sick

I think I am getting sick. Probably the same stuff the rest of my familyhas had for a couple of weeks. I was starting to think that perhaps I was immune.

Meanwhile the Pope has some sticky issues to consider:

Should the 'souls' of babies who are unfortunate enough to die before they are 'baptized' not be consigned to Limbo? Isn't there "a more coherent and enlightened way" to treat young souls?

The problems of theology.

oh and pray for my health.

next race - missouri state championships

Just registered. Race is next Sunday Dec. 4th, 2005.

Weather report says "rain" Saturday and "snow" Sunday.
My race is at 9am when the temperature will not have had a chance to rise above freezing. Jesus! what have I got my self into?

an experiment

What not to eat the night before a race:
fried chicken
salad
sheet cake
bean dip
chips
beer

a sharp eye will note that this menu is lacking in quality carbs. I wouldn't recommend this diet to anyone planning on racing the next day. I tried it Saturday and felt a noticeable lack of ooomph that I hope would have been there Sunday if I had eaten a bit more strategically. Not that I am making excuses or anything...

did it anyway

(see yesterday's post)

After all the hemming and hawing I did regarding the race yesterday, I actually did go to St. Louis. Bridget was ok with it and things were all right at home. I went with Ethan and co. which was fun. It wasn't the same as having Sam and Nora there but a day out with the Guys is nice once in a while.

The race was pretty good. The course was short, fast and hard. All the usual suspects were there and I did my usual fair to middlin': ended up fourth after 2 wipeouts. But. I was first going into the first corner and attacked and led for a bit later in the race, just before my first wipeout. Got a sore shoulder this morning. Like I pulled the muscle under my left clavicle or something.

Although I heard complaints that the course was designed to "trash our bikes" I am not sure what that's about. There were a couple of tricky corners and some muddy sections but not sloppy, only slick. I wiped out in both places. It's not like I am an expert mountain biker but compared to racing a mountain bike these courses are a breeze. The racing is harder 'n hell but the courses are great. Riding on a lawn with a few roots? Where's the trouble in that? The only way it could get easier is if the races were on a golf course fairway.

Next year my riding will be centered around 'cross. I wish I had discovered it earlier.

do the right thing

I was plannning on racing today but several things have come together to make this less than likely. Bridget has developed a bad cold and has a lot of work to do. I think she has something like 20 papers to grade before tomorrow and then work on her lecture for tomorrow as well. It's raining outside so that the kids, assuming they are still well, won't be able to do much outside. The house is a mess and there are a ton of dishes to do. All this means that it wouldn't be very fair to Bridget if I left to play for a day and she was home to deal with all of it on her own. I could take the kids but I don't think they would enjoy standing out in the cold while Dad got all muddy riding his bike. Plus, jeez, I was up until midnight last night and didn't sleep well (poker and beer at some friends). And it's not like I am leading the points race in the Bubba series or have done most of the races. If I skip this weekend I'll most likely go to KC and race next weekend in the Missouri State CX Championships. What's the weather supposed to be like?

religion -- various items

1. Some of us don't trust in god as Penn Jillette nicely puts it
   
2. The Flying Spaghetti Monster fails in its quest and Intelligent Design is proven to be Creationism in another guise
   
3. Kansas turns back the clock:
   

   The new Kansas standards allege a “lack of adequate natural explanations for the genetic code.” A “lack of adequate natural explanations” strongly suggests science should embrace supernatural explanations contrary to the very definition of “science.” The other obvious fallacy in such thinking is the unspoken assumption that all the evidence for evolution--all the fossils and other hard evidence--has been found. That’s a nonsensical, childish assumption for anyone even remotely familiar with the sciences involved. Like the universe and life on planet Earth, science is constantly evolving, unlike fundamentalists’ stagnate dogma:
   

   
   

   The Bible is the inerrant . . . word of the living God. It is absolutely infallible, without error in all matters pertaining to faith and practice, as well as in areas such as geography, science, history, etc.--Jerry Falwell




4. In the Netherlands a Muslim woman won the right to reject the hijab

see: finger, wrapped around

Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance is coming to Columbia.
My daughter loves the show.
So I am taking her.
It's that simple.

