Graffito on a distribution box. I'm not sure who it is.

Tree

Images

As I accelerate up the bridge the first time, glass pops under my tires. I smile. Fat tire worries not about little pieces of glass.
A woman passes me, then settles in front, legs at a good cadence. I pass her. She passes me. I pass her. 'You won't get rid of me that easy.' She passes me again, and I hang back, just out of drafting distance.
'Hey, you've got Fat Tire locked up!' A real cyclist, a racer, smiles and passes me. 'Too bad I didn't enter.'

The run was flat, and boring. I go on the grass for some variety.

Coming down the bridge, two miles to go, I watch the speedo tick upwards - 18.0, 18.7, 19.2, 20.0, 20.5, 21.5, 22.5 . . .
I crouch over the handlebars, legs grinding, mouth open wide, stretching, as wide as the intake on an F-18, as wide as a whale shark. The ram effect feels like it's forcing air into my lungs and its all I can do to exhale and try to get more oxygen.
23.5. 24.5. 25.5. 26.5 27.5 28.0.

I pick out the next biker. That one I'm gonna pass that one fasterfasterfaster

Twenty yards before the finish, I scream by, legs churning.

Gotcha.

Hot to Trot

I raced in the Flora-Bama 'Hot to Trot' reverse duathlon this morning. After hashing last night, and getting in bed at about 0230, I was up at 0500 to outfit my bike and drive over. As usual, I was out-equipped. I don't even have road tires, much less aerobars or those snazzy carbon-fiber frames.

With a time of a just over 2 hrs, I took thrid in the u39 Clydesdale division. I would have won the Fat Tire group, but I also would have been the only entry. I really got hurt on the return bike leg - there was a strong headwind, and I am not nearly as aerodynamic as the other racers.
The best part was topping out at 28 mph coming down the bridge! That was pretty great.

Then I slept most of the day. Tomorrow: studying!

A Few Simple Rules

. . . for the food bank donation box.

People receive this food. Sometimes, it is the only thing they have. 20 cans of pumpkin pie filling do not a meal make.

Neither does steak rub. The people who get this can't afford steak.

'Bang for your buck.' If you can buy one can of organic, pesticide-free fair trade cheddar-cheese-and-crab soup, or six cans of cheap-ass chicken noodle from the dollar store, which will do the most good?

We need milk. We always need milk. Evaporated, powdered, condensed, UHT. Milk goes fast.

Don't put cat food in the donation bin. You're not helping anyone, and you're just wasting the sorter's time.

Afternoon Run

I went running this afternoon through a nearby neighborhood. It was strange - on a golf course, walled in, but not very well, nice houses but many empty lots with the hidden rubble I'm used to seeing - bricks, pavers, concrete slabs where houses once stood. Before Ivan. I guess no place on the Bay was spared? The most interesting sight, to me, was the line of destroyed docks. Pilings marching into the water, places where the seawall has failed and the saltwater is coiling in.

Also, the political signs were about evenly split. And the people who had them had several. Maybe they are trying to convert the neighbors?

More of the garden at Manna Food Bank. It's their more experimental garden, and is finished from the summer season.

Part of the garden at Manna Food Bank.

Santa Rosa Triathlon

I arrived at dusky Pensacola Beach early enough to get
a prime spot for my bike. The flock of beautifully
appointed racing bikes, with aero bars, disc wheels and
carbon-fiber frames, were intimidating.
I came in 14th in my division, in just under 1:54. I
realized, after talking to friends I met at the
triathlon, that my 1:45 goal was VERY ambitions.
I did well on the swim, and okay on the run. My bike
portion needs work - I had a fairly slow average speed.
Maybe I need a better bike, like an actual road bike?

The ChampionChip is very cool - splits for everything.

I had a great time - I am definitely doing another one.
In two weeks Flora-Bama is having a duathlon just
across the state line in Alabama. It looks fun.

Tri Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the Santa Rosa Island Triathlon.
600 Yard swim, 18 mile bike, 3.1 mile run.
I'm hoping to come in under 1:45. I know that is slow, but that's my goal. I'm going to the registration tonight, and gonna be at the transition area bright and early tomorrow morning!

Wish me luck.

From afternoon ride, 29 SEP 08.

The entrance to an abandoned lot in my neighborhood. Ivan in '04 wiped out a lot of houses that haven't been rebuilt yet.

First Post

Hello everyone!
I'm Easterner. I'm starting this blog to tell people about my life here in Pensacola. I plan on taking pictures and doing writeups of the little projects I'm involved in.
I have a pseudonym because of my job. We're not allowed to tell much about ourselves on the 'Net. I don't plan on writing about my job, though.

Who am I? That's a great question. My family and friends already know me, and I hope this will provide a good way to keep in touch with them. I already spend lots of time on the internet, maybe this will let my check my mail less often.

I look forward to writing, and hearing from my readers.

-Easterner