May All Your Rides Be Downwind

Cadence: 105 RPM
Speed: 20.9 MPH
Heart Rate: 79% of max
And all I can hear is the whirring of my tires on the asphalt. . . Must mean just one thing-I'm going downwind.

Unfortunately every ride has an uphill grind or a headwind to pound against---such is life.



Week 16 summary: 5 rides, 6Hrs:26Min ride time, 92.8 Miles. I'm into my plateau phase of my training. Don't want to peak too soon.

Decoration Day

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of rememberance for those who have died in our nation's service. At 3 p.m., local time, all Americans should voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of Rememberance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence.

No, Freedom Isn't Free
by CDR Kelly Strong, USCG (Ret)

I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of taps one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That taps had meant "Amen,"
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free.

Pursuit of Excellence

Congratulations to Laurel and Matt and the many other students who received Long Beach Poly High School's highest honor-the Pursuit of Excellence Award.

We are very proud of you!

Long Uphill Road

Climbing "The Wall" at the San Clemente Challenge. Took me 5 min: 14 sec.
Ted Field, who took the picture, blasted up the hill in 3 min: 50 sec.

Just got back from my golf trip in Arizona. Had a great time. 7 golf rounds in 4 days!

Thank you to Mike Wallace for arranging the trip and your generous donation to the Arthritis Foundation.

No Ride Today, Just Golf

36 Holes yesterday, 36 Holes today. These guys are professionals, just not professional golfers.
Top: Robert McCoy, Mike Wallace, Ken Yamashiro at Sunridge Canyon
Bottom: John Anderson, Steve Schmidt, Kurt Finberg at Gold Canyon

Thank you to Lorraine Lee who recently helped with my cause to the Arthritis Foundation.

36 Holes at Gold Canyon

Played 36 holes at Gold Canyon today. Great course up against the Superstition Mountains. Those are real live deer in the background. Do I have the deer-in-the-headlights look?
Bring out the brooms, the Dodgers swep the Angels this weekend.

San Clemente to Arizona

Did the San Clemente Challenge this morning with Ted Field. I appreciated his patience and company on the 40 mile ride which I did in 2hrs:50 min. Picture is of the 10% grade over half a mile. Graphic above represents the profile of the ride. Glad I survived. Ted didn't have enough and did the climb twice.

After the ride I drove 6 hours to Arizona for our annual golf trip. Can't wait to tee it up tomorrow.

Donna, thanks for the cookies and brownies. I'm sure we'll enjoy them!

Armed Forces Day-Saturday May 20th

Try never to forget, it is your Armed Forces, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press.
It is your Armed Forces, not the poet who has given us the freedom of speech.
It is your Armed Forces, not the protesters and demonstrators that gave us the freedoms to protest and demonstrate.
It is your Armed Forces, not the politicians that ensures our right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
It is your Armed Forces who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the radicals to burn the flag.
If you care to offer the smallest token of recognition and appreciation for your Military Force, pray for our men and women who have served and are currently serving our country and pray for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for freedom.

More Thank-Yous

Thank you to Lou Gatto-my accountant and friend for over 20 years. He is a national expert on Veterinary Practice Management. Check out his website link on the sidebar.

GattoMcFerson

Thank you also to Mona Valente for your donation to the Arthritis Foundation

Ride Home From Work

Rode home from work again. A 6 mile ride on La Palma to the Coyote Creek bike trail which merges with the San Gabriel River trail and all the way to Long Beach. Into the wind all 17.5 miles.