should I become selfish...

I'm sure folks are tard of hearing about my knee.  I know Im tard of writing about it. But I had another setback yesterday.  But that's not the point of this entry.  Let me just start from the beginning.  I have had knee trouble for years.  I twisted my right knee severely about 10 yeas ago (torn meniscus)  and ended up having it scoped.  I had to give up running and even long hikes were a problem but I could still manage if I didn't overdo it. I finally discovered biking at age 44 and could get in a good workout without too much stress on my knee.  However, pulling the mountain would sometimes make it sore for a few days. Anyways, last fall a friend borrowed my kayak.  He was actually doing it as a favor for a friend of his who did not have a good fishing kayak.  Then a day later my sister-in-law calls wanting to go kayaking.  She has bought a kayak for her granddaughter but needs more so the whole family can go.  I have 3 kayaks and a canoe so I was more than happy to oblige.  I call up my buddy and tell him I'm coming to git my kayak. It is still in his pickup so I just back up near it and commence to taking it off his truck and loading it onto mine.  I somehow wreck my left knee.  I can barely walk.  I go around to where he is grilling and tell him bye.  By the time I get all the kayaks and canoes loaded onto 2 pickups I am in severe pain but go on down to the lake and go kayaking with everyone.

After a few weeks of hobbling around I go to a doctor and he says it is a torn meniscus.  I have the surgery and go through rehab.  Come spring I am progressing nicely, I can walk to the holler and ride my bike if I take it easy.  Then my dad had some wind damage to his shed.  He decided to put a new tin roof on it and ask me if I am well enough to help. I am pretty sure I am so we work on it for 2 days.  It was real sore after the first day but I figured it was just because I had not done an honest days work in a long time. After the second day it is giving me fits.  I rest it a couple of weeks and it seems better so decide to walk to the holler.   Big mistake. rest it again and then ride my bike up to Grant one day.  That was not too bad so a few weeks later I take another walk to the holler.  Knee felt great  but I am wiped out so after resting a few hours I decide to go again because I'm anxious to git back into shape. That was not the smartest move I ever made.  I hobbled around a few weeks trying to get it well enough for the upcoming recumbent rally I had been wanting to attend ever since missing last years due to a graduation I had to attend.  I managed to go to the rally and did the 11 mile ride around Cades Cove and did not hurt the knee.

 A week later we are having a Memorial Day celebration over a my aunts.  I decide to wear my knee brace.  I am good and sit out the volleyball game.  Then I play a game of around the world but it is not much fun (in other words, I stink up the joint).  I did not realize your shot depended on your legs so much but I did not hurt my knee just shooting.  I sat out the game of gotcha and 21 because they involve a lot of moving around.   After that they played toss the water balloon.  I'm sitting in the shade watching when my aunt decides she is tard and ask me to take her place.  It is an innocent looking game so I decide it will be OK.  Only I forgot about my knee for half a second and bent and reached for one balloon toss that was low and out in front of me.  I heard and felt a popping sound in my knee.  I was immediately back liming again. After a painful and restless night last night I got up in a fowl mood this morning. I probably took it out on the wife but at least I wasn't stomping around...It's hard to stomp around on a bad leg.  But regardless, I owe her an apology.

 So my dilemma, since I seem to hurt my leg while trying to be a good friend, son, nephew etc, should I just become selfish.  Of course I have to weigh this against the fact that my friend has helped me do so many things.  Work on my bike, helped me with an electrical problem in the house.  My dad tilled and hoed my garden last year while I was healing from a broken collar bone.  Both my brother-in-laws mowed my grass while I was unable too.  I guess I'm just very frustrated right now. I know I should just be thankful I can still walk, I know many folks would gladly trade their problems for mine.Im going to rest the knee a few days and re evaluate my situation.  My wife says I should just get a knee replacement.  I'm leary of any more surgery.  I know a guy who had several knee surgeries including  a replacement surgery and is now in danger of loosing his leg.  However, my mom and father-in-law both had it and seem to be doing fine.  My father-in-law is actually doing great.

Smoky Mountain Recumbent Rally

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a fun event this past weekend.  My knee is improving enough that I even chanced going on the ride around Cade's Cove which is one of the highlights of the rally.  Unfortunately, it rained all morning the morning of the ride and of the approximately 50 riders who were at the rally, only about 15 showed up for this ride. I did OK on the ride but I did walk a few of the steeper hills.  I just did not want to chance hurting my knee by mashing.  I had also not ridden in over 2 months and have been avoiding my exercise hikes (due to the knee) so was badly out of shape. And with the rain I did not get any photos during the ride around the Cove even though it was beautiful in the fog and overcast conditions.  I did manage a couple of photos while lounging around in my campsite the evening before the ride.  I took the photos with my iPhone so not the best quality.  Should have taken my DSLR.  So without further ado...

my entertainment for the evening!

My home for the night in the KOA in Townsend Tn

Max found a friend

This German Shepard has been coming by the last few mornings.  I don't know her name but she lives about a half mile up the road. I let Max out after his breakfast this morning and sat down to a cup of coffee.   I heard a racket on the porch and went out to see what was going on. They were playing chase.   By the time I got my phone out for this video Max was already tard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wP0eAwMttc&feature=youtu.be

infomercial sucker and bad dog!

Table-Mate II hard at work..

 My wife says I am way to easy...and by that she is meaning how I fall for every infomercial on TV.  In the past few years I have bought a NuWave, a yoga workout video, a pocket hose and most recently a Table Mate and some stuff that is supposed to restore cabinets.   Let's see, I bought the NuWave at least 4 years ago so I'm only averaging a little over one item a year.  In other words, she exaggerated my condition.  Anyways, today I would like to discuss the Table Mate.  I ordered it over 2 months ago but only got it last week.  Of course I got my free one...you know they figure that into the price to start with but it feels so good to think your getting something free.  They really get you with shipping though.  Both tables came in a box that was a tight fit for the 2 but I'm sure one slightly smaller (with just one table-mate) would have been only a couple dollars less shipping.   I gave the one I paid for to my mom and kept the free one myself so technically I got mine for shipping only...now who is the smart one..

