10 Thursday Sep 2015
Posted in Photography
I’ve just completed putting in dates in my calendar and I have come to the realization that between now and the end of the year every Saturday and Sunday is booked with something. I’m not exactly sure how this could have happened. Fortunately, most of the Saturday’s are booked with family events and there are a few that I have reserved for cycling events. I would like to have a couple of Saturdays just to sit around the house and do absolutely nothing. Maybe in my next life.
“Life Goes On!”
09 Wednesday Sep 2015
Posted in Photography
Tags
Fall has not even shown her face and yet I’ve already got a child with the Flu. Yesterday was the water heater and today I had to take my daughter to the doctor because she kept us up all night coughing.
Two more days until the weekend!!
“Life Goes On!”
07 Monday Sep 2015
Posted in Photography
Over 500 cyclists joined in today’s ride. It was awesome. To see this many people join a cause is simply amazing. Now whether or not it does any good remains to be seen.
It started off very slow. So slow that for over 100 yards or so I just pushed myself along. William Robertson’s wife and the rest of his club lead the ride along with some of Birmingham’s finest police officers. The ride was only less than seven miles but because of the slow speed it took well over an hour to complete. There were times when I reached the speed of about 20 but that was short lived. My average for this morning was a little over ten mph. We did have a collision which involved about three bikes. I’m not sure of the outcome but everyone looked to be standing when I rode past.
I got home and rested a bid, didn’t even change out of my riding gear. I left out and rode another 23 miles before supper. I would have rode further but my rear light went dead and I didn’t fee right not having a light to warn off drivers.
All in all I had a good three day weekend. Wished it was longer but I guess everyone does. My next holiday will be Thanksgiving weekend. It looks like I’ll have a four day weekend. Can’t wait for that.
“Life Goes On!”
03 Thursday Sep 2015
Posted in Photography
Tags
365 Day Photo Challenge, Alabama, Early Morning, MDB, Million Dollar Band, Parents, Photography, UofA
My son, who is in the Million Dollar Band, leaves in the morning heading to Dallas Texas. The buses load at 4 am in the morning. This is his fifth year playing for the University of Alabama and he’s used to getting up early to load the buses to head out on long trips but not this early. He told me this morning that he will be getting up at 3am to get ready so he can get to the buses early. He like to get there early to get a good seat on the bus. Band members who are late pay hell and get reprimanded for not being on time. I remember a couple of years ago a young lady overslept and by the time she got to where the busses were parked the bus had already left. She and her roommate drove for nearly an hour to flag down the bus for her to load it. The band director was not pleased and said “Never again will the busses stop for a student that is late. He/she will simply not make the trip and receive not only a reprimand but will be forced to sit out the next performance.” So with that said, I will be doing my parental duty by setting my alarm clock for 3 am so that I can call my son so that I know he is up and getting ready so he won’t be late. After all, he is one of the section leaders for his section and I would really hate for him to start the season showing a bad example to his section. I just hope I can go back to sleep after I make the phone call. He can sleep on the bus. My boss would probably frown on me taking a nap while at work.
“Life Goes On!”
31 Monday Aug 2015
Posted in Photography
Dark rain clouds during my ride.
As a child I learned how to ride a bike as my mom or dad pushed me up and down the driveway. I continued riding well into my teenage years. I would ride for hours on end around my community riding up and down hills that today I look at and realize that I know I couldn’t do it without stopping midway and take a breather.
Sometime in my early adult years, and really for no apparent reason, I stopped riding and again for no apparent reason I sold my one and only bike that my mom and dad bought me for Christmas. It wasn’t until after I got married and after my first child was born I bought a bike from one of my coworkers. It was a bike that his daughter bought some years prior and she had decided to sell it to get some extra cash. The bike was a Trek and I paid $150 for it. When I first got the bike I had to put it in the shop to let them get the bike tuned up for me to ride it. They put new cables, brake pads, tubes and tires and gave it a good cleaning. After all was said and done I put an additional $250 for the repairs. I bet I rode that bike 5 times between then and the time my girls were old enough to ride. There was always some adjustment to be made to the bike. The gears would never shift right, the brakes always rubbed and the tires always were flat whenever I wanted to ride.
A buddy of mine at work talked me into getting the bike out of storage. I used the term “storage” loosely here. It was stored underneath by deck outside where it caught the brunt of all the rain, sleet, snow and ice for over 15 years. I dug the bike out, scraped off most of the dirt dobber nests and proceeded to the hose pipe to hose it off. It needed a lot of work. To the shop it went, again. Two new tubes, tires, a chain, cables, brake pads, and a lot of work on the derailer. The shop kept it for two weeks before I saw it again.
