2000.4

Well I did it I hit 2000 miles on my bike! Next year I hope to do more than 2000 but I will take each little victory as it comes. My next step is to get the road bike throughly cleaned. I will continue to ride on the trainer downstairs to the spinnervals dvd and if it is nice out the mountain bike has not been out for awile. In February comes Brrr or as I named it last year the "Ride from Hell". Hopefully in 2007 it will not be as bad.

I am glad that I took up riding again. I rode bikes all of the time up until about 10 years ago. I then just up and quit. I didnt realize how much I missed the freedom that I feel when I ride. The sites that I see and the benefits of the exercise. Hopefully I will learn to take it all in stride and will be riding for alot of years to come. I am past the years of being a competitive racer but that does not mean I will not try some races. I have learned that the first one across the line is not the only winner. If you try and you finish no matter how long it takes...then you are a winner!!!

"You are only a failure if you fail to try"

Peace

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope that everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. It is hard to believe that the holidays are upon us. Enjoy the weather this weekend, this is Iowa it can turn overnight!

Peace

Shadow Divers

I recently finished reading a book that I would recommend to anyone. It was called Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson. The book is a non-fiction account of a group of deep sea divers who discovered a sunken U-boat off of the coast of New Jersey and the 6 years it took to aquire the identity of the lost U-boat. What struck me about this book is the way you are drawn into their world, you get to know the divers and the other charactors involved. The dedication that it took to do hours of research and the feeling that they needed to see this through. The main divers John Chatterton and Richie Kohler felt that they owed it to the men who lost their lives on this boat to Identify it and to let their living relatives know what really happened.

I got so drawn into the book that as I was reading during lunch one day, something happened that made me want to cry..instead i just put the book down and said "no that cant happen". When it is fiction you know that it is just a story however this is non-fiction, there is no editing to make it end like you want.

I do not know much about deep sea diving or ship wreck diving, however the book explains it very well. It is almost like the sirens of Greek mythology it just seduces you and makes you crave more.

If you are looking for a good read pick this book up. Let me know what you think. Because I did a lot of thinking after I had finished.

"Life is a matter of luck and the odds in favor of success are in no way enhanced by extreme caution"

- Erich Topp(1943)
one of the most highly decorated U-boat commanders of WWII


PEACE

Reflection: Another Year Older

On the 17th I turned 44. It is interesting when you are young and you hear that someone is 44 you think of some old, grey haired lady with a cane or walker. Well it is not quite that bad. I do have some grey hairs but the cane and walker are going to have to wait for awhile.

Looking back over my first 44 years here are a few thing that I have noticed or learned.

1. Boys do not have cooties
2. Playing Cowboys and Indians was a good thing.
3. If you do not get to do something..you will not just die
4. If I had to do High School over again. I would not worry a bit about being popular, having a boyfriend etc. I would soak it all in , hang out with the nerds, the jocks, the druggies and the brains. You can learn from them all.
5. I learned that kissing is fun. Thank you Eddie.
6. Collage is difficult but it is a good experience. Enjoy it the big bad working world is not what it is all cracked up to be.
7. You need to start taking care of your body in your 20's, if you wait until you are 40 you will have alot of catching up to do.
8. Never say Never you will live to eat those words.
9. Anyone can run a marathon with enough grit and determaination.
10. Dream big, it is true the sky is the limit. Do not let anyone say you can't do that.
11. It is true eveyone you meet for any significant amount of time leaves alittle bit of themselves with you.
12. You become more spiritual or religous as you get older. You are not so invinsable anymore.
13. It is ok to cry.
14. It is good to laugh
15. Stop and smell the roses.
16. Eat ice cream if you want just not the whole 1/2 gallon.
17. Hang out with happy or fun people.
18. Listen to the stories that your parents and grandparents have to tell, they are amazing people.

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally warn out and screaming....Damn what a ride!!!!

I cannot wait to see what the next 44 years hold, maybe some of you will take part of the journey with me..



Peace

Happy Saturday

It is Saturday the 11th and it feels like late fall early winter. I really dont mind. I am a person who has to have the 4 seasons otherwise I feel like something is missing. I am 116 miles from getting my 2000 for the year on my bike so I hope to hit the trail later this morning. I think it will be time for the shoe covers and claws to come out.

Thanksgiving is just a couple of weeks away and then Christmas. Wow hard to believe. We will be spending Thanksgiving with a group of friends that we went on the cruise with. It is going to be a very relaxed day. I am hoping to be able to bake some bread. I enjoy baking breads I just never do it anymore because it is just the two of us, and Bill does not quite get the pleasure of homemade bread. I have tried to culture him but it is just a lost cause...:)

Next Sunday is the Tour De Lights, Bill and I are going to ride it with the Sedore's. It is for a good cause, The Make A Wish foundation. Go to the following web site if you would like to participate.
http://www.bikeiowa.com/asp/calendar/RidePopUp.asp?e=1571

Well my coffee is gone so I guess that it is time to get moving. but I am going to leave you with the following proverb. I need to keep this in mind, I have a tendency to keep looking to the past...PEACE

For Yesterday is but a dream,
And tomorrow is only a vision:
But today well lived
Makes every yesterday a dream of happiness,
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Look well, therefore, to this day.

-SANSKRIT PROVERB

What is important to Me

Yesterday morning I was sitting outside drinking my coffee and got to looking around. There was a blue bird singing, A squirrel was running around collecting nuts for winter. Spaz and Ollie were sitting on my lap. As I sat there I started to think about what people held dear to them. The more I thought about it the sadder I got. We hold our cars, homes and possessions dear to us, these are objects. People think nothing of killing cats, dogs, birds etc. However if they get a scratch on their car or if a window breaks they think that the world is coming to an end. What happened. Animals are living breathing creatures that God created. Tree, grass, flowers are living breathing things that God created. They are free, look out your window or go to a park. We need to learn to enjoy the simple things in life, the creations that God gave us. If we dont start taking care of them, they will be gone.

Have a great week and go and spend sometime watching and listening to the birds, feel the breeze on your face. Enjoy the simple things in life.

Peace