Taking shelter in Harrison's tomb

Yesterday, I joined my brother and some of his friends on his 100 mile bicycle "Le Tour de Hamilton County". Much of the charm of these long distance rides is in dealing with the unexpected, like getting lost (which we do at least once in every ride) or dodging thunderstorms. The weather around Cincinnati yesterday was characterized as "isolated violent thunderstorms". Ok, sounds interesting. Intrepid bicyclers that we were, we decided to go for it anyway.

Our first downpour hit at around 25 miles and was very quick, just enough to get us thoroughly soaked in time for breakfast. For the next 50 miles or so, the weather was ideal. We thought, mistakenly, that we had pretty much dodged the thunderstorms for the day. Not so...

We were about 80 miles into the ride near North Bend, Ohio, when it hit. The sky darkened quickly and shortly after that the rain began to pour. The tough thing about rain like that, besides the fact that it makes the road rather slippery, is that it reduces visibility for those of us who wear glasses. Anyway, when the lightning started hitting a little too close, we took shelter on the side of the road. As the rain continued to pour, making us ever more cold, wet, and somewhat miserable, we noticed that about 200 yards up the road was the tomb of William Henry Harrison (9th president of the United States). Harrison has the dubious distinction of being the president to have served the shortest term in office - 32 days. He died after contracting pneumonia on his inauguration