After 1,200 miles, four wrecks, two trips to the ER, another chain and a new rim I finally broke down and purchased a new to me 2013 Cannondale. I’ve still got the Trek, after all it is an antique. Right now my Cannondale is sick. I’ve got the back tire in the shop getting a new spoke. Hopefully I’ll be riding her by Wednesday.
28 Friday Aug 2015
Posted in Photography
Mom is home but not any better. The doctors performed the test this morning but the test was inconclusive. They still don’t know if it’s a tumor or a clot. They sent her home with instructions to contact her doctor to make arrangements to have a MRI done at another hospital. They are leaning on the side of a tumor but this tumor is over 2 cm. My mother is upset that they didn’t go ahead and do something other than just run tests. I’m not at all happy at the moment myself. Hopefully, her doctor will expedite things so she can be more at ease.
“Life Goes On!”
25 Tuesday Aug 2015
Posted in Photography
By now I think everyone has either seen the list, heard about the list and maybe even looked through the list to see if someone you know is on the list. The list I’m referring to is the Ashley Madison List. By no means am I condoning the actions of the people that made the list. In my opinion, they just got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. The last two days my news feed on my FB account has been dominated with people wanting to share the list. Yes, I read the list simply because I wanted to make sure my name wasn’t on there. I knew it wasn’t because I never visited the site. But, you never know if somehow by chance someone stole my identity.
While I was glancing at the list, I did notice a couple of people that I actually know. In fact, my kids went to school with their kids. I simply can’t imagine what their going through right now. The embarrassment and humiliation must be unbearable. I’ve heard that there’s even been a couple of cases of suicide due to the list being published.
Here’s my take on the list. I don’t really care who’s on the list. I will not share the list nor will I speak ill of the people I know that are on the list. It’s simply none of my business. The families involved have got enough on their plate right now and they don’t need my help by spreading the list around.
“Life Goes On!”
24 Monday Aug 2015
Posted in Photography
Tags
365 Day Photo Challenge, camping, Cold Temperatures, Photography, Seasons', Summer, Weather, Winter
The older I get the more I despise colder temperatures. I’m extremely happy with temperatures between 60 and 70 degrees F. Any colder than that I start to get cold. I used to be able to handle temperatures in the 20’s and not even worry about wearing a jacket. No, the jacket will come out at 60 degrees and lower.
Tomorrow, Mother Nature will tempt us with temperatures below 70 degrees in spots. Even lower in the valley areas. It’s still August for goodness sake. I can remember temperatures in the 100’s way up until mid September.
I love camping in temperatures in the 40’s and 50’s though. Just as long as I don’t have to get out of my warm sleeping bag. During the day I can’t walk because of the amount of clothes I have on trying to stay warm. Just be prepared, I really don’t like winter and I despise being cold.
“Life Goes On!”
23 Sunday Aug 2015
Posted in Photography
Tags
365 Day Photo Challenge, Bike Ride, Cycling, Dogs, Obligations, Photography, Rain, Weather, Windy
I stated yesterday that come Hell or high water I was going to ride today. When I woke up it was storming here. At first I believed that the ride wouldn’t happen. But, as fate would have it, the skies cleared after lunch and I was able to get a little over 22 miles in. This coming week the weather looks good for riding each day. I know Friday evening is out due to a football game and Saturday morning is out due to having to take one of my daughters to a music class.
It really felt good to get out on the bicycle today. It was a bit windy and I had a headwind for most of my ride. I had several dogs that tried to attack me today and I have yet to understand why people allow their dogs to run loose in a community where there is a leash law. I’m just wondering if one of these dogs cause me to have a wreck and it causes me bodily injury who is going to be responsible for my medical bills? I would think it would be the dog owner but with today’s laws who knows?
“Life Goes On!”
07 Friday Aug 2015
Posted in Photography
Tags
365 Day Photo Challenge, Alabama, Bike Ride, Cycling, Dutch Oven Cooking, Photography, Waterfall
I have a lot of plans whether or not I’ll get to them all remains to be seen. I’d like to get a bike ride in, there’s a waterfall about an hours drive from here that I’d like to go photograph and I’m planning on doing some Dutch Oven cooking one day this weekend. So I have a lot I’d like to do but it really depends on how active I want to get in this heat.
I sincerely hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. Enjoy yourself and do something fun.
“Life Goes On!”
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