Ho Hum

On Wednesday, I had some unexpected free time in the afternoon, so I bundled up and headed out for a quick 30 miler out and back to Bluestem.

It was chilly, but not cold enough to be painful.

The sky was gray most of the time, making everything seem bleary and dull to the eye. Leaves and grass turned brown a while ago, so the scenery was not that special. Since I lack the talent, equipment, and patience of a real photog like Adrian, my pics took on the same brown - gray hue.


There was no wind in my face slowing me on the way out, and none helping me ride faster on the way home. As a result, I didn't ride that slowly, but I didn't go very fast either. Maybe you could call this a half-fast ride. (It helps if you say that last sentence out loud). :)

The most exciting thing that happened - a farm dog started to chase me out by Bluestem. A sharp call of "Stay" from me and he stopped in his tracks. When I turned around out by the lake and passed the same farm going back, he was asleep underneath about a four foot high pile of leaves in the yard - just his head poking out.

Ho Hum. Pretty boring ride. Yet despite the chill, the brown flora and gray sky, and the somewhat ordinary route, I was glad I went out.

Anything beats riding the trainer in the basement.

A Study in Contrasts

What a difference a week makes. Last Saturday, at 1 p.m., I was on my bike heading to Bennett so I could ride home through the Roca rollers. Temp was about 65, no wind, sunny, etc. This is the sum total of what I had on at the time:

Clothing inventory on this day:

short sleeved jersey
bibshorts
cycling socks
cycling shoes
helmet

Yesterday afternoon I attended the Husker game - at 1 p.m. the temp was around 33, overcast, wind gusting out of the northwest at 25-35 mph. I was wearing this:

The clothing list for this day:

thermal long underwear
jeans
wool socks
tennis shoes
long sleeved base layer
long sleeved turtleneck sweater
hooded sweatshirt
headband
hooded winter jacket
gloves



I hate winter.

Bill Watrous w/NJO

I have the honor of playing with one of the world's greatest jazz trombone players this Friday when Bill Watrous comes to town to play with the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra. This is my third opportunity to play with Bill, as he performed as a guest artist with the NJO a number of years ago and also performed with the band I played in at Disney World when I was in college.

Here is a video featuring Bill with his big band in Los Angeles - judging by the hair and clothes, the vintage of the video corresponds with the time period when I first got to play with him - early 80's.  Bill's solo starts at about 2:20 in - he is in top form here.

Fall Colors

I took a quick ride out to Pioneers Park yesterday - the colors are really starting to show up. Looks like yard work, house cleaning, college football, and a solo ride again today as nobody seemed interested in riding with me to Bennett - should be another great day to be outside. LPS fall break came at just the right time for some good bike rides.

Mamasitas Ride

Anybody interested in riding out to Mamasitas for some tacos and margaritas Saturday afternoon? I was thinking of leaving from Wilderness Perk around noon - should be great weather. Let me know if you want to go along.

Rode in today!

Doctor gave me a thumbs up to jump on the bike so I rode in today for the first time since early October. I start physical therapy tomorrow. Probably be doing that for awhile. Surgery is still not off the table, but for now it's a wait-and-see approach to see if the disc settles down enough so that it doesn't hamper my everyday life. Once you blow a disc, it doesn't go back to normal, just a matter of how much discomfort you're in.

I still have numbness in my thumb and arm, but I can live with that if need be.

Being on the bike doesn't hurt it hardly at all. I'm gonna have to flip the stem back over so the bar is a little higher and closer. But it's good to be back riding again and getting some exercise.