A bit slower than 65

I was browsing the Surly Blog today, and apparently part of 35W was closed for construction here in the cities, and one bike fanatic adult took a few bike fanatic kids for a car free spin. I guess he ended up in handcuffs and had to pay a huge fine, but they all enjoyed themselves. All that pent up aggression from getting harassed by motor vehicles while commuting by bike will drive a person to rejoice in riding their bike on the Interstate. :) Pretty nuts.

Front yard circus...

Did some slacklining in the Hovde's front yard tonight. I finally have some action pictures, as Alison was around to man (or woman) the camera. I'm not sure the neighbors share my enthusiasm for stupid things such as walking the slackline. I'm one of the only young poor people on the block that goes to such measures to entertain myself. I have a good time though, and they seem to enjoy the show to some extent.

Quote of the day...

Once again I've been reading from Mr. Edward Abbey's work, and was struck with another quote that hit home. I think I might just have to have the Ed Abbey quote of the day on my blog from time to time, seeing as I've collected so many of them. Here's today's:

”If America could be, once again, a nation of self-reliant farmers, craftsmen, hunters, ranchers, and artists, then the rich would have little power to dominate others. Neither to serve nor to rule: That was the American dream.” -Edward Abbey

Mileage update...

2007: 813 miles (respectable, but less than I'd expected)
Since recording mileages: 7,334 miles

Keep peddalin'...

More slacklining...

I thought I'd post some more slackline pix as well as long I'm in the blogging mood. I really need to get some pictures of me actually on a line, but I'm always by myself when I'm out. So for now you'll have to pretend to enjoy pictures of the slackline itself. This was quite a long line I set up in Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park down the road from where we are staying. It was somewhat secluded, with a lightly traveled bike path running nearby. The riders all stopped to wonder what on earth I was doing balancing on my little strip of nylon. Having fun is what.
It took a 9 to 1 tensioning system to get the line tight enough considering it's length. The mess of carabiners, knots and cord that you see at the left of the line is the tensioning system to pull the mainline that is walked tight (although it is always somewhat slack compared to a tightrope, hence the name slackline.)

This picture sure shows a bit of my nature, the slackline itself is one venture, the touring bike another entirely, and the wood grip on the tensioning system is a bit of an old walking stick picked up while backpacking in the Northwoods. Many methods of outdoor escape.

Update

The past month has been confusing, to say the least, and I have not been entirely in the mood to blog. Thus the long gap since my last post. The short of the long is that my airline job did not work out for me. I left by choice, but I don't know that I'm going to post all of the reasons on this blog. Most of you linked to my site have no doubt talked to me directly anyhow, so there's probably no big news for you to read. Anyhow, life must go on , and it will. It appears I'll be returning to my old job for now, and will be returning to my usually outdoor distractions as well. I have already been back to the Superior Hiking Trail since returning from Missouri, and it was very theropuetic to walk deep into the woods away from the normal concerns I face. Ty and Chris backpacked with me, and we enjoyed the section of the trail that passes from Gooseberry Falls State Park through the Split Rock River Loop. My left knee gave me quite a bit of pain towards the end of the trip, which is a problem that's been developing over the past year when I hike. Even though I cycle at least 1,300 miles a summer, and ride the indoor trainer in the cold months, it is very different on the knees that hiking over uneven terrain supporting a backpack full of gear. Backpacking is very high impact on joints where riding is not, so I suppose I better start day hiking somewhat regularly to build up my knees for the times when I do get out on the bigger loaded walks.

Doing some household chores at camp: drying off some wet stinky tent after a night of rain...if I look leaner than normal, I am. I've lost 27 lbs since moving to MN in Jan. by way of cycling and stress. Time to start climbing again now that I've regained a better strength to weight ratio.














Ty doing some other camp chores: filtering our drinking water out of the Split Rock River. Yum. It tastes better than any city water I've come across. It's just water, and not full of chlorine. Yum.

Slackin' in Mercy Park...