So far I am liking it.  I (we) usually eat supper while watching TV on the couch but the Wife is always using the only end table we have in the living room.  Then after supper I may still use it if I have something I want handy.  Usually my coffee, cell phone and the iPad but sometimes a book or magazine.  Have not had it long enough to see if it is good for much else.  If interested here is the link where I got mine. http://www.tablemate.com/  And no, I don't work for the company, just a satisfied customer.

Speaking of couch potatoes, Max is still not allowed on the furniture except for his unique sitting style.  However, the other night he snuck on and looked so cute we let him stay a few minutes. You could see the guilt in his eyes, just like when he tore up my moms butterfly and pinwheel in her yard the other day.

Max knows better...

Mid Life Crisis?

Been lazy, knee still giving me fits, haven't been able to do much hiking or bike riding. I did buy a side by side 4wheeler, not because the knee was hurt, I actually had been considering it for a few years.  The wife says it is my mid life crisis toy. Funny thing is, we were headed back from visiting our daughter in Arkansas and all of a sudden she is pulling into this 4 wheeler dealer in Mississippi. This was 2 weeks ago.  We ended up stopping at four dealers so a normal 7 hour drive took us 10.  I saw Yamaha's. Artic Cats, Polaris's,  Honda's and Benchee's.  I almost bout a Polaris 800 Ranger but wanted to look at a John Deere RSX 850i  before making my final decision.  I ended up buying the John Deere last Saturday.  Oh, and she wanted a regular 4wheeler big enough for both or use (think Polaris Sportsman 500 etc) but I told her I had rather have a side by side.  After riding it a few times she is now pleased with it and agrees that for doubling up this one is much more practical.  She also says it will be handy to be able to give Granny (my mom) a ride over to our house when there is snow on the ground...We live in Alabama...  Here she is giving Granny a ride in it.  This was before I even got to drive it other than a short test ride in the parking lot at the dealership.

John Deere RSX 850i

Anyways, enough about my mid life crisis. A friend commented on an old Facebook posting from Feb of 2009 (over 4 years ago)  After reading it, it looks like not much has changed.  I still need to loose 50 lbs.  My kids are now both married and moved off a ways so we don't get to see them much.  Here is the post I made 4 yeas ago.


25 things about me
1: I am a bad speller
2: but a good scrabble player...
3: I was raised on a small farm
4: I milked a cow before school for a few years
5: I like to sing in church but for some reason don't/can't sing with the radio very well
6: I married a good cook but so-so housekeeper...which is good cause I love to eat but a clean house makes me uncomfortable.
7: I like to rub my nose on my arm hair...I know, I'm a weirdo
8: I like to go camping by myself except when the boogy man gets after me...
9: I like hiking with my son
10: I like playing scrabble with my wife and daughter
11: I like to play Andy Griffeth Trivia but can't find anybody to play with me after one game:'(
12: bacon and egss are a major part of my diet, especially if I am doing the cooking
13: I like to arm rassle (see #1)
14: I married a wonderful lady who puts up with me and all my imperfections!
15: my present hobbies are riding my recumbent, kayaking and hiking/camping
16: I don't like to talk on the phone
17: I stay up too late on the internet a lot of the time
18: I lose stuff all the time. keys, wallet, kids...
19: I locked Cody in the car with the keys one time when he was very small...
20: I have a good job and I am thankful for it
21: my kids turned out great despite me and my parenting abilities (The wife must have taken up my slack)...
22: I need to lose about 50 lbs
23: I cut my own hair
24: I make water
25: I can't walk on it though, which is why I look to Jesus for advice (probably not enough though)!

Trip, Knee, Crocs

The wife and I spent 4 days and three nights visiting our daughter last week.  As usual, I was lazy and spent a lot of time watching TV and eating, not to mention the 7 hour drive up and 10 hr drive home (more stops) .  On the plus side, I got to watch scarey movies with Britt half the night Thursday night, and since my wife and Britt's hubby don't do scary movies we didn't have to listen to them...  I also went shopping and found a pair of Crocs on clearance for $2.99.  So why did I just buy the one pair, apparently it was the only pair marked at this price, I had the lady scanning all the boxes.

Possible the best deal of my life.

The box alone was worth the price I paid since it makes such a good coffee table.

I like a little coffee in my cream....

My knee has been really sore all week (the past 9 days in fact).  It was feeling much better after being sore a couple of weeks after hurting it on the ladder but I think I over did it Friday (the 5th) when I walked to the holler twice.  It was such a pretty day so I went at lunch, then went again a couple hours later.  It is really aggravating to not know if doing something is going to make me hobble for a week or so later.   But then I watched this video and no longer feel sorry for myself.  Watch it all the way to the end please.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSVqqLsipEM

easiset way to clean a stove

Wish I had taken a before and after photo but you will have to trust me, the before was not purdy. Anyways, I finally got around to cleaning the stove today.  Let me know if you think I did a good job. BTW, remember that you can click on an image to see full size.  I try not to put huge photos (file size) but do usually have a fairly large image.  Oh and hover over the image and then pick open in new tab, if you just double click it only gives you a slightly larger image in a slide show.  I don't want to give away all my secrets but my cleaning method involved Lowes and a delivery truck.

 

My next project is to clean the fridge.  

I plan to use the same method since the stove turned out so well! The wife is also complaining about the counter top, but personally, I think it still looks good.  How bout some feed back on that.

What do you thank Max

First, about the title, I took a short video of my most recent bent MTB ride today and  Max was along for the ride, of course he didn't actually ride.  Anyways, I noticed I must have said "what do you thank Max" about a dozen times (went back and counted and only said it 5 times but it seemed like more).

