, the first rider popped off the back at mile 5.
Some 60 riders+ started in the elite field (of the 300 registered riders). By mile 40, the group was a little tighter as it totaled 27. At exactly 2 hours (!) or mile 55, the group was reduced to 23 – many of which were not contributing to the pace line.
Somewhere around mile 67 my legs began to feel heavy and sluggish. The originating “snap” was gone and my body was experiencing the first signs of fatigue. Each pull on the front was growing more painful. I LOL for a moment … thinking this was NOT like a Tuesday night ride (where we cover about 42 miles at an average speed of 23 or 24mph), it was moving much faster. When I looked at the bike computer as we covered smaller rollers, it read 28+mph. Trust me on this, it’s not easy cranking a bike along at 28 mph for 100 miles. Not at all.
At mile 71, after a sharp right turn, we began climbing a small hill and I noticed the wind had picked up – and was in our faces. The wind was just strong enough to create a few gaps in the field within a few hundred meters. First it was a single gap, then two – then three. I got “caught out” in the third gap and the first 12 riders began pulling away. My immediate reaction was, “this sucks … I’m about to ride the last 29 miles with five other guys and we’re not going to break the record.” Keep in mind NO ONE was going to slow down to help a dropped rider rejoin the group.
In the midst of ‘suffering’ I thought back to a race earlier this year in Lancaster, Pennsylvania where we experienced strong head winds and I remembered being caught in the gutter with no protective draft. The word suffering takes on new meaning when you can’t recover from the ‘red zone.’
With that race floating in my head I dug deep and realized “I can do this not matter how much suffering I experience. I can do this.” After a mile or so I was back with the lead group. The hard right turn and head wind reduced the remaining group from 23 to 15. Imagine, a small roller and a head wind had that much impact, but it did.
By mile 80 I was feeling better and got back into rotation and contributed to the paceline. Each time I pulled through my speed would slow to 27mph – then the next rider would push it back 28mph. The last 20 miles were uneventful except for the small town we passed through near Clarksville … where a lot of people were out and they cheered as we rode by. For an instant I felt like we were in a race somewhere and the attacks would begin again soon. Ironically – no attacks – no bursts – no surging. Just smooth tempo (at 28mph) all the way to the end. Really. Crossing the timing, finish line I breathed a sigh of relief.
The elite field covered 100 miles in three hours 44 minutes. If you wonder how fast that is – just try riding a bike at 27mph on flat ground and you’ll understand how fast we were moving.
Event Summary:
100 miles – average speed 26.659mph – average heart rate 153 – touched max three times; my personal time across the line was 3:45:04. HOWEVER, our group was given the 3:44:54 designation. When you look at the video you’ll note that all of the finishers were within a second or two of each other, but the differential was a bit more. I’m pretty certain that has to do with the actual start time of the first rider leaving and not the actual finish. Nonetheless, it was 12 minutes faster than the old record, but most importantly a USA record for the fastest Century. What a nice cap to the 2008 year on the bike.
Surfing the net — looking for quilt ideas (to give to the BGE) I came across a blog worth review. Yes, another blog worthy of inspection. It’s not necessarily the blog that’s worthy, it’s the creativity of a family who resides on Kaui and their collective creative power which is worthy. Even if the quilty-picker-upper isn’t on your docket for the next sewing class, please link over to “Dorky homemade quilts.”
And if you’ve prepared the needle and pattern, sew on.
The latest “make-it-this-month” item is a true Hawaiian-style quilt. The BGE is on it. She’s going to pursue the process and make a KING sized quilt (maybe even like the one pictured herein). Yessur, when you can buy one for X — but make one for Y — then look at the difference Z …. and realize it offsets a future purchase labeled A … you know you’re doing the math correctly.
The math basically says: first, make one and then buy one. With more than one bed in a household, you’re covered (so to speak). Aloha.
The canton of the flag of Hawaii contains the Union Flag of the United Kingdom, prominent over the top quarter closest to the flag mast. The field of the flag is composed of eight horizontal stripes symbolizing the eight major islands (Hawaiʻi, Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Lānaʻi, Maui, Molokaʻi and Niʻihau). A ninth stripe was once included representing the island of Nihoa. The color of the stripes, from the top down, follows the sequence: white, red, blue, white, red, blue, white, red. The colors were standardized in 1843, although other combinations have been seen and are occasionally still used.
