Road trip #1

I have officially finished my first road trip. I took a back roads route to Macon Georgia to visit the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. My GPS unit got me there and back with little fanfare. It’s funny that I would miss a turn and end up in the NU-Way parking lot. I resisted temptation and stuck to my diet but we will meet again next spring.

Getting Ready to start my journey


This will be her first night outside in the elements

Downtown Macon


Georgia Music Hall of Fame

James Brown Display

Apparently Rock and Roll was once considered a cure for mental illness

Ray Charles

B-52's - I'm still in my own private Idaho

Little Richard - I still remember my shock when I discovered that 'Good Golly Miss Molly' had nothing to with Dancing

Otis Redding Pilot License and flight manual


A legend relaxing on the farm


Otis Never made it to the concert - a great loss for music lovers around the world

Otis and his baby sister

Big Guitar

Cool Building

Final Odometer and GPS readings - looks like one of them is a slightly inaccurate

The ride home started a little misty but I managed to stay either ahead or behind any serious rainfall. Luckily, I grabbed a hand full of Kleenex before heading home to clean my face shield. Country roads are always a hoot to ride. I had the entire road to myself Sunday morning and enjoyed every foggy minute. I must admit that the clouds had me worried that the GPS unit might not get a signal but once I got to highway 11 it didn’t matter. It’s good to be home but I can’t wait until my next road trip.

Walk On By

Monsters come in many forms. Jeffrey Dahmer ate his lovers. Hitler wanted to make a perfect world. What motivates a monster? Is it love or hate? Were JW Milam and Roy Bryant motivated by love for their own kind or hatred for 14 year old black males? The worst monster of all feels nothing. No love or hate or anything in between. What happens when the monster has to make life decisions for their personal Frankenstein? Will the monster find a nice retirement home for the obviously senile Frankenstein or just walk away and let the chips fall wherever the may. An interesting conundrum for most but Frankenstein has been emotionally dead to the monster for a very long time. Our history and life experiences server as learning tools but in the end we must live with today and play the cards we have.
Here's a picture from the luau complete with all the food and Mai Tai's you can stand. Middle age is more fun than anyone could ever imagine.

going in the right direction

Vacation is over and it is time to get back on the training path. My first race is scheduled for April 17 and I have a lot of work to do to get ready. Basically I wasted all of 2006 and have to start from scratch. I am back up to a very slow three mile run and speed will come later. Five miles is the target for next month. Unfortunately I will be close to blind for a couple of weeks after my PK Lasik operation. My vision is so bad (in unison: How bad is it) that I cannot do the easy lasik where you drive away in a couple of hours. The doctor says I am two points away from a disability check.
The Hawaii vacation was a hoot. I spent christmas day at a real luau. The weather was a perfect 78 degrees and the food was delightful.

The lava fields the day before were interesting but it was very hot and the 11 mile hike was no fun at all.

Burning of the Midnight Lamp

2006 was an interesting year. I have walked lava fields, enjoyed many quiet nights with my true love, and stared my worst demons in the eye. I also lost a lot of good people and the sun just doesn't seem as bright anymore.

I look forward to a new year and the many challenges that are scheduled to come my way.

On a more positive note, P.W. Botha died on Halloween which is obviously a good day for a monster leave this earth.

4:15AM

I’ve learned a very important thing about sunsets. It’s all about perspective and where you are in the moment. Sunset cannot exist without sunrise, endings cannot exist without beginnings. Usually my perspective when these simultaneous events occur determines whether the moment is happy or sad. I walk away from this moment a much smarter man; 9/8/2006 4:15am is not an ending to be mourned but a new beginning.

My Ego Needs Me Tonight

The road construction outside my subdivision has put a damper on my biking, running and motorcycling. I will probably drive up to the Horse Park this weekend and get a ride in but whole point of moving to Conyers was to be able to go cycling from the front door.