At home she dances with the show while watching the tape of it given to her by her Grandma. At school she did some Irish dancing (self-taught) at for the annual international talent show. At Celtic Summer Camp she actually had some lessons in Irish step dancing.

latest race

cool picture of me snapped by my son during the latest Bubba Memorial Cyclocross race (#7).

new rider

I've been sadly lacking in my duties here.
Seth and Kelly just had a baby, Lucy Nadine Smith! Just about the cutest little thing to hit the planet. Congratulations Kelly and Seth!
FYI...Pulling a baby in a trailer is great training.

time

Here I am on the first lap of Bubba Cross #6, just after the big hill. See the guy in white? When I passed him on the hill he said to me, "It's a long race." It was longer for him than me.

new high

so check this out...
Yesterday during CX practice I was trying to keep up with these 3 guys and while doing so went all out, I mean all out for a while. I knew I was going to blow up so I backed off and was worn out. When I got home I checked the readings on my heart rate monitor and my high hr was 188, higher than I have ever seen and higher than my predicted heart rate based on my age, 187. I have been using zones based on that and on my maximum steady state high hr of 169. Both have been superseded this week. Even though, it is only a beat or two, it's kinda exciting and I'll be changing my training zones accordingly.

cyclocross video

Bubba Memorial Cyclocross Series, #6

Nov. 6, 2005

Creve Coeur Park, St. Louis County

All videos are in QuickTime format

Nolan Froese #1 5.4mb

Nolan Froese #2 2.8mb

Jimmiez 5.7mb

Don Piscado 9.2mb

my first cyclo-cross race

As you can see my heart rate was pretty high through the whole race. I hear this course was pretty hard and technical. It certainly did have a number of tight switchbacks on wet leaves and grass and I saw quite a few guys go down, but I have to admit that coming from mountain biking it wasn't so bad. I think that is part of the reason that I enjoyed it so much: the switchbacks were on grass! not pointy-sharp rocks looking to separate my from some of my flesh. There was a big hill (paved) which was a killer for a lot of guys but I "like" hills and was able to make time and move up in the race on that hill. Normally, I can look at a graph of my heart rate and see where the hills were in a ride because my hr goes up correspondingly. Not this time. nope. maxed the entire time.

Overall I placed fourth, in a tight finish with one other guy who really was a stronger rider. I believe he had some mechanical trouble which allowed me to catch up to him. We see-sawed back and forth trading 3rd and 4th several times before he was able to take third in the end.

One of the best things about this race was the fact that my daughter was along with me. The course only took about 4-5 minutes to make a lap and I could see her cheering me on from several different places on the course. It was great and I can't wait to have her along with me again next week and the week after that and the week after that. And perhaps the week after that which is the Mo. State Championships which is being held in Kansas City the day after a UCI race which would be really cool to do. We'll see.

update 11/9: placed 4th out of 20 guys. Not too bad.

the famous author i have met

Bill McKibben signing Wandering Home for me and with the very same strokes of the pen, inviting me to come back East and visit. I really doubt he means come visit him personally.

Texas A&M Tops Missouri 3-1 :: 2005 Big 12 Soccer Championship

Our family has followed the MU women's soccer team all season long and it was exciting to think that they made it to the Big 12 Championship. Unfortunately, they fell to the Aggies. My daughter will be glad to know that Jenny Nobis got the lone goal for MU, as she is a fan of Jenny's.

I thought you could believe anything and still call yourself a Methodist.

Guess not.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The highest court within the United Methodist Church defrocked a lesbian minister today for violating the denomination’s ban on "self-avowed, practicing homosexual" clergy. [more...]

Update...11/2:
According to the NY Times the same "Judicial Council" is supporting another hateful position:

But church experts said the most significant decision could prove to be the little-known case of the Rev. Edward Johnson, pastor of South Hill United Methodist Church in South Hill, Va. Mr. Johnson's decision to keep an openly gay man from joining his congregation was upheld by the Judicial Council as the rightful exercise of his pastoral discretion.
...
The Pacific Northwest resolution asserted tolerance for a plurality of views on sexuality. In both cases, the council held yesterday that church law barring gay members in the clergy superseded the resolutions. [more...]

silliness

latest post on my other blog. probably my last too. I was going to keep the two separate but I think it's better to have just the one.