Seeing as it was beautiful out tonight after work, Alison and I decided to do something outdoors, and we happened to pick slacklining. It's only the second time I've set up a line, and it was the first time I was actually able to get up on it and stand for a while. Sweet. Al got up too; we both had our epiphany moments on the line where we figured out how to do it. It will be fun to keep slacking and get better. It seems like such a goofy passtime, but man it's fun, and you can do it just about anywhere. I didn't get any pictures of us actually up on the line, because we were spotting each other, but next time I'll try to get a couple. And for those of you who don't know what slacklining is, follow the Yogaslackers link on the right side of this blog to check it out. Our friends Jason and Sam are pretty involved with it. Anyhow...

Getting on is the hardest part...














Is your wife open to doing stupid things like balancing on an inch of nylon webbing with you? :)

Mexico

So I'm finally getting around to posting a few pix from our recent trip to Mexico. Enjoy:

Lying around on beach (I was already fighting Montezuma's Revenge in this picture- I look much happier than I was.. :) )














The view from our hotel room balcony:














Logging some hammock time on Isla Muerta:



















Alison eating (and discovering she dislikes) octopus at one of the fine restaurants on the resort:














After snorkeling, and swimming with the "Nemo fish", and coming close to being stung by a few small jellyfist (a few people in our group came back hurting)...














The next several pictures are from Chechen Itza, the ancient Mayan/Totec ruins about three hours inland from Cancun-

The planetarium/observatory (pretty wild that they had so much science back then)...



















A face in a wall much like a totem pole...














Scattered ruins of decorated rock...














A ruin that I can't remember what it was but it's pretty big and sweet...














Yet again..














Part of the main temple. The Mayans were big on snakes and eagles. They represented how God rules the ground and the heavens...














If you look at the edge of the pyramid, the steps form diamonds that make up the scales of the snakes on the edge of the stairs, running down to their heads at the ground. Wild.














A couple of very white people in hot Mexican weather enjoying the main temple of Chechen Itza...














Ruins seen through the jungle (there are actually still several jaguars in the area, although people have done what they do with anything they don't understand and are afraid of with the rest of them and killed them off)...














Flying away from Mexico. It was 85 degrees in Cancun, and three and a half hours later it was 39 degrees in MPLS. I went road biking when we got home anyway. :)

Quote of the holiday...

As some of you may know, today is Earth Day. The Discovery Channel was running many episodes of it's series called "Planet Earth", which displays a huge variety of scenery, creatures, and science from all over the planet we live on. It's pretty fascinating. It really gets me thinking of how small my daily routine really is, and just how much more is out there. I really don't want to be stuck in just one place for many years at a time when there is so much creation to see. And I'd sure like to do what I can to make sure future generations get to feel the same awe when they look outside.
And as talk of the environment and creation does quite often, it got me searching through quotes of my favorite author, the late Edward Abbey, who is hailed as somewhat of an environmentalist, even though I don't know whether or not he would apply the term to himself. He was most assuredly floored by the power of nature, and dumbstruck at how complacent the Earth's inhabitants can become as to their own surroundings. This quote is simple but fitting for Earth Day, and worth tossing around in your head if you're the pondering type:

“The world is older and bigger than we are. This is a hard truth for some folks to swallow.”
-Edward Abbey

Happy Earth Day. Don't forgot that our grandkids need to live here too.

Memories...

So from time to time I look through the millions of digital pix on my computer from days past, and this time I ran across a picture of a place I just stood this past Sunday, the parking lot of Palisade Head along the North Shore of Lake Superior in Northern MN. I'm not sure exactly what year it was taken in, but it was definitely during college. It sure brought up good memories of forcing very good trips into a hectic schedule and spending priceless time with my best friends that I'd never trade for anything. It seems that with age many of us forget to have this fun. I like this particular picture not because of its quality (it's a pretty crummy picture really), but because it really sums up a time period of my life. Putting tons of outdoor gear in someone's beat up old vehicle that might make it to the desired playground, and hanging out in the best places on earth. Sweet. Who wants to go on another adventure?