The motorcycle practice is going really well. I am just drilling the basics since I only have about 2 miles of road to work with in the neighborhood. After my MSF class I will venture out for short trips using the same low traffic roads I use for cycling. The new flush mount front turn signals arrived today. I’ll post some pictures when I get them installed

diamond in the rough

I have started running on Tuesday and Thursday and walking three days a week. Biking is still reserved for weekends due to weekday traffic. I did get a chance to do some exploring this weekend and found some nice bicycle friendly roads. The same routes will be useful as I get acclimated to the new motorcycle. I am replacing the front turn signals with flush mounts to avoid possible damage to the front fairing. Who would think that being middle aged could be so much fun. The only way to top this would be getting a new hip and maybe a little liposuction to get rid of all this baby fat.

Remember to wave if you see an adorable old man on a red Ninja having the time of his life.

Strechin' Out

Well, I didn't make it to the race last Sunday. The weather was gloomy and my head just wasn't in the right place. At least I reached my 3 mile running goal. A slow 5 miles is my next goal which I could before my winter slow down.

The new motorcycle arrived last Saturday. I am the proud owner of a 2006 Ninja 500R and can't wait to hit the road. I have a private class scheduled next weekend and the official MSF class set for June 15. Luckily, by taking part of the MSF class earlier I know that I need to wait until my private class to avoid any unnecessary damage to my new bike and also my middle aged body.

daylight

I'm finally starting to get back into some sort of a routine. I get about 2.5 miles inside the subdivision which will come in handy when I am forced to run after dark. Unfortunately, my GPS battery died mid run so I don't have accurate data for my evening run. Oh well, I'm off to enjoy a quiet evening putting away laundry and maybe a glass or two of cheap wine.

Walking This Highway

The last few weeks have been really busy. Between moving and traveling I haven't had any time or energy for running or biking. My race is at the end of April so I should be able to run 5K in that time. I did manage to get a very quick 10 mile bike ride Sunday on Highway 212. Moving further away from the city was a great decision. I can actually ride my bike and have to carry a pistol and extra ammo for those road rage crazy butt holes in the city. Most Atlanta drivers are from the other parts of the country and come to Georgia because they are wanted by the police or the local STD clinic in their home town. I know that immigration is the current hot issue but we should consider banning whoring Yanks from the south or at least not let them drive.

We have a new addition to the family and I am officially no longer the family pet. The new cat is named Stubs because most of his tail is missing. I suspect he didn’t get out of the way of a door fast enough and lost a piece of tail. Call me country, but I am not accustomed to having animals around that I have no intention of eating.

Don't Look Down

Things are going well with the new house. The yard went in this weekend with minimal excitement. The landscapers tried to screw us out of a couple of pallets of sod but fortunately we were hanging around the house all weekend and saw them take a few pallets away that would have been more than enough to complete our yard. After a few phone calls they mysterously came up with enough material to finish the job.

Closing is Friday and I can't wait to get out of this God forsaken mold infested hell hole. I wasted some perfectly good sick days that I could have used for some nice spring time bike rides nursing a raging sinus infection.

My motorcycle safety class is scheduled for next week. I am a little nervous but it should be fun. I guess I'll have to make a final decision on which motorcycle I am going to purchase. The FZ6 is the most comfy but I'll know more after I finish the class.

Anticipation

The .5 walk 1 mile run rotation worked out great for my first complete five mile outing. Hopefully this nice weather will hold up until Spring officically arrives.

We are planning to close on the 10th and I can't wait to get out of this #$%& apartment. The wood floors were almost finished this afternoon and the carpet should be in later this week. The landscapers still haven't arrived but are expected to be finished by Friday.

I will survive

My first five mile walk/run didn’t go as planned. I didn’t account for the hilly terrain and my body staged a minor revolt at the 1.88 mile point.

