Urban Ride

On Saturday Michele and I went on a nice 50 + mile ride around Dallas, we left from the house and first rode to Snider Plaza and stopped for this picture at the fountain and then stopped at Starbucks to get caffeined up. After the coffee stop we rode through the S M U campus and through numerous back streets and neighborhood to arrive at White Rock Lake Park. This Park is the cycling Mecca of Dallas so we did a few laps around the lake at 9 miles each and then 7 miles up the White Rock Creek Trail and then back home. This was a fun ride and it was nice to ride moderately and sight see, so many of my rides have become too much like a race and very intense with a lot of "attacks" on any hill.

The weather has been very hot and it was over 100 when we got home from this ride. Living here we have learned to live with the heat and to not let it keep us indoors all summer like so many do. I have found that we can pace ourselves and drink plenty of water and do just fine, this was good training for the Hotter Than Hell 100 less than 2 weeks away.

On the sailing front all is quiet, the mast is still down and the water level is down to 5 ft above normal and next week I plan on hauling the boat. I think I will make it a winter project to completely refurbish the bottom, add pressure water to the existing 30 gallon tank and a good solar panel for keeping the battery's charged while traveling and staying on the hook for several days at a time.

Live more work less

Dennis Starkey

CRASH

MIchele took her first spill on the Specialized Dolce and got scraped up a little bit, she also jammed her thumb but was not hurt to bad. This happened in our neighborhood when she entered a turn with water from a sprinkler system around the curve, a little hard on the brakes and the bike slid out from under her. I am thankful she was not seriously injured and since she was out by herself she went ahead and finished her ride and then came home so Dr. Dennis could bandage her up, she said that hurt more than the crash. Notice the large band aid, and there is one more on her knee, (sorry no bloody photo's).

I went on a new hill training ride on Wednesday and got a good workout on a very hot late afternoon. This ride goes to a hilly area and does repeat aggressive climbs of some hills in a residential neighborhood, in some areas these are probably considered small hills but it was still hard work. The ride finished with an all out sprint to the performance bike shop in which I stayed with the leaders at 37 mph but faded at the end to finish a great ride

On the work front this is a new unit replacing a 24 year old one and will reduce this homes carbon footprint and save on the light bill. The old unit was about a 9 seer rating and the new one is a 13 seer rating. Think of seer (seasonal energy efficiency rating) like miles per gallon, in this case a higher number is better. This was not an elective change since the old unit died and will be recycled.

Less is really more

Dennis

This picture was on a club ride where the fast group (with me) caught the slower group and are working our way through them with a lot of cutting up going on, we made up 5 miles on them. Michele and I have been able to ride quite a bit. On Sunday we rode to Downtown Dallas and looked at the big fire at the welding gas plant that has been all over the news, the area is destroyed with buildings and a lot of cars torched. Many years ago I had worked on the mechanical systems at this building, I'm sure glad it was a long time ago.Monday I worked on this 1959 model chiller that still provides the cooling for a large home, that's an old unit but not as old as me.

This is the old atmospheric type cooling tower for the chiller and I replaced a few boards that had rotted out. This is an old very inefficient system, the oldest still running system I know of.

Thursday I decided to take the boat out and survey the high water from the lake, since the mast is down in preparation to remove the boat I had to use the motor and couldn't sail. The picture doesn't do the sky justice, it was incredible.

The lake is still in flood stage but has dropped 3 ft since my last visit (now 9 ft high) and I should be able to haul the boat this month. As I motored through a cut in the old dam I stopped to fish this brush pile and caught a little bass, the trees in the background are the original shoreline. I sure would like to be able to do the work on the bottom of the boat and get it ready for some coastal sailing and try out the trailer.

Have more than you show, speak less than you know.

Dennis

Jazz Saturdays

For the last few weeks I have been busier at work and we have had some breaks in the rain.
Michele and I have both been riding a lot and have done several rides together, this has been nice since most of my rides are at just about all out effort. I finished the week of the 7th with 175 miles and the week of the 14th with 126 miles. With the heat of summer here I will ride hard starting in a couple of weeks in prep for the Hotter than Hell 100 and take it easy for four or five days before the event.

Lake Lewisville has crested and is slowly going down, all the ramps and the travel lift are still closed but I sure would like to take the boat out this month. When I last checked, my boat and its entire dock had been moved to an area that is the parking lot and have formed a walkway to connect all the docks together.

No photos this week that anybody would want to see just some of us cyclist dressed funny walking around the parking lots. Michele and I each had a flat but it wasn't a good time for a photo. The city of Adisson is about 5 miles away and have been having Saturday Jazz nights in the park. Michele and I went Saturday night and it was a good show on a cool evening, the price was free and you can bring a cooler and picnic. The month of August will feature symphony's and we will check one or two of them out, after all Sprocket need some culture.

Have more zero days

Dennis


p.s. zero days are days you spend no money out off your pockets, but have a good time

Kaboom Town

On the 3rd we went to the Kaboom Town Festival and watched a great firework show and concert. They had antique aircraft flyovers and acrobatics as well as trick parachutes and perfect weather. My firework photos are poor but its what I have.

On the cycling front I have been busy with 2 GDB club rides of 65 and 42 miles and had the Summer bash party. On the 4Th I rode a 65 mile ride with the Mirage racing team and a group of 6 of us got stopped by the police. No one was given a ticket but we were told we had to ride single file even though the country road was deserted. I have read the law and it is my understanding we do not have to ride single file but should not obstruct traffic, since I am no expert and the officer wasn't giving tickets I was very polite with a lot of yes sirs.

Saturday the 7Th I rode 65 miles with the PBA club and averaged over 19 mph with some good hills, this ride was hard on me and this morning I was a little sore so Michele and I rode an easy 15 this morning before more rain came.

I went to the boat and the cockpit drain had stopped up and the cockpit was full of water and about 2 inches in the cabin, no damage but a big mess. I got all the water out and dried everything out good and visited with some boat neighbors. The lake is still in flood stage and is up to the marina office building so it's anybody guess as to when I can put the boat on the trailer.

High Water

The plan to put the sailboat on the trailer was a bust, the lake is in flood stage and all ramps are closed, this is the road to the ramp I wanted to use.This is our Marina and our boat the SVRisingStar is back there somewhere, I guess I will pay for another months rent on the slip and hope by then the water will go down. It may not since it has risen 3 feet since this picture.

I consider us lucky that this is our only water trouble as so many have been flooded out of their homes, Michele and I pray and hope things get better for these people.

Dennis