Second, I should apologize to all my faithful readers (two that I know of) for being so lazy the past few weeks.  After hurting my knee again a few weeks ago I went into a depressed state of mind. I know that's hard to believe, but try hobbling around in pain a few weeks and see if it don't give you the blues.  It also makes you feel old.  Anyways, it is slowly starting to feel better, and by keeping my bike in very low gears and walking the steep hills I have been able to ride a little.  I went for a short ride Thursday and again today.  Been trying to see if my new iPhone 5 is going to take decent video.  It does OK as long as I'm not riding...  I'll see if YouTube can take out some of the shake after I get it uploaded.  I was also trying technique I read about yesterday about using the earbuds that come with the phone as a mic.It seemed to work pretty well but there is a little popping noise occasionally.

And lastly, I am so ready for our internet provider to get fiber optics run by my house.  I started uploading my ride video over an hour ago and it still likes 70 minutes. And, it is only a 3 minute 19 second video.  However I am going to go ahead and post this, I'll come back and add a link to the video when it is ready.  I wanted to let YouTube stabilize it so that will add more time. So, after 2 and a half hours it has finished uploading, now says it is stabilizing and to check back later. So, if you watch it now you will probably see the really shaky version, later the not so shaky but still bad version.  One thing I noticed watching it on the split screen is that the fixed version is not as crisp,.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSgCYnZVMxU

Lost in Little Rock

I know I haven't posted in several day, but I am not going to post just to be posting.  And even now, I don't have a lot to say but something just happened I wanted to share (or brag about).  It always feels good when your kid calls needing your advice, especially if it involves directions... Not directions in life (that's the wife's job)  but directions in driving.  You see, my daughter just called after dropping her sister-in-law off at the airport in Little Rock during rush hour and she was not sure she could find her way back to the base in Jacksonville.  First of all, I had the computer off so this took a few minutes for me to get it fired up and get google maps loaded.  I then asked here what road she was on and she say 440, I ask what exit she is seeing next and she gives me the number.  Unfortunately,  I see she is headed west. I scan ahead and see a place I can turn her around. I have her making a right off the interstate, then another right, and then back onto 440  headed east.  She argues with me that she needs to go left at the second turn when I'm looking right at the map.  It also seem logical that to turn around you need to turn right  (or left) twice but I learned long ago, women (at least the ones in my family) have no sense of direction. Anyways, after getting her headed in the right direction it takes several minutes for her to cross the Arkansas River and then in North Little Rock where she is familiar with the roads.  She says thanks and do I have a few more minutes to talk. She wanted me to catch her up on NASCAR.  She is a big Kasey Kane fan and I had to let her know he won yesterday.  For some reason I thought she knew or I would have already called and told her.  Last time we talked to her she was headed to work and he was running second. I remember because the wife was talking to her and I told the wife to let her know.

puttin out the fire

Small fire I put out on the side of the road

 Today was a lazy day for the most part. Since I went to bed so early last night I was wide awake at 5 AM so got up and put on some coffee.  The wife and I enjoyed a quite morning sipping coffee as we waited for the lady who came to buy our StreetStrider to show up.  She arrived at around 9 AM and we had a nice long visit as we demonstrated it.  After loading it we came in for coffee and to hear her and my wife talk you would think they had known each other for years.  My bent riding friend called and invited me to go riding after lunch  but I have been sore all day I skipped the invitation to go. However, the wife and I did make a quick trip to town, I picked up my bike chain and she bought some shoes.  We ate lunch on the way home at a Mexican restaurant. We got home around  2 PM, and I took a nap.  I got up around 4 PM  and the wife needed me to run to Grant to pick up a few things for supper.  On my way home from the store I saw a small fire just off the road just a little ways up the road from the house. I did not see anyone tending the fire so I  stopped to take a quick look and see if I could put it out.  I decided I better dial 911 just in case.  I happened to see an empty pine bark sack across the road in the ditch and grabbed it as I dialed.

works purdy good for fire swattin!

 I climbed the steep bank just as the dispatcher answered the phone and was already out of breath.  As I was swatting the flames I coughed out that I was at a small brush fire on Randles Rd.  She had no idea where that was (may not have completely understood me) but wanted to know what this was close to.  In my excitement I couldn't think of a nearby landmark but finally remembered Hardees is just a couple of miles away.  By now I had a feeling I was going to be able to put it out myself so I told her to wait a minute before sending out the fire department.  I'm sure she got a kick out of listening to me as I swatted and coughed but I kept the conversation going as I fought the blaze. I was completely out of breath and could hardly talk by the time I got it out but told her it was OK now and thanks for her help.  She did ask if I was OK before I got off the phone, I think she was worried I might have a heart attack.  Anyways,  I told her I was OK but had breathed in a lot of smoke. I drove on home and unloaded the groceries.  The wife met me on the porch wondering why it had taken me so long.  After explaining she said she had smelled smoke shortly after I left but figured it was one of the neighbors burning leaves. Oh, well, all's well that ends well, but I did mess up my favorite hat and now I've got to figure out how to get the soot off of it.

Fergit everthing you learned in gym class

Git ready for the best workout of you life!