Left Leg: What the hell are you doing?
Brain: Shut the F&*^$ up and do what I tell you
Left Leg: Why don’t you come down here and push 180 pounds of flabby ass up this hill
Ass: I got your flabby right here you hairy B*&^
Left Leg: Let’s see you f%$&ers pull this hill without me

This about the time I found myself trying to pull my body over the curb and out of the way of oncoming traffic. The thought of being run over like a damn possum in the middle of the road was just too embarrassing. This is also about the time I realized that I forgot my cell phone. Anyway, once my leg stopped twitching I walked to the 2.12 mile mark and then headed back towards home. Obviously my plan to run 3 continuous miles and then Walk 2 will change to a run 1 walk .5 rotation until I can run the entire five mile route.

On the bright side I still managed to burn about 573 calories according to my GPS unit but that doesn't include the seizure which is good for another 150 calories.

its only life

The weather has sucked lately and my workouts have become an endangered species. I will start my five mile routine (run 3/walk2) until I can run the whole 5 miles. I found a couple of safe bike routes near the new house. I'll start some 30 mile bike rides next month as the weather permits.

I broke down and went to Steak and Shake for lunch today. An occasional treat won't ruin my overall health plan and keeps me from falling completely off the wagon. The Circle K changed their Honey Bun stock and I can honestly say that the thrill is gone.

This suck ass weather is holding up my driveway. Hopefully the cement truck will show up Friday. After the driveway is done the landscaper can do the yard Monday. Most of the electrical and the lighting fixtures are installed. The appliances should be installed Friday morning. I'll post more pictures this weekend

Reves De Star

That darn sinus infection ruined my mood for bloging. The counter tops are in along with the closet shelves and shower door. The plumbers were just getting started this afternoon so I should have a toilet by this evening. The tile looks nice but the pictures just don’t do them justice because of all the dust. I’m hoping they pour the driveway and do the lawn and sprinkler system before the rain starts this weekend.

Valentine’s Day was a hoot. We went out to a local club and had a nice time. The band was good and the food delicious. I occasionally prefer a smaller more intimate setting over the usual mosh pit chaos I’m known to enjoy.

Time to get my lazy bottom back on the road and put in some running miles. I was hoping to do some bike riding on President’s day but the forecast is predicting rain. Back to gym I guess for another boring treadmill run.

Jig of life

I’m back to the world of the healthy and ready to get in the groove of everyday life. The house is coming along just fine. The painters are almost finished and the driveway and sod should show up this week. I’m going to start packing after Valentine’s Day.

Oh well, I'm off to the candy store for some Valentine loot and maybe a few strips of leather to make the evening more interesting.

Last Temptation

Oh foul and wretched pastry from hell. Why dost thou tempt me? Thou are surely a creation designed purely for my destruction but yet so sweet upon my lips. Your consumption provides joy deep inside my soul as precious and intense as a young man experiencing a woman for the very first time.

I'm still on the wagon but temptation is always lurking at the Circle K on the way home. Fifty one cents can put 300 calories on my hips in a matter of minutes. I am holding strong and will get this honey bun monkey off my back once and for all.

The house is coming along and the paint should start today. The drywal work is finished, it is starting to look like a home. More pictures to come this weekend.

Happy Feelings

I shaved another 52 seconds of my 2.5 mile run. I'll go back to 3 mile runs next week. My short term goal is 5 miles before my charity run in April.

We closed on the old house today and now its time to go through all the crap we never unpacked and throw away or sell anything we just don't use anymore.

If I could just get rid of this infernal honey bun addiction my world would be perfect.

Lights, cameras, still waiting for some action

We picked out the lights Saturday morning. A necessary but slightly boring task. The choices we made are very nice and I'm sure we will be pleased with our selections for many years to come. Not much going on in terms of construction this weekend. The crew is waiting for the spackling to dry before the paint party begins.

At least Monica got a chance to take a picture with Sponge Bob at the Mall.

The workouts are coming along but I still can't wait for some spring weather. I plan on doing the Effective Cycling class in March and then try a few easy group rides. I really miss riding my bike. Maybe I'll get my lazy bottom out in the cold and do a few miles just for fun.