This letter to the editor from "name withheld upon request" is just so silly.
silly, silly, silly.
I would withhold my name too if I had penned such a silly, silly thing.

Anniversary announcement alters traditional definitions
Published Monday, October 24, 2005
Editor, the Tribune:
Your article in the anniversaries section of the Oct. 16 Tribune regarding the male couple who celebrated their 25th year of commitment will probably be regarded by many as real progress. Please do not count me among those praising this new ground for the Tribune.

You have eroded the very definitions your publication has used for years. You have given "engagement," "wedding" and "anniversary" expanded meanings. If two individuals become engaged in a new business partnership, will you include it under "engagements"? If these business partners wed their business philosophies, will you include this among the weddings in your newspaper? When this business celebrates its 40th year, will you cover the milestone in your anniversaries section? As ridiculous as these scenarios might seem, they fit just as tidily into the three different sections of your newspaper as the two men’s 25 years of commitment fit into the anniversaries section.

So you included the announcement of the 25 years of commitment because some folks think they sort of have a marriage. If they dissolve their commitment, will you include it with the divorces? Will you start putting cardiac arrests in with other arrests? Will one have to be completely dead or just real sick to be in the obituaries? Will there have to be a newborn baby, or will a positive EPT be close enough to be among your birth announcements?

Never mind the moral issues involved here. Just how far do you plan to take these liberties with traditional definitions?

See what I mean, silly.
And Hateful.

cyclocross

Seems to be the topic these days. Went out Wednesday with Seth and Josh and others including the Perfesser and actually rode my "cyclocross" bike off-road. That stuff is hard. Jumping off the bike at full speed and then jumping over barriers! What sort of sadist thought that up? Why would you want to get off of a perfectly good bike and carry it? All said I had a blast and can't wait to get out again. Would have had even more fun but my headset is screwed up and kept coming loose, gotta check into that.

hard work

Spent all day Saturday selling food at the Sustainable Living Fair raising money for Sam and Zola's trip to Japan next year. That's him and Zola selling food at the Iji Suru Combini, or, Sustainable Convenience Store. We sold homemade cookies, curried rice and lentils wrapped in a tortilla, hummus, coffee, tea, and soda. The boys worked hard all day, selling and making change. Being pleasant behind the counter doesn't come easy to everyone but they did it marvelously. I was on my feet all day too which is not something I do very often anymore. Financially it was a success too.

Next up: a special showing of Howl's Moving Castle at RagTag Cinemacafé. That one will be a lot of work too.

impediment?

Of a three paragraph letter to the editor in today's paper, the middle one is the critical one. I have annotated it below:

"The four-way stop is a situation where a cyclist is a major impediment. [This is the place where a bike is the least "impediment." If it weren't for cars my ride to work would be "unimpeded."] It is easy to follow the rules, but cyclists are comparatively slow out of the gate [speak for yourself]. A cyclist stands to delay the waiting further by occupying a space in the road where a vehicle would otherwise be. [Once again, who's delaying whom here? The same ride takes me 5-10 minutes more when there are cars on the road. And what is a bike if not a vehicle? Dog shit? And on a side note, if you "delay" the waiting doesn't that mean you are not waiting?] The herky-jerky nature of a busy four-way stop has a cyclist doing a dance of "on the bike, off the bike." In an attempt to eliminate this problem, I stay to the side and adopt a car to traverse the intersection. I watch the sequence at the stop and go when the adopted car is up for its turn. [Let's hope the driver is not turning right without his/her blinkers on and is watching for a cyclist. I would not like a bike to do this to me when I am driving my car.]

Crazy!

What this guy is advocating sounds pretty dangerous to me and I have explicitly told my kids not to do it. Plus, if I understand it correctly, the law is on the other side.