 That's right, I have discovered a much better way to workout.  Just to give you an idea of how effective the workout is, I did it for about 5 hours yesterday and was in bed by 7 PM and I usually don't hit the sack before 10 or 11 PM. I woke up sore this morning but I liked the workout so much that I did it for about 4 more hours today.   I'm not quite as tard tonight, but believe me, it was a good workout.  To do this workout correctly you will need a little equipment.  The most expensive item you will need is a Little Giant ladder.  We actually had 2 ladders but my dad was working out too so we needed both.  You could save a little money by using a cheaper ladder (we had one cheap ladder) but the Little Giant is much heavier and that is a plus! The next step is to find a shed that needs a new roof.  You will also need some boards, tin, a hammer, tape measure, speed square,  circular saw (an extra one is nice to cut the tin, just reverse an old blade that does not have carbide tips)) a couple of cordless drills, assorted screws, nails etc.  Now comes the fun part.  I will assume you have measured everything and know what lengths the boards and tin will need to be.  We strapped our boards (lath) to the overhead poles (you most likely will be nailing to rafters) using conduit wall hangers. The poles were just under 2 inches and the straps we used were for 2 inch pipe but we got them to hold by stretching them out just a little.  We then added a row of bracing underneath. The real workout is all the trips up and down the ladder and then a lot of bending and twisting at the top  You climb up, measure something, drop hammer, climb back down, re-climb ladder and hammer or screw whatever it is into place. Repeat this over and over.  We used a combination of shanked nails and wood screws.  By the time you finish putting up the boards you have completed the workout for the day.

Day 2 is a little easier workout but it will still git your attention.  We cut the old tin into the proper lengths and had enough to do one side.  This took us about 2 and a half hours. We then made a trip to Arab and picked up the tin for the other side so we in effect had a pretty long break.  Since the new tin was already cut to length we made much faster progress finishing up the other side. However, my legs are just about wasted. I've ridden my bike 50 mile in a day pulling a trailer loaded with camping gear and not been as tard. I've hiked 20 miles on the AT trail in a day and my legs did not feel as tard.  In  other words, if you judge a workout by how tard you feel afterwards, this one will do the trick! PS I earned bonus points for getting a piece of steel stuck in my finger. It's too small to see to get it out but it is bugging the stew out of me.

John Brown Went to Town

Max about to be John Browned...

This is not really about John Brown going to town but there is a reason I chose it for the title.  You see, Max took his couch sitting game to whole nother level yesterday.  The wife was sitting on the couch with the foot rest extended (like a recliner) when Max decided that looked like a good place to sit.  I saw him pull the one leg up under him like he normally does but then saw he was struggling to get the other one up as well. He looked mighty proud of himself once he got situated but unfortunately, it did not last long.  The wife decided she needed up so, without warning Max, she dropped the foot rest.  He looked really surprised and bewildered but it reminded me of something from my childhood.  My mom and dad would play a little game in which they would sit us (me, my brother and two sisters) up on their  knees and bounce us (individually, not all at once) while singing this little rhyme.

John Brown 
went to town
riddin a goat 
and leadin a hound
hound give a yelp
goat give a jump
left John Brown
sittin on a stump.

But just as they sang the word stump, they would pull their knees apart and let us fall.  Of course they still had aholt of our hands and we were not harmed and pretty much turned out OK......  I did it with our kids too, wonder if they remember?

Forgetful day...literally

Not too bad for an iPhone

Yesterday was a pretty uneventful day but I did get several things accomplished.  The day started with a trip to town to pick up some lumber for my dad,  We also stooped at Wal-Mart and I intended to buy a new bell chain so that all the chain on the Bumble Beast would match.  However, I forgot the chain when we stopped.  That's kinda sad when you consider I told Dad the main reason I needed to stop at wally-world was for the bike chain.  

After we unloaded the groceries and lumber we picked up some tin at the chicken house but it was too windy to try and start putting the roof on his shed. He had bough one of those sheds that is covered by some kind of heavy duty tarp but some strong winds tore the top off about a week ago.

I then ordered a few things from Bacchetta that I needed to repair the Bumble Beast, namely a new derailleur hanger and rear derailleur. I also washed and dried three loads of clothes.  My wife will be glad to hear that it was so windy I dried all three loads (even the towels) in the dryer.  I was rummaging around in the garage and found two chains I had forgotten I had....anyone see a pattern developing here, my mind blocks out anything to do with bicycle chain... Anyways, I must have bought them on clearance a few years ago when ordering something I needed. I  looked online to order a matching chain, then called my LBS to see how much they could get it for.  I prefer to support them but I wont  hesitate to order something if I find a good enough sale online.  Their price was close enough so I will be picking it up the next time I'm in town, probably Friday.

I then went for a walk to the holler.  I really liked the Humvee vest but wore some Wolverine  boots I have been testing for BackpackGearTest instead of the new ones I just got from LAPoliceGear. They fit great and I'll be reporting on them later. By the time I finished my walk it was nearly time for church so I grabbed a quick shower and cooked supper (the wife is sick).  However, the most eventful happening was when Max took his couch sitting game to a whole nother level. But that deserves its own post so I will save it for later.

More Max

My wife says no one cares about my dog sittin on the couch.  I beg to differ...  So this afternoon he decides to sit awhile.  Here are a few of the photos I got.  I have more....

I think he is watchin TV now

musta been boring cause he is asleep now

something under there?

Sittin Purdy!

I'm a little perturbed

That looks a little off kilter to me

Been a cold rainy couple of months.  Today's 10 mile ride on the Dynamik (road like bike) showed me just how much out of shape I have become.  I'm all fired up to get back into riding shape and lose a little weight and it is finally warm enough this afternoon to ride the Bumble Beast without bundling up so much. I head out across the yard.  I hear a popping noise coming from behind me and the bike feel like I just slammed on the brakes.  I stop immediately but apparently not fast enough.  I get off to look for whatever caused the noise and survey the damages. I see that my chain has almost come apart, but instead of separating completely, just one side came loose and it grabbed the whole derailleur.  It's hard to tell how much damaged it did to the derailleur and it also bent the derailleur hanger pretty much beyond repair IMHO.  So, gonna have to order another hanger and hope I can straighten the derailleur enough to get back on the trail.   I'm pretty sure the chain separation is my fault.  I tried to save a little money and only bought 2 chains and then used the old chain form my MTB to make up the needed distance.  Yes, recumbents use about 2 1/3 chains.   Only the new chain was a different type and we (my personal bike mechanic) had a hard time just getting the pins in where the two different type chains connected.

