Go away, Gustav!

Three years ago, when Katrina hit New Orleans, Will and I were preparing to drive north to Vermont. By the time we got to St. Louis, the hurricane had swept through New Orleans, had hooked east and was bringing rain all across the midsection of the country. Will, Zeke and I decided, rather than drive in driving rain, that we would spend two nights in St. Louis and let Katrina get out of the way. That was when we took Zeke on his first visit to doggie day care. We hit the free museums in St. Louis and watched it rain from a hotel room.

Fast forward three years. On the third anniversary of Hurrican Katrina, we're getting ready to travel to Vermont again, this time via Memphis and North Carolina for the Live & Learn Conference. Hurricane Gustav is bearing down on New Orleans, for landfall late Monday (9/1) or Tuesday morning!

We should be well on our way across Arkansas by the time it makes landfall, but I wonder if it is going to catch up with us in Tennessee. Remains of it could affect the conference outside of Asheville, too.

So go away, Gustav! Don't ruin my trip!

T minus 4 days

Just got through watching Obama's acceptance speech. I can't find anything to dislike about him. I know certain people think I should be for Hillary, but you know she's unelectable when still, 8 years later, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette regularly publishes letters to the editor about how much they still hate the Clintons. Obama's a smart guy. We're the same age (I'll be 47 in January, he turned in August). I didn't like Biden during the primaries--same old same old--but I enjoyed his speech at the convention. I softened up a little over the tragedy in his life. He's not a bad choice, I guess. This is the first time I've ever been excited about a candidate, and it started back in the first part of the year. So let me just say it--Obama for President! That's it for the political talk on this blog!

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So there are a little less than 4 days until we leave. I've spent so much time on stuff for other people I haven't had much time to work on the packing, etc. Holly is coming over tomorrow to bring a bag for Dillon. I hope it's not too big!

I'm thinking of putting another box on top of the cargo box, but I don't know how I would attach it.

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Oh no, religion! The guy who just did the closing prayer at the convention did something GREAT, especially for a Christian. He asked everyone in the audience to close the prayer in the way their own traditions close prayer. I guess that means the Catholics were crossing and the Jews weren't saying "in Jesus name" (I don't know how they Jews close prayers other than amen). I'm happy to see a prominent pastor do such a thing. So that's it for religion on this blog! It's a twofer--religion and politics in one post!
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So how would I attach another cargo box to the top of the big cargo box? I thought about a cargo net, but it would still have to be strapped down. I also thought of taking certain things out of the box (chair, tent) and bungying them to the front of the box, between the box and the tailgate. Then maybe I wouldn't need another box. Unfortunately, all the boxes I've found are either too small or two flimsey to withstand driving rain, especially with straps pinching them.

Thought about putting a box on top of the Element, but that's just too much drag. Not gonna do it. I guess I'll wait and see what the load looks like for sure.

I'm planning on riding my bike every day if just for a mile, the whole time I'm gone. Gonna have to lift some weights, do some MYB, or something, too.

Hitting it hard tomorrow: washing the car, vacuuming, cleaning up the house. G'night!

Weezer tickets

Turns out Weezer is playing in Lowell, MA, about 35 miles from Manchester, NH, on the day we are picking up at NBTSC. So, since we can't get our rollercoaster fix on this trip, we're going to a Weezer concert. Costs about the same as a theme park! Will is very stoked about it.

All better

We had a good weekend, with nothing to do but hang out. We did go to the ballpark and install the water pipe for the sprinkler to the mound. I helped Charles by bailing and sucking water out of the trench. It was muddy work, but it had to be done so the field can be dried out and ready for sod by the end of the week, hopefully.

My legs don't hurt anymore! I did the run this morning at boot camp but only went half way. I ran the whole way, though.

I manufactured window dressings for the Element on Sunday. It works pretty well, the Reflectix. I can roll them all up, put a bungee around them, and put them up in the cargo net on the ceiling. That cargo net is staying up there forever, that's for sure. Handy as a pocket. Or is it a pocket?