The answer is simple yet complex: it’s certainly is void of ALL retail, commercial and man-made tourist shiznet. With so few visitors, it’s a very special ‘treat’ to explore the land. And exploration is highly limited due to the vast number of munitions which are buried on the island.
This island is significant because it has had few residents in its storied history. Heck the maximum reported population dates back to 1831 – and totalled 80! The first photo gives us a view of Kaho’olawe prior to anchoring just off its northern shore. Then the second is looking north to Maui’s south shore.
A visit to Kaho’olawe isn’t for everyone. From my readings about Kaho’olawe, a visit is a field trip of sorts – roughing it and connecting with land itself. A visit there is spiritually connective, creating an opportunity to help “heal” the island.
The average person cannot appreciate Aloah ‘aina, and frankly, I’m working on my own understanding. I do know one thing – I appreciate and value the land around me – near my home at the base of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I have a personal connection to the Great Smoky Mountains with an appreciation of its spiritual power, healing power and connective power – which means I possess a mainland ‘aina of what’s near me. Learning and building my own sense of Aloha ‘aina is important – and thus the reason for visiting Kaho’olawe.
Kah’oolawe (pronounced “ka’ah-oo-la-vay”) is visible from the south shore of Maui. It is a relatively small island measuring in at just 11 miles long and six miles wide. The land is dry and arid; receiving no more than 25 inches of rain annually.
The tale of Kaho’olawe is as intriguing as it is appalling. In the 1830’s King Kamehameha I established a penal colony where men were banished for crimes including promoting the Catholic faith, rebellion, theft, divorce, breaking marriage vows, murder and prostitution. In the late 1840’s King Kamehameha II introduced the “Great Mahele;” the western legal concept of land ownership. Kamehameha II divided the Hawaiian lands among the royalty, and elite. A small portion was reserved for the government. Kaho’olawe was considered government land.
The island was then leased to several ranches. This led to an uncontrollable sheep and goat population; resulting in accelerated erosion and devegitization. The ranches and government spent the next 70 years attempting to eradicate the animals, and revegitate the island. These efforts promptly concluded on December 8, 1941, the day after the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor. On this day, the United States government placed Hawaii under martial law.
During the next 50 years the land of Kaho’olawe suffered a seemingly endless barrage of munitions testing. By the mid 70’s a coalition to save Kaho’olawe was formed, and members of the Protect Kaho’olawe Ohana filed suit requesting that the United States Navy be required to issue an environmental impact report, as well as survey the island to protect all historical sites. In 1981, Kaho’olawe was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This still wasn’t enough for a cease fire. The military was allowed to continue their practices, however this time limited to just a portion of the island. It wasn’t until 1990 that President George Bush issued a memorandum directing the military to cease using Kaho’olawe as a weapons range. Kaho’olawe and its surrounding waters were returned to the state, and the Hawaiian people.
Hello Kitty (ハローキティ Harō Kiti?), full name Kitty White (キティ・ホワイト Kiti Howaito?), is the best-known of many simply drawn fictional characters produced by the Japanese company Sanrio. Hello Kitty can be described as a friendly white kitty with the head larger than her body, small button eyes and nose, but having no mouth.
In 1974, Sanrio Co. Ltd. of Tokyo introduced a Hello Kitty franchise. The first Hello Kitty item was a vinyl coin purse sold in Tokyo, according to Sanrio Inc.’s U.S. marketing director Bill Hensley. In 1976, the franchise was introduced into the United States. Since its beginnings, the Hello Kitty line has developed under licensing arrangements worth more than $1 billion a year in sales. Examples of products depicting the character include dolls, stickers and greeting cards to clothes, accessories, school supplies, dishes and home appliances.
The folks at Tiki Tattoo, Honolulu, Hawaii – well, they got the right stuff. I’ve enclosed some of their artists’ work herein. The best tat in the group is the Hawaiian woman — note the shading and dimension to Richard’s work. This is some of the best tat work I’ve seen. I’ve shown it to most of my friends who’ve been inked – and the reaction is usually, “wow.” Mine as well. Ink on.