I am frustrated right now but to tell the truth, it's no big thing.  Sure it is gonna cost me some money, perhaps more than I saved by going with mismatched chains. And I will miss a week or more of prim riding opportunities.  However, there are folks with a lot more to worry about than a bent bike. bent bike...git it...  I'm also thankful I was not going downhill on my MTB when this happened.

PS: I had several folks asking me about the mismatched chain so here is a closeup.

forget saving the planet

My wife called needing me to bring her something at work.  She works about 5 miles from the house so instead of jumping in my truck (a 4 cylinder stick shift for the record)  I decided to ride my bike.  It was a chilly (48 F) and windy ride but I managed to work up a decent sweat.  I figure the exercise is good for my health and by riding my bike I'm cutting down on the pollution caused by burning fossil fuel.  Imagine my chagrin when I learned I was in fact doing just the opposite.  You see, I got home and was surfin tha intraweb (BentRiderOnline message boards to be exact) when I ran across a thread about bicyclist polluting the air, or at lest according this republican state representative from Washington St.  Click here to read the article.  Hmmm, funny how that link all of a sudden don't work.  Big Brother?  Try this one before they take it down as well.  A good friend has informed me of slashdotting.  Google it if your not familiar ( I had to, too)

Editing to add, he has since apologized, admitting that his comparison of humans emitting CO2 was way out of line. Read it here.  And while I can not judge whether he is truly sorry or just sorry it caused such a stink (and possibly votes) I can at least let it be known he has apologized. 

Now I myself vote pretty much republican, so when I see things like this it makes me cringe a little.  Sorta like when I hear about another mass shooting. These folks need to wake up and quite rurning..ruining my life. I won't debate the science or politricks because I'm not a scientist or a politician... but the last time I checked, humans and animals put of  CO2 when we breathe, and plants breathe it in and convert it to oxygen, so at least some CO2 is needed.  I think the problem stems more from the industrialization of the human race which has only been around for a few hundred years.  And just to be clear...industrialization (not humans) has only been around a few hundred years.  I'm also not against industrialization.  In fact, I like being able to watch NASCAR, washing my clothes in a machine and taking a hot bath once a week...but I was curious to see exactly who/what contributes the most CO2 but could not find a good graph to illustrate what humans and animals produce.  Is it so low compared to things like transportation, industry etc (all human related of course).  I did find  this one in this article.

Max the Wonder Dog

Max down at the holler. full HD here

Not a lot happening today other than it was cold all day.  Was supposed to get up to 43 F but the highest I saw here at the house was 37 F.  Anyways, thought I might introduce Max the wonder dog.  We got Max only a few months ago when he was 3 months old and 30 lbs.  He is now just over 5 months old and weighs about 55 lbs.   Max is a mix breed, his dad was half German Shepard and half Alaskan Husky, his mom was a full blooded Black and Tan.  We got him from Safe Haven, a volunteer animal rescue operation.  He is our first house dog.  He is pretty well behaved for a puppy and I have been surprised at how he has not chewed up the furniture or my shoes.  We do not allow him on the furniture but here recently he has developed a habit of backing up to the couch and throwing one leg up on it and leaning on it like he is sitting down. Here he is pretending to sit on the couch.

And this one turned out a little blurry but you can see the other leg in it. It's the white patch on the red throw.

A Precious Gift - Guard it Well

The preacher where I worship (Brother Mark) told a story in his sermon last Sunday that has stuck with me so far this week...which is kinda unusual in itself....I kid.  Anyways, at church tonight I asked him if  he minded me sharing the story.   He was fine with it.  The lesson was taken from James chapter 2 about how we are to treat or fellow man and how we often have our own little clicks and like to stay in our comfort zone. To illustrate how we often show more respect to people we know he told how his son (age 5) was at preschool when one of the fathers came in and shared what he does for a living with the children.  Apparently this guy fished for a living.   After the class the father was talking to the children when Mark's son piped up that his dad could catch more fish than he could.  He also offered that his dad had caught a shark before.  Now Mark is a good fisherman (or at least to here him tell it he is) but I do have my doubts that he could out fish this guy.   You see, the dad talking to the children was non other than Chris Lane, the 2013 Bassmaster Classic Champion.  I also see one more valuable lesson to be learned from this story.  Children think their parents are the be all end all of just about everything. Unfortunately, this usually only last up until about the time they hit the teenage years. But, during this time, we, as parents should be extra diligent to lead our kids by being a good example. They are watching our every move and hearing our every word.

Another Bargain...

JCP  Down Puffer Jacket

 I had to make a trip into Scottsboro this afternoon and the wife said she needed to stop by JCP if we had time.  Being the awesome husband that I am I said sure honey!  Anyways, while she was looking for the shirt she went in to look for I browsed the men's section.  I noticed some down jackets on clearance, marked down from $60 to $20.  Now I need another down jacket about like I needed another pair of boots (see post earlier today for explanation) but if they had 2 in my size I think I might have bought 2.  I liked the orange color better but they only had them in L, M and Sm.  They had 2 blue ones, a M and an XXL.  I really probably needed an XL but the XXL is not all that big on me.   It weighs next to nothing and packs down really small.  I cant vouch for the quality of the jacket but it is filled with 650 down so that in itself is promising. I've already worn it outside a few minutes and it is warm.  Not that it is all that cold out right now but it is 50 F and the wind is howling.  On the left is the jacket in the provided stuff sack.  It would pack down even smaller but I actually don't like to compress my down items any more than I have to so I am pleased with the generous size of the stuff sack.