I finally got the Centurion back from Community Bicyclist. It is set up so sweeeeeet, but I wish the interruptor levers were a little farther apart. I think he was leaving room for my handlebar bag, but I'm not sure. I don't think they can be changed without new cable/housing. I will have to get used to the barcons, but I don't think it will take long. The real test will be in Asheville next week. I need to put my shoes on and give it a real work out. I rode it to boot camp this morning, but didn't bother to put my shoes on. Just pushed the Frogs without being attached. That's dangerous for my knees, but I took it easy.

Thinking about changing out the pedals and making it my "porch bike", the one that I just hop on and ride to the post office or whereever I need to go. Since I'm only home a week before I leave for a month, I think I'll put that off--but I'll still keep it on the porch, because I like looking at it so much!

Oh, and it fits on the rig I made for the inside of the Element! Fits perfectly, as if I used it instead of the 1000 to make the rig. It makes the rig darn heavy, though!

Still sore

At 4;17, I woke up, one hour before the alarm was to go off. I turned over and moved my legs to the edge of the bed and OW! More pain in my calves, like it never left. There was no way I could do boot camp this morning; it would be hard just getting there. I turned off the alarm and went back to sleep.

Last night at the Natural game I put my feet up on the seat in front of me, with my knees bent, and at the end of the night I thought my legs felt a little better by the time we left.

This morning, no dice. Not better. Barely walking.

I did get to catch up on Mad Men this morning.

OUCH!!!

Yesterday at boot camp, we went to climb the JBU stairs. 100 stairs. When you get to the top, there's a huge granite sign that says California. No wonder they're so hard to climb! They take you all the way to California!

Anyway, we went up at our own pace, and down, and as many reps as we could. Noel said the women could probably do 4 and the men 5. I did 3. I could have done four, after a little rest. After all, we were watching Mark try to break the gym record by climbing them 21 times! He did it.

Today, I'm very glad I did not do the 4th set! My legs were all noodly after 3. They were extremely tired all day, as if I had run a marathon. Now, I've never run a marathon, but I've been on my feet all day before. I went to actual boot camp, too. My legs have been tired, but never THIS tired.

I went straight home and did lots of walking around the yard, to keep my legs from stiffening up. I took about 5 wheelbarrow loads of weeks out to the brush pile--that's about 75 yards of walking each way. I did that for about an hour and a half, and walked around Wal-Mart later in the day, but did very little else because of the fatigue. I moaned and groaned all day, every time I moved. I was just tired.

I thought, hmmm, tomorrow I'll hop on a bike and do a few easy miles to loosen up.

This morning, though, I'm SORE. It's my calves. From just below the lower part of the curve, to the bottom of my ankle, they're sore. To the touch, even. I used the rolling pin on my legs last night, thinking it would help. It did. My hams and quads are fine, but still tired. The calves, though, OUCH. I laid in bed an extra two hours because I didn't want to go down the stairs!

So Will asked me to take him to 3DPT (the source of all my pain) to work out this morning. When I walked in, Noel laughingly said, "Oh, Karen Tucker's calves are hurting!!" He KNEW. I don't know if it was his well trained eye watching my gait, or his experience with the JBU stairs. I told him I'd come in to give him a piece of my mind. He said that his were hurting, too. When he starts getting back into it, there is a transition period. He wonders why he ever quits climbing the stairs.

Ibprofen isn't helping. I used Noel's rolling pin, too. It hurts just to touch them. I sure hope they're better by boot camp in the morning! If not, no side-straddle hops for me!

No window tinting

I looked it up. Since I randomly chose PA in the earlier post, I checked PA's laws. They're more strict than Arkansas. Arkansas has pretty strict laws, too, but the stores are all selling window tint darker than the law allows. I realize there are plenty of different uses for it--we used it in a Halloween thing a few years ago.

So, I signed up on the Element Owner's Club, a place I learned about soon after I got my Element. Like the New Beetle forum I was a part of when I had a Beetle, it's chock-full of excellent information! AND, in a nice touch of serendipity, it is populated with hundreds of cyclists and campers! Even a guy who LIVES in his E. I guess it's natural that campers and cyclists would gravitate to the Element as the vehicle of choice.

Now to go and mine archives for information about covering the windows for privacy.