The sky is the daily bread of the eyes.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
A large photo image taken along the Foothills Parkway. This shot gives you a view looking Northeast from the Parkway toward Maryville, Tennessee. Beautiful image reflective of a very hot, muggy and windy day. Click to enlarge.
Earlier this week someone asked me about “living in the moment” and what that meant. I responded by saying it’s not something that you think about, it’s something that you experience. It’s active – it’s participative – and it’s all about the moment of now, and now, and now – and so on.
Living in the future is desperate attempt to improve happiness now, and truly is self-defeating. Living the future is more than talking about vacation plans, for example, it’s attempting to “live” the vacation prior to its start. People who live in the future offer up things like – - “now that we have a place to stay on our vacation, it’s more real for me.” BLEH!
Because our minds are full of the “past,” we automatically draw from our mentally database and use the data as an input tool to project assumptive thoughts and feelings into the future without true awareness nor the realization of its impact. For most people, living in the future and dreaming are exactly the same. I’ve heard people use those phrases interchangeably as if the meanings are identical. However, those active, mental directives are vastly different.
Living in the future is a method by which we avoid living in the now. We avoid life’s present moments because we’re much more interested in what’s to come. Rather than enjoy the song on the XM radio station “now,” we’re much more interested in taking a mental leap in our mind’s eye to some future event that feels better. Living in the future is a fast-forward mental leap into an event that is more exciting, glamorous, gilded, mystic or otherwise “better” than what’s happening around us at that exact moment. People who live in the future are afraid that what they have “in the now” is somehow less than acceptable and certainly not what others are doing, living nor enjoying.
Sadly it’s also symptomatic of people who view material things as definitive marks of happiness … as if material possessions are creators of happiness. These are the same folks who suggest that if you don’t like “now” then mentally conjure up “the next best thought” (which means tomorrow’s movie, next week’s lunch date, the vacation next year, etc.). On contrary, that philosophy and mental guidepost serves us better when we’re dealing with life’s troubles for extended periods of time and are seeking a safe haven. During extended periods of mental anxiety, “what’s the next best thought” serves as a timeout for minds and bodies. But, it’s not an excuse to leap into next week. When we do we’ve escaped the “now” and what it might be teaching us. It is not the next best mental technique to actively enjoy life in the moment.
So – how is dreaming and living the future different? Simply this: living in the future is a feeble attempt to improve life ‘in the moment’ – it’s escapism. Dreaming is pondering the “what if” without regard for its actuality. It’s aspirational yet abstract. The net-net: it’s visionary, not “itinerary.”
Dream on.
“It’s not what you look at that
matters, it’s what you see.”
Henry David Thoreau
Seconds do count – and usually those seconds add up at the end of a race year.
In 2007 my PR up the first 3 miles of the Parkway was 15:32 (from the National Park sign to the parking area where it levels off). Not bad – but not great.
About a month ago, I decided to try it again. After an 8 mile warm up I attempted a TT run up the 3 mile segment. My time – 14:40 – and for any rider that would be a nice improvement.
Today I decided to try it again … so after an 8 mile warm up, I got on it – but much harder and more consistent even when the pain was most intense. My time – 14:10 – another nice improvement. In fact, dropping a minute/22 in one year is great. It’s proof that hard work pays off – and even more proof that seconds count when you’re lowering TT times, especially hill climb TT’s.
Great PR – nicely done. Ride on.
Saturday, September 6th was a nice day for the Oak Ridge Velo Classic Road Race. Overcast skies and low temps helped make the road circuit a bit more tame.
Racing in the Masters 30/40+ group, for me anyway, creates lots of angst – primarily because it’s full of Cat 1’s and Cat 2’s. The Oak Ridge RR was no exception. After exiting the neutral zone, we rode along at 24-25mph as means to warm up but also to force organization in the peloton. It’s typical in a Masters start, but important because it indicates who will respond to “tempo pace” and who intends on sitting in the back.
