Rook's Rant

To the stats!

• Total Distance: 12.15 miles
• Elapsed riding time: 00.:53:30
• Top Speed: 26.7 mph
• Average Speed: 13.6 mph
• iPod: Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More & Indigo Girls - Rites of Passage
  
• Wind: 5 mph WNW
  
• Humidity  22%
• Temperature: 63° F

New trail! In fact, I am living in a new place. I will tell more later. However, I will say the new trail does have hills so I was pleasantly surprised at my average speed. Oh, this actually is from Tuesday, May 12, 2012.

To the stats!

• Total Distance: 6.72 miles
• Elapsed riding time: 0.31.56
• Top Speed: 21.7 mph
• Average Speed: 12.6 mph
• iPod: None
  
• Wind: 5 mph NW
  
• Humidity  45%
• Temperature: 59° F

I just did not have it in me to go very far, or very hard. It happens.

I figured it was only a matter of time before the Republicans, in desperation, would find something to use as a clarion call for impeachment. Will they succeed? Probably not. However, it would take up time in the house, preventing any real work from being accomplished, and possibly hold up the economic recovery.

Sigh. What else do they have to throw at the President? It is not like he really destroyed the economy. Indeed, he managed to enact enough legislation to help it slowly improve. And Mitt is simply not going to be able to convince most voters that the economy is tanking due to the President's policies. Meanwhile, the Republican establishment, and it's more rabid extremists (otherwise known as conservatives these days) will certainly not back Mitt. So, that leaves them with only the hope of impeachment.

So, you know, yeah. Go ahead House Republicans. Impeach President Obama. Come on, you know you want to. Oh, sure, it is an election year, but you have moral outrage on your side. As well as God. Or so you have told us many times.

Since the rabid extremists of the Republican Party (did I mention they are otherwise known as conservatives these days?) are anti-intellectual, it means they have not bothered to take history classes. If they did, they would have learned that after the impeachment of the last Democratic President, his approval ratings shot into the mid to upper 80s.

Come on! It is a winning hand! There is no down side to this. So stop pussy footing around and one of you make a motion to start impeachment proceedings. Hell, I have plenty of popcorn.

Do it! I dare you. I double dare you.

To the stats!

• Total Distance: 10.63 miles
• Elapsed riding time: 0.47.25
• Top Speed: 22.9 mph
• Average Speed: 13.4 mph
• iPod: Rock Mix on shuffle
1. The Wallflowers - Bringing Down the Horse - Invisible City
2. The Alan Parsons Project - The Best of The Alan Parsons Project - Eye In The Sky
3. Santana - Greatest Hits - Everybody's Everything
4. Sarah McLachian - Surfacing - Black & White
5. The Beatles - The White Album - Lady Madonna
6. The Beatles - 1967/1970 - While My Guitar Gently Weeps 
7. Wallflowers - Bringing Down the Horse - God Don't Make Lonely Girls
8. The Beatles - 1967/1970 - Something
9. John Lennon - The John Lennon Collection - Mind Games
10. The Beatles - 1967/1970 - Let It Be
11. Melissa Etheridge - Brave & Crazy - Mo Souvenirs
12. The Beatles - White Album - Birthday
13. The Alan Parsons Project - The Best of the Alan Parsons Project - Psychobabble
• Wind: 6 mph SSE
  
• Humidity  29%
• Temperature: 57° F

Yeah, doing much better on the Tour this year.

Seriously, you need to go read the open letter posted by Bryan at "Why Now?" from The Easter Bunny. It is very informative.

To the stats!

• Total Distance: 8.44 miles
• Elapsed riding time: 0.37.18
• Top Speed: 21.6 mph
• Average Speed: 13.5 mph
• iPod: Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II & IV
  
• Wind: 7 mph ENE gusting to 20 mph
  
• Humidity  34%
• Temperature: 53° F

After Tuesday's disappointing speed, today's makes me feel better.

Yes. Two days in a row! To the stats:

• Total Distance: 8.43 miles
• Elapsed riding time: 0.39.58
• Top Speed: 22.7 mph
• Average Speed: 12.6 mph
• iPod: Elton John - Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy
  
• Wind: 12 mph NNE gusting to 20 mph
  
• Humidity  26%
• Temperature: 61 F

Yeah, yeah. I know. A dramatic drop in the average speed today. I did hit major hills today. Well, for Grantsburg they are major. See, the land around town is flat, but the Wood river flows through the heart of Grantsburg, with a wide, relatively tall valley. Compared to the Mississippi bluffs around Hastings and Prescott they are ant hills. Still, they are of sufficient grade to give me a challenge, and a work out.

That is right, ladies and gentlemen. It is time once again for the start of my fight against old age. However, I must confess, my plan to exercise at Anytime Fitness paid off. I will let the stats tell the rest of the story.

• Total Distance: 8.55 miles
• Elapsed riding time: 0.36.20
• Top Speed: 18.4 mph
• Average Speed: 14.2 mph
• iPod: Eric Clapton - Unplugged
  
• Wind: 9 mph E
  
• Humidity  58%
• Temperature: 55 F

It is the Average Speed that I am amazed at. 14.2 mph! When I would ride the flat road down in Hastings last year, which was flatter than the roads I took today - north and west of Grantsburg - I was lucky to hit 13 mph. Also, my feet and butt would be so sore I could barely walk after finishing most of my runs.

However, I took my bike to Eric's Bike Shop, got new tires, a new rear brake cable, and most importantly, a new seat. The old one was too wide, pinching the nerves and cutting off blood to my legs. Some days my toes in my left foot would be numb for an hour after my ride.

Today? Not so much. I rode strait through from start to end without even stopping to stretch. Other than my inner, upper thighs being sore, not a hint of numbness to my toes. Nor was there any threat of cramps to my arches. All in all a very satisfying and positive experience. I look forward to many more of my legs.

They obviously are driving on a road as they perform. Amazing.

The computer age is changing the music industry. I can see why the RIAA is freaking out. When musicians can produce a video like the one above with out any crew, it means cutting the old dinosaurs at RIAA out of the money. As John said: Win

But only because I was not drinking any at the time I saw this photo.