Bargain Shopping Online

Online shopping can reward you with some great bargains, and if you don't live in town you save gas by not having to drive into town, not to mention the fact that often times the item you are shopping for is not available locally.    I am guilty myself but I try to heed one word of advice.  OK more than one word but it goes something like this, It's not a bargain if you don't need it. Having said that, I needed another pair of boots about like I need another hole in my head but I recently ordered a $300 pair of boots for $40. Specifically, LAPoliceGear had the Bates USMC Rat boots on clearance because they lost their contract with the military.  I should also mention that they don't gaurentee the boots are imperfect but than again they may be.  Here just read all the details yourself.  They still have them if your interested. http://www.lapolicegear.com/co-bates-29502-usmc-rat.html

But this was going to be about online bargain shopping. My first tip is to use the google shopping tool. If you are on the Google search page you will notice that you can search the web for images, maps, shopping etc  Just try the shopping tool.   However,  having said that, they often don't find the best deals, and here is where it pays to do a little legwork (if you could call it that).  For instance, using Google Shopping,  the boots I just bought came up for $66 bucks on one site only and then went up in price.  I actually found the deal while looking for a holster but just to show how it works, the $40 deal I found was not listed using Google Shopping.  However, using the plain old Google web search using the exact same term (Bates USMC Rat Boot) the LA Police Gear deal came up as the second search result.

Another tip is to go to several sites and look at each one for clearance items.  This can take awhile but it will often lead to a good bargains (and buying stuff you really didn't need).  For outdoor camping and backpacking stuff I'd recommend looking at  REI, Sierra Trading Post, Campmor etc.  For more hunting and fishing oriented outdoor stuff I like The Sportsman Guide, Bass Pro Shop, Cabelas etc.  For bike related equipment I found that MTBR actually has a page called Hot Deals that is regularly updated.   I also like to get on BentRiderOnline and check out the sponsors banners.  They also have a classified section in the message board which is a great place to shop for used recumbents and accessories.  BTW, I have a Bacchetta Cafe listed on the site right now. I have had tons of interest but so far no takers.  All the interested parties have been some distance away with one even being from overseas and shipping cost are not cheap on a recumbent.

Another tip is, before hitting the submit order button look for a little box that says coupon. Then go to retailmenot (my favorite source for coupon codes) and see if you can find a discount coupon.  Often times, the item you order (especially on sale and clearance items) will specifically say that no additional discounts are allowed, but I have often been able to get an additional percentage off.  Sometimes there will be several codes listed for the same or different offers.  For example, when I ordered the boots (along with a couple of other items also on clearance) I tried the save $45 and free shipping one but it would not take it.  I did use one of the several 5% off codes listed and was successful.  I saved $5.65 but paid $16 for shipping.  I always look for free shipping when possible. However, do the math before getting all giddy about the free shipping. If the savings are big enough the shipping cost is justified.

Sometimes it is better to buy at a "brick and mortar" store because buying online is a little risky in the fit department (especially with pants and shoes).  At least be sure and check to see the return policy before ordering. Often time the clearance items will be sold as is and with no return option.  And even with a generous return policy, you often have to pay a restock fee or at least the return shipping (which is only fair).  This is one reason it is good to go with a well established retailer. They will not (or maybe I should say will be less likely to) risk their reputation with shady dealings like some fly by night companies might.

One last tip and I'm done.  I'm not here to give advice on how to safely shop online so just be careful.  I will say that I try to shop from sites that are well known and use some sort of SSL encryption for online purchases.  When you go to the checkout page you should see https instead of just plain http.  Have fun shopping and remember, to have patients waiting for your items to arrive.  I ordered my boots over 2 weeks ago but due to one item being out of stock my whole order got delayed by a week.  I just got an email the other day stating that the item had arrived an my order was being filled. 

PS: I'm sure that you ladies did not get much from my little spill.  I'm also sure that you don't need it.  My wife can sniff out a bargain a lot faster and from farther away in her sleep than I could wide awake and with the most powerful online shopping tools ever created.

Sit/Stand Longevity Test

I subscribe to a couple of health oriented newsletters and my favorite by far is Dr Mercola's Peak Fitness.  He discusses diet and exercise and he also sells several products.  Due to the selling aspect I do use a little skepticism when reading his advice.  However, just because he is selling something doesn't necessarily mean the advice or products are suspect.  A recent article he posted was about something I had never heard of before and I thought it was pretty neat.  It discusses how some Brazilian researchers had made a connection between a simple sitting/standing test and longevity.  He is not vouching for it but did say it was interesting and a pretty good way to gauge fitness and overall health.  The test was for 6 years so I assume it was conducted 6 years ago and the statistics are from then until now. The test begins by simply standing in front or even on a small mat in an open area of floor.  Try to sit down and then stand back up without using your hands, knees or elbows etc for assistance.  You deduct a point for each area that you use for assistance.  For instance, a hand to the floor during the sitting phase and then a hand on the floor plus a hand on a knee during the standing phase would results in a loss of 3 points or a score of 7.  You lose an additional half point for an unsteady execution during either the sitting or standing phase.  I have no idea how many participated but here are the results they observed.

• Those who scored 0-3 were 6.5 times more likely to die during the study than those who scored 8-10
• Those who scored 3.5 to 5.5 were 3.8 times more likely to die
• Those who scored 6 to 7.5 were 1.8 times more likely to die

I took the test myself and scored a 7.5, at least that's the score I think I got. I deducted 2 points for a hand to the floor during both sitting and standing and a half point due to being a little unbalanced as I stood back up.  I have the video of my test uploaded above but you can view it in HD by clicking here.   You can decide for yourself if I gave myself a fair score.  Oh and BTW...there are no point deduction for grunting.  A niece and 2 nephews were visiting and of course they wanted to star in my video.  In order of appearance they were 9, 7 and 5 (almost 6).  I'm proud of them but also a little jealous that all 3 got a perfect score of 10.  I am also proud of my wife who also took the test but refused to be filmed.  She scored higher than I did with a 9.  She sat down with ease but did have to place one hand to the floor to get back up.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The company I work for just recently switched insurance providers and as part of the switch, they had all employes participate in a health screening. I had had my blood work done myself a year prior as part of the big 50 checkup.   I had had some blood work done in 2008 at my wife's insistence.   The good news is, my Triglycerides were better today than in 2008.   The bad new is, both were worse than in 2012 (by quite a bit).  My HDL levels were good all three times.  So what did I do prior to my blood work in 2012 that gave me the much better numbers. I ate paleo for about a month before the test. I only learned about this most recent screening  about a week ago and have actually not been exercising much due to the cold rainy weather.  Well that and the fact that I have been eating way too much junk food recently.  Here are the numbers by year.

