Hedge Apple Time

This entry was posted in Just Life on by .

I rode alone to Lawrence yesterday on gravel.   Trudi had taken a few things down to the swap meet held before the Octoginta Tour, which is today.  I haven’t ridden much in Northeastern Kansas the last couple months.  When I got back early this week, it seemed like summer.  Now it seems like fall.

One thing that sets off fall here is the hedge apple trees.  We have a ton around here and the hedge balls are laying everywhere.  I love it.

Another thing is the congregating of black birds.  This time of the year, all the birds get together to go somewhere.  I’m not sure where they end up, but know they do like to get together to migrate.

I’ve been out of sorts recently, physically.  Lots of small problems, and a few big.  I’m just going to take it as it comes and not worry about it.  Well, I’m a little worried about it, but that is normal I think.

Fall is the end of the baseball season too.  The KC Royals are doing amazingly well.  They have won 6 playoff games straight.  I have to admit, I am a fair-weather baseball fan.  I’ve only been watching the games recently.  4 of the games have gone into extra innings.   But even the couple that didn’t, have been over 4 hours.  I thought a normal baseball game was supposed to be 3 hours.  These are too long.  My butt gets sore sitting there that long.

I’m going to ride my bike over to Stull right now, a small town about an hour’s ride from Topeka, to look at a minivan.  My diesel van is really hurt.  I think there are two problems.  The biggest is that the EGR cooler is dead.  Lots of water seeping out the exhaust.  Plus, I think it might have warped heads, but that isn’t  a fact.  Whatever the problems, it is going to take a while for me to fix it or super expensive to pay someone else.  Either way, it’s not getting done anytime soon, so I’m looking for another car.  Have a nice Sunday.

 

Hedge apples are everywhere around Northeastern Kansas.

Hedge apples are everywhere around Northeastern Kansas.

Long shadows and harvested fields seem very fall like.

Long shadows and harvested fields seem very fall like.

This is my favorite corner around Topeka.

This is my favorite corner around Topeka.

 

The birds are gathering to migrate.

The birds are gathering to migrate.

 

Water pouring out my exhaust yesterday.

Water pouring out my exhaust yesterday.

 

Back to trapping cats again. This one I'd already caught and fixed. It's ear was clipped. I was relieved since it was Saturday night.

Back to trapping cats again. This one I’d already caught and fixed. It’s ear was clipped. I was relieved since it was Saturday night.

 

 

 

Racing in Polluted Air

This entry was posted in Comments about Cycling on by .

I’ve had the “pleasure” to race in pretty polluted air a few times.  I thought of this after reading Phil Gaimon’s interview about him supporting the shortening of stage 2 of the Tour of China a couple days ago.

Like I said above, I’d done it.  I’d say the worse air I’ve ever raced in was in China also.  It was about 6 years ago when I went over and did a stage race in Shanghai.   The air was horrible.  I think they burn coal to cook, even in the major cities.  Whatever the reason, the air was off the charts horrible.  After the first stage, which probably was less than 100 miles, I was hurt so badly that I curled up in a ball and coughed for a couple hours.  And that is not that long ago.  It doesn’t look that it has improved too much.

Back in the 80’s the air in LA, and sometimes on the east coast too, was pretty horrible.  One race around the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, the air was bad.  I got lucky and got a bee in my skinsuit and had to peel it off, during the race.  I then quit.  The guys that finished looked like raccoons, the only white on their faces was their eyes.  And they were coughing and coughing.

Same with Somerville, New Jersey  a couple times.  I’ve found that when you’re racing, it isn’t that bad.  I think it is because, in cycling, we tend to take a bunch of shallow breaths, we don’t feel the effects of the pollution until we try to breathe normally after the race.

Anyway, the air in LA and Somerville has improved dramatically over the years.  The air in the US is much better since the early 80’s.  It probably has a lot to do with using unleaded gasoline and the better emissions on automobiles.

We should all feel privileged that we live in a country where, in general, we tend to have pretty pollution free air.  At least compared to the past.  And we have people addressing the situation.  That isn’t the case in many places around the world.  China for one.  (They make mandatory vacation day for workers to try to lessen the pollution.)  

We shouldn’t take it for granted, because it isn’t.

 

 

When I rode for Wheaties/Schwinn, the German guys that raced 6 days in the winter, said the air in the velodromes was horrible, with all the spectators smoking.

When I rode for Wheaties/Schwinn, the German guys that raced 6 days in the winter, said the air in the velodromes was horrible, with all the spectators smoking.

The classic, smoking while racing photo.

The classic, smoking while racing photo.