Totally. We should just have squab.

The frustrating part for her is she did two (at least) 205-milers back in California, so 180 was a letdown.

Yep.

Yep.

At least I know what to do now. One bad thing about the warm climates.

If only they would stand up for themselves, maybe raising a wing in anger. But no, time and time again, they turn out just to be pidgeons in a white suit.

They need to know better than to cooperate with humans . . . get double-crossed every time. Dummies!

...everything is easier in California. Ask anyone here in Addiction.

40 miles today.

I should move there.

Even the earthquakes?

Anyone but me. I have never been, and have no intention of ever going, so I have no clue if things are easier there. They probably should be though, because most Californians I have met wouldn't cope with difficult.

I have friends and relatives in California. I haven't been to visit them yet.

I've never been west of the Mississippi, but I've been east of the Atlantic..

I have: St. Louis. I'm pretty sure that's west of the might Missus Ip.

I probably would be screwed if I had Mississippi as a word/name to spell in a spelling bee.

I really wanted to make a prince reference with all this dove talk, but came up with nothing.

Anyone looking for Clamp-on Front Derailleur weights? I had the triple beam out tonight!

[TABLE]
[TR]
[TD]Suntour[/TD]
[TD]7[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD="align: right"]121.2[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Suntour[/TD]
[TD]Vx[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD="align: right"]118.6[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Campagnolo[/TD]
[TD]Mirage[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD="align: right"]99.7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Shimano[/TD]
[TD]Deore[/TD]
[TD]FD-MT60[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD="align: right"]115.9[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Shimano[/TD]
[TD]Exage 400ex narrow[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD="align: right"]113.5[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

........yes.

I've had several amazing experiences out on the water.

I did a coastal passage race that involved going around Tasman Island twice -- on the way out during the day, and on the way back at night. The phosphorescence of the water was something to behold as we tacked along in a 35-knot breeze in the dead of night. Apparently, the phosphorescene comes from tiny creatures in the water, not the water itself.

To add dramatic effect, the lighthouse on Tasman Island was a beacon even 12 miles out. We just needed to keep a heading for it, but the guy on the helm got all concerned about five miles out* and put us into a tack that resulted in us going around in a circle!

Then on another coastal passage race, we made our way by sail through a narrow channel between the mainland and one of the rocks that make up the Friars. There wasn't much of a gap to navigate, and the wind was quite light, but it was an exhilarating experience.

On returning from a successful regatta we had a pod of dolphins have fun on the bow wave of the boat across Storm Bay. Mind you, going to work every day now means I am just as likely to see dolphins and seals. Yesterday it was dolphins. Last Friday it was seals basking on their backs in the middle of the channel. And a couple of weeks ago, a pod rode the bow wave of the ferry, which caused excitement among the passengers.

For me, bobbing around isn't particularly much fun. It's much better when the wind and waves get up, sitting on the rail, getting buckets of water thrown over me, putting an effort in with sail changes and winching in sheets. I love it.

I have pictures somewhere, but not on this computer. I'll see if I can post them sometime...

*I forgot to add the reason for the asterisk -- Five Miles Out if the name of an album and a key tune in it by Mike Oldfield, and it's one of my all-time favourites. The tune is about a plane with a huge storm coming, and it's really dramatic, and I can sort of relate it to sailing.

Looks like a gorgeous cool sunny spring day.

Time to ride.

Really? We are going in August. The whole family. I will check back afterwards.

You would miss the snow. Sure you can go up into the mountains and find plenty, but it's not the same as having some surrounding you at home on a daily basis for months.

California is pretty cool, I've been four times. Drove back from there twice in my adventurous young'un days. When in SoCal it's always a thrill to see palm tree-lined streets, a real treat for easterners. Been to SF but wasn't that impressed, maybe I didn't visit the right places. Scooted by San Diego but didn't stop, hope to make that stop one day. Visited Seattle year before last, hope to visit more of the northwest one day.

But I love the seasons here in the northeast and I love the snow. If I had my druthers, I'd stay here forever.

No matter where you live, Mother Nature would like you dead. In the Northeast, she does it slowly, with three months of bitter cold. She is a brunette, gets mad slow, hurts you slowly, and never forgets. Out west, she uses earthquakes, mud slides, and wild fires. She is a crazy red headed minx. She is happy bubbly, and then blindingly furious. Years ago, my brother gave me one (and only one) solid piece of advice: never screw crazy. It applies to Mother Nature as well.

Pretty amazing feat for both the men's and women's UCONN basketball teams to win the championships, and on consecutive days. Can you imagine the partying on and off-campus? It's going to take a week for those kids to recover from those hangovers.

Solid advice, no doubt. But that's pretty hard to accomplish these days.

It's good to be the NAACP Champions.

Moving is difficult. I won't cope with difficult.

so yesterday, i walked past a couple of destitute oldies. they could have been begging, but they were selling vegetables...pitiful. compassionate coasting was touched. i didn't need anything they were selling but i bought 2 bags of garlic.

today, i realised half of each bag was rotten. do i get some points towards my entrance to heaven?

We like the season here too.

i hate the cold.