Cholesterol 2008 =  230, 2012 = 214, 2013 = 238  BTW good is 200 or less.
HDL  2008 = 46, 2012  = 44, 2013 = 46  30 to 70 is normal but above 40 is considered better
Triglyceride 2008 = 478, 2012 = 293, 2013 = 457

I know I need to start eating better and also be a little more consistent with my exercise program.  I would like to see the BMI and Triglycerid numbers drop a lot.  I'm not as worried about the Cholesterol.  My BMI was 35 and I'd like to see that drop down to 30 or slightly less.  Loosing 35 lbs would do it but I could stand to loose about 50 lbs.

The Holler

I over did it on the Bumble Beast yesterday and my knees are letting me know, so today I have been lazy.  I wanted to take a quick walk to the holler but just did not feel up to it. So instead I will just share a few of photos of the holler during different time of the year.  Oh and BTW, it is beautiful year-round so I will take and share more holler photos in the future.  I have hundreds already and it was very hard to pick just a few, but hopefully these are good ones.  And in case you git lost, I put the description under each photo,  You can also click on a photo for a larger image.

I took this photo of the small waterfall above the swimming hole (not right at the swimming hole) about a week ago.  It was about 32 F at the time I took it and that made it look steamy.

This is the same waterfall right after a big rain.

And the same waterfall last summer, I had just gotten my Olympus Pen camera and was trying it out.

   Yep, same waterfall, only this time it was really cold. This was a couple of years ago.

 OK, one last on at this particular waterfall.  Some guy got in the way of my shot...

This is the waterfall at the swimming hole.  It may look warm and inviting but believe me, that water is like ice!

One of my favorite spots along the creek.

My daughter goes with me occasionally. I enjoy her company but that's my jacket...

And for good measure, a leaf I photographed a couple of years ago while hiking down to the holler.  BTW, this photo was taken with a used Olympus Verve camera I picked up at Unclaimed Baggage for $35 bucks, but it goes to show, a small camera can take decent photos.

Caution - Genius At Work

I'm sure that by now y'all may be feeling about the Bumble Beast similar to the way Earnest T felt about Romena talking about the weather... Well too bad, I'm gona talk about both anyways.   I could hardly wait for it to warm up enough for a good ride on the Bumble Beast this morning.  But as discussed yesterday, I needed to mount the 26 x 2.1 Maxxis Aspen.

Maxxis Aspen 26 x 2.1 MTB tire

 It was 32 F at 6 AM so the first thing I did was pull the tire off my bent and bring it and the new tire in from the garage to the house to let them warm up a little.  After waiting a little over an an hour I swapped the tires.  But before I did anything I measured the height of the Maxxis Larsen  26 x 2.35 tire inside a door jamb (kinda like folks measure their kids...).  It stood at 27 /3/8 inches tall.  After mounting the Maxxis Aspin 26 x 2.1 I took another measurement on the wall and this time I got 26 5/8, so a difference of 3/4 of an inch.

A quick spin around in the yard revealed that I had cured the problem. The tire scrub was completely gone!  It was now 9 AM and had warmed up to 40 F so I decided to bundle up for a quick trail ride to see how the new tire worked.  I really could not tell any difference in grip, but you have to realize, the front tire on a recumbent is very lightly loaded. I went for a slightly longer ride today, riding about 4 miles total in an hour and a half.  That gives you an idea of my speed but I did have to cross several logs that have recently fallen across the trail. I did not even attempt to ride across them as they were about a foot in diameter.  I also took my camera along and took a few more pics of the Bumble Beast.  But first, here is the obligatory photo of the bent in front of the garage door.

Garage door view...

 taking a break on the trail

the view from the front of the Bumble Beast (that's the holler in the background)

drive side view of the Bumble Beast

And for good measure I took one last photo and this time got the drive side.  I just realized all my previous photos were from the other side (oops, forgot the one earlier in front of the garage). I also took the time to measure the length of the bike and she measures 8 ft 2 inches from end to end.  This does make a difference out on the trail and I quickly found several places where I had to be very careful threading my way between trees and around turns.  There are several steep section on this trail and I ended up walking the Bumble Beast a little more than I would have on the MTB but when I got home I felt great. This same ride is OK on my MTB but my rump is usually letting me know its displeasure by the time I get home.