Approaching the first climb the leaders set a quicker tempo — which meant several riders got shelled out the back just a few miles from the word “go.” The pace steadied nearing the second climb, but kicked up again after we exited the feed zone. The change in pace meant several more riders were shelled out the back (a technical term for “dropped”). As we turned onto highway 61, I moved up near the front so I wouldn’t feel the yo-yo effect of pace changes. When we hit the rollers a couple of riders lost connection with the peloton without notice.
Lap two was identical to lap one in almost every attack – with the only difference being the faster tempo up the first climb. When we reached highway 61, I rolled slowly off the front and kept rolling. At the right turn off of 61 I had a :30 gap on the field – and I kept pushing hard. Naturally I thought I could maintain the gap, but had to LOL as soon as I hit the headwind. My speed decreased from 28mph to 22mph … and within two miles I could see the peloton closing on me. I sat up and rejoined the group. It was fun to attempt the break – even if it didn’t work.
Lap three was more of the same. We rode even harder up the first climb – at roughly 18mph and shelled the last remaining passengers. NOTE: I realize that 18mph seems slow, but let me tell you, it’s not very slow at all. It’s enough to push your heart into the red zone – within a few hundred meters. With all dead weight eliminated, the peloton was down to 14 riders. The pace eased up a bit after the feed zone and riders started chatting. No one wanted to ride hard at that point and our average speed decreased from 23 to 22mph within a few miles.
Nearing the last railroad track crossing (there were several that we crossed), I played it safe and stayed three-quarters back. This proved to be a tactical error which cost me several places at the finish. While I was attempting to bridge near the front, the four or five guys driving the train had already reached cruising speed, and the race was over for me. I crossed the line in 10th place overall – 5th place in the 40+ category.
RACE SUMMARY: 68 miles – average heart rate 135 – maxed once – average speed 22mph.
This race capped a good year on the bike. For me racing started all the way back in February. Yes, February. My race-year is ultra-long and some might say pretty tough too. I traveled to Arkansas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Kentucky, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama – and raced in 35 events. Whew.
Results for the year feel “ok” … not stellar but “ok.” Here are the National USCF/USA Cycling final results in the 40+ category – where I’m ranked among 4,284 riders in my age group. While I do not have a top 50 ranker (as I did last year), my overall rankers indicate improvement from 2007 to 2008.
Road Race: 221st (at 5.2% of top)
Time Trial: 115th (at 2.7% of top)
Crit: 600th (at 14% of top)
Stage Race: 352nd (at 4.8% of top)
The Tennessee-only results are as follows for the year (7th place, again):
Rainbow Falls is easily reached via a short drive from Hilo. Defined by the Wailuku River, the western edge of Hilo’s downtown core is almost 20 miles long making it the longest of all rivers in the archipelago. At one time the Wailuku was almost impossible to cross at times of extreme rainfall. Today, three picturesque bridges traverse the river offering easy access to Rainbow Falls Hawaii. The main artery of Hilo is Waianuenue Avenue and it’s this route that leads to the falls, one of the many beautiful natural wonders of Big Island. Pictured herein is a photo from 1960 – along with a photo taken in 2002. Aloha.
Courage is not the absence
of fear, but rather the judgment
that something else is more
important than fear.
Ambrose Redmoon
You can’t discover new oceans unless
you have the courage to leave the shore.
anon
Avoiding danger is no safer in the long
run than outright exposure. Life is either
a daring adventure, or nothing.
Helen Keller
The events of a typical day can often overwhelm us. Especially if those events create havoc with a routine or our “to-do” list. Especially if it occurs at home and work – all in the same day. Laughingly, I scoffed at the inconveniences today … and “issues” which seemed “numerous. All the while I attempted to “stay in the moment” – I attempted to “enjoy the seconds as they ticked.” Again, I scoffed.
The bike trainer broke – first thing – so no early ride. Issues with banner ads were either vertical or horizontal. Folks got pushy, peps weren’t happy, comrades were jittery, external types were loud and confrontive. The AC is now out of coolant. These events – separately – might be enough to derail a day. In combination – whew.
What did these events ‘force’ me to do? Simply this — think positively and remember the good about today.
Thus the BNC and GNC reference.
Media outlets abound. Right? Count the number of cable channels that we don’t watch. Media leverages all the news that’s news to print, broadcast or shout out. Right? Look at the massive number of BNC’s (bad-news channels).
