Today's Workout 7/3/09

X70, W

BIKE: 30 minutes, 7+ miles, Lemond easy spin, high cadence.

RUN: 75 minutes, 7+ miles, 3rd to 6th road run, with Kim.

Great sunny day, cool like 44 degrees on the run, short sleeves all the way. Good run.

Lots to do today. Bend shopping and readying for Judy and Paul to arrive.

Another great day!

TOMORROW: Independence Day activities and Day 1: Tour De France!

LA PINE, OREGON

Arrived at 1320 hours, 7 hours, 50 minutes. Good times, good trip!

Today's Workout

X70

BIKE: 20 minutes, 6+ miles, stationary, easy/hard, short spin .

RUN: 44:27 5 miles treadmill run. Hard pace, average 8:54 pace.

NOTE:

On the road this AM at Approx. 0530 heading for training camp at the Cabinand Frontier Days! Be great and be safe, will post in later for Cabin updates and Le Tour/Lance updates beginning on Saturday!

Every Now & Then

Every now and then I get to the point where I have to vent. I try to stay mostly away from the political world on this blog, and that's the way I like it. This being the First of July and the month where we celebrate our nations Indpendence, I feel so inclined to take advantage of speaking my opinion and so it goes.

A lot of the far right conservatives within the Republican party hide behind their so called moral standards and values. The simple truth is that they are beholden to their special interests in the world of business and profit. "Greed in America is Good", so said the Michael Douglas character in the 80's movie, Wall Street. Greed is not good, I say. Right here and right now in 2009.

More and more often we see the twisting of facts and outright lies being used by politicians on the far right in order to bring fear into the minds of the people. The spin is used because the truth will not serve their dishonest intent. Giving the business special interest what they want at any cost so that the campaign dollars continue to roll in, so that these false prophet politicians can remain in power.The only goal for many of these far right conservative Republicans who hold elected office? Keep their office.

The motivation to keep power and gain more power in politics is insatiable. This want for power exists within both of the major political parties. Are Democrats any more honest? Probably not, for the spin and lying liars are out there to promote their continued place of power.

What we get down to is what is mostly true, given that we are being deceived, how can we read between the lines and make a best guess at what is really going on? If you care, you have to read newspapers, Internet articles, blogs, books and magazines. You have to talk to people and watch people for how they react to questions and debate from the talking heads on TV. You have to learn about the people who broadcast the daily spin shows, you have to make determinations and try to be aware of current events.

No longer can one trust the nightly news anchor or the political analyst for pure truth and information, the spin is everywhere and you need to know who is spinning who. Know yourself and try to help others.

I sure hope we can solve some of these big problems we face as a nation. We have a pretty damned good leader in President Obama. No one person can be all things to all people, he is a great communicator and a mover of ideas to action. The Liars and Spinners will try to derail all the good he is trying to bring forth. Watch carefully, ask questions and never assume the opinion from the talking heads is fact. It's a tough task if you dare to make the effort, perhaps in the long run, your effort will be rewarded with some truth, and maybe just maybe we can rid some of the worst liars and spinners from their offices of power. Just a little honesty and truth in our goverment and those we elect, then some straightforward reporting and fact analysis without the endless spin, is that wanting too much? Perhaps so. Then do your homework and get to know all you can, so that you can rise above the liars and spinners. The lesser of two evils is too often times as good as it gets in the world of politics and government. Peace.

Bike Maintenance & Le Tour

The road bike went to Performance Bike yesterday. It's in the shop. While I am up at training camp and Le Tour De France begins, Mike's Bike will be undergoing some maintenance and repair. The main issue is the rear wheel. On my long ride Sunday, a nagging problem nagged once again. I seemed to be working hard but making little speed. At the halfway and turn around point, I checked to find the rear brake pad dragging on the rear rim. This rim has been beaten up pretty good over the years. I have had new spokes put in and the wheel trued up a few times as the wheel has proved its ability to come out of round. Perhaps jumping railroad tracks and jamming and slamming over the various bumps and potholes is to blame.
The bike mechanic and I had a good conversation about options and the way to go, it seems is to rebuild the wheel while maintaining the Campagnolo hub. The bike will be ready to roll out upon my return from training camp at The Cabin.

Meanwhile The Tour, begins on Saturday! The 4th of July! Fun Run to do, Parade, Fair, BBQ, Music, Fireworks...its gonna be a busy day, filled with "Fun, Fun, Fun"!
(#5 Billboard, 1965- The Beach Boys) ...had to get that in.

Tour De France general info, regarding Lance, in the main, will be posted here, on a regular basis. Stay tuned and yes BE GREAT!

Today's Workout July 1, 2009

1956 Chevy Pickup

I was the proud owner of a truck, much like this one about 33 years ago, it was a classic then and it's a classic now. Mine was green, aka "The Green Machine". Drove it my junior and senior years in high school. It had a 283 V-8, and a bunch of custom details. Gas was about 50 or 60 cents a gallon, between gas and repairs, working after school, it was all I could do to keep it on the road. Most of my friends had souped up cars or trucks in those days. This old truck of mine wasn't fast but it was friendly to me and remains a strong part of the good memories I have from those days back in 1976 and 1977.

Todays Workout

X70, W

RUN: 55 minutes, 5 miles, industrial road run, great legs today, felt strong!

BIKE: 32 minutes, 10 miles, stationary, medium effort on the spin.

June Totals

WORKOUT TOTALS JUNE 2009

SWIM: 9 125 minutes 2.57 miles/5000 yards
BIKE : 30 1484 minutes 404 miles
RUN : 34 1794 minutes 165 miles
TOTAL 73 3403 minutes 571.57 miles

SUMMARY: Good stuff, low on swim time only. Dinosaurs have to pace themselves, as we are at high risk for extinction. Highest number of run miles for the year. All going well. Most proud
of the consistency, daily running and cycling.