Learn something new every day

Yep, the 26 x 2.35 is at least an inch taller than the 26 x 1.75

 I can check that one off the list for today at least.  It has to do with bike wheels, or more precisely, how spokes are mounted.  I'll explain here shortly, but first, I took the Bumble Beast for a short ride Friday afternoon on a trail I had ridden regularly on the Komodo.  I wanted to get an honest idea of how the bent would do on terrain I am familiar with.  I was impressed with how well the bike handled, especially going down hill.  It does exhibit a little more wheel flop than I am accustomed to with the Cafe and Tour Easy. But then again, both these bikes have a 20 inch front wheel, and I have never ridden them on rough terrain at such slow speeds.  But what really got my attention was that when I turned the wheels sharply I would scrub the tire when I peddled.  And of course this shows up the most when climbing.  The tire scrub did not really slow me down, but it was aggravating.  I made it just a few feet shy of where I usually have to bail on the MTB, but I attribute a lot of that to getting used to riding a bent off road.  So today, between church services, I decide to do the same ride again.  My results were pretty much the same, but I actually made it a little further up the same hill.  However, one thing was obvious, the tire scrub was just unacceptable.  Shorter crank arms would cure that but at some expense, so I decided that for now a smaller wheel on the front should do the trick.  Just to prove my theory, I rode on home and pulled the front wheel (26 x 1.75) from the Dynamic and held it beside the 26 x 2.35 wheel that is on the Bumble Beast now. Sure enough the Dynamik wheel was about an inch shorter.  Oh and BTW,  my Dynamik has rim brakes, but I figured I could test my theory without the use of front brakes.   OK, let's mount it up right quick and take the bike for another spin.  However, unbeknownst to me, the spokes down near the hub on a wheel made for rim brakes are much wider then those on a bike with disk brakes.  In other words, once the wheel was on I noticed it wouldn't turn.  I took a  look and sure enough, the part of the brake that mounts to the fork was actually sitting slightly inside 2 spokes.  It's a good thing I just didn't hop on and take off as I probably would have bent or broke a spoke or tore the fork mounted part of the brakes somehow.  Anyways, I have a smaller tire 26 x 2.1  MTB tire and will mount it on the disk brake rim tomorrow and see if I have complete clearance. If that don't work I have a spare 26 x 1.75 that I am quite certain will work.

Introducing the Bumble Beast

Jamis Komodo  donor bike

My friend pretending to be hard at work

I present "The Bumble Beast"

Yours truly on the Bumble Beast

Inaugural ride (Max went with me)

I won't write about recumbents all the time but I just finished building my first off road recumbent so I'm a little excited.   Actually, I had a friend helping me and he probably did more of the work building the bike up from a bare frame.  But this is more of the story of how the bike (The Bumble Beast) came to be.  I've been riding recumbents for 5 years now, but so far, all my riding has been on the road.  The same friend that helped me build the Bumble Beast convince me that riding a mountain bike was fun so I bought one last fall.  I did like the fact that I could ride it in the winter since I was usually not traveling over 10 mph and most of the time was going even slower than that.  However, after an hour I was always ready to get off the bike for the same reason I don't ride my road bike more than an hour.   The final straw was when I had a wreck this spring and broke my collar bone.  I was probably pushing 15 mph on a pretty fast downhill section of trail I had ridden dozens of times but on this day a vine hanging in the trail caused me to swerve.  I knew there was a log just ahead but it never occurred to me that I might not be able to find my line quickly enough after dodging the vine.  In fact, I only clipped the very end of the log, but it would not have mattered if I hit it in the middle or at the very end, the results would be the same, me flying over the handlebar and crashing down hard on the other side. It felt like the crash happened in slow motion.  I knew I hit hard because I saw stars and heard birds chirping just like on the cartoons but I was not sure if I was seriously hurt or not.  However, after sitting on the ground a few minutes and thinking I might pass out I decided to see if I could ride my bike home.  It became immediately apparent that I could not use my right arm and riding back up the steep hill was out of the question. I was only about 2 miles from home by trail but a side trail led to the road  and I managed to push my bike the half mile out to the road and was then able to gingerly ride on home.  I'm lucky I was not injured worse because I usually carry my phone with me but this was only going to be a quick exercise ride and I left it at home.  Long story short, I needed an off road recumbent.

Building the Bumble Beast was a pretty straightforward affair.  I found a bare Bacchetts Bella frame for sale and bought it in December of 2012. The Bacchetta Bella is a 26 inch rear 20 inch front tire recumbent built extra strong for touring duties.  However, these same qualities had led another off road recumbent enthusiast to choose this frame for building his off road bent (Redzilla).  I basically followed his example except I went without any type of suspension.  I basically used the parts from my hard tail MTB (Jamis Komodo) except for the front fork which had a much to short steerer tube  If you look at the frame of the Bella it is obvious that it uses a fork with a long steerer tube.  Anyways, I needed a fork that would let me install a 26 inch MTB tire (usually pretty wide to boot) and also let me use disk brakes.  I ended up using a Surly fork that was intended for the 26 inch wheel, disk brake equipped version of the Long Haul Trucker.  I also ended up needed a different front derailleur so called Bacchetta and got the one that comes on the Bella. I used a Rans riser bar and the Rans Chopper handlebar along with a couple of Rans idlers.

I took the seat from my Bacchetta Cafe so that eliminated a huge expense but I really need to find a seat for the Cafe now.  For you guys (and gals) who like numbers here is the breakdown of what it cost to build this bike. I am including the cost of the Jamis Komodo since I used most of the parts from it but I did buy it at half price from Jenson USA,  However, this was pretty much a wash as it would have cost at least as much to buy all the parts I moved from it to my off road bent. I'm not sure exactly what I paid for the Jamis but for the rest I have receipts.  I included the cost of shipping where applicable.

$331  Bacchetta Bella Frame
$350 Jamis Komodo MTB
$100  Surly Fork with 400 mm steerer tube
$40 Cane Creek Headset
$26 Rans Forged Riser
$23 Rans Headset Adjuster Clamp
$8 Rans  Post clamp
$76 Rans 3-way Chopper Handlebar
$46 Rans  Single Forward Idler Assembly ($23 each, I needed 2)
$48 Bacchetta Microshift FD-R439 Front Derailleur
$71 new cables and labor for LBS to install cables
 $16 two cheap walmart 8 speed chains (takes 2.5 chains for this and most bents)
----------------------
$1112 Total Cost. 

Note to wife:  I know this seems pretty expensive, but I am doing it for my health honey, and considering that a new Bella runs $1800 and a similar off road bent (the Lightfoot Ranger) runs $2375 I don't think I did too bad. I do think I would like to add a triple at some point and if I do it will have shorter crank arms.The 175 mm crank arms do scrub the tires when I turn sharp  The double crankset that came on the Jamis is geared very low so I am spinning out after hitting about 15 mph.  If I had the triple I could also use another set of tires (more road oriented)  and basically have 2 bikes in one.  Ideally the tires would be mounted on another whellset so I would not have to change the tires when I wanted to switch