Comparatively speaking, the GNC’s (good-news channels) are few and if I squint, I might see one — maybe — I’m not sure.
Who the hell would buy ads on the GNC? Outside a church looking to recruit new members, what company would buy air time on a GNC? Ok. I can think of a few. But the reality of watching a GNC in my lifetime is not plausible. NO question. Think about it – if a media outlet reported nothing but “good news,” who would watch? Eliminate gore (blood or Mr. Gore), sex, violence, hurricanes, death, shootings, bombings, earthquakes, etc. and what do you have?
What if we focus on nothing but “what went right today?!” Umm, I took time out to remember what went right today.
1. I was able to get out of bed without help – and I worked out for an hour. That felt good
2. My food was fresh and I enjoyed the nourishment.
3. My car started and it carried me to work – on time.
4. The coffee was tasty – and it helped me wake up.
5. The computer worked without a glitch.
6. My intern team worked like pro’s – loading a website in less than (!) 2 hours.
7. The lunch I made (salad) was excellent – and it made my stomach stop rumbling.
8. My team helped produce the needed creative materials for our clients – and it was on time.
9. The bank drafted a cashiers check – at no charge.
10. My car started and ran perfectly.
11. The bike shop switched my wheels and helped me prepare for my race tomorrow – at no charge.
12. The BGE bought dinner, picked up dinner, and hauled herself to my house then back to her own — without a single complaint. She smiled and said, “no problem.”
13. The beer was cold and tasty (the first one anyway – I’ll comment on #2 shortly).
14. My computer is still working – and I’m happy that this blog is allowing me to ‘vent’ and grow as a person.
15. The BGE’s house has working AC (yeah) – and I’m glad my sleep will be chilly and ‘normal.’
Nuf said. The good news outweighed the bad news. In life, that’s the case. Except we don’t have folks who want to report the good news … the things that went ‘right’ today. When you stay in the moment, the good ones outweigh the bad ‘un’s.
I’ll go for now – my list of good things is growing.
Many fine things can be done in a day
if you don’t always make that day tomorrow.
The world we have created is a product
of our thinking; it cannot be changed
without changing our thinking.
~Albert Einstein
The human mind is much like a farmer’s land. The land gives the farmer a choice. He may plant in that land whatever he chooses. The land doesn’t care what is planted. It’s up to the farmer to make the decision. The mind, like the land, will return what you plant, but it doesn’t care what you plant. If the farmer plants two seeds — one a seed of corn, the other nightshade, a deadly poison, waters and takes care of the land, what will happen?
Remember, the land doesn’t care. It will return poison in just as wonderful abundance as it will corn. So up come the two plants — one corn, one poison. The human mind is far more fertile, far more incredible and mysterious than the land, but it works the same way. It doesn’t care what we plant … success … or failure. A concrete, worthwhile goal … or confusion, misunderstanding, fear, anxiety, and so on. But what we plant it must return to us.
The problem is that our mind comes as standard equipment at birth. It’s free. And things that are given to us for nothing, we place little value on. Things that we pay money for, we value.
The paradox is that exactly the reverse is true. Everything that’s really worthwhile in life came to us free — our minds, our souls, our bodies, our hopes, our dreams, our ambitions, our intelligence, our love of family and children and friends and country. All these priceless possessions are free.
But the things that cost us money are actually very cheap and can be replaced at any time. A good man can be completely wiped out and make another fortune. He can do that several times. Even if our home burns down, we can rebuild it. But the things we got for nothing, we can never replace.
Our mind can do any kind of job we assign to it, but generally speaking, we use it for little jobs instead of big ones. So decide now. What is it you want? Plant your goal in your mind. It’s the most important decision you’ll ever make in your entire life.
After all, it’s “labor” day – what better day to work than when it’s “Labor Day.” Clean the house, cut the grass, buy some groceries, fold a dozen baskets of laundry, scrub the driveway, dust, vacuum, and shower – then it’s time to relax. I like the idea of work first – then play. So we worked – then we journeyed to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park to find our “lounging rock” which is hidden along the road from Metcalf Bottoms. Food, drink (water) and napping – along with cold water and some sun made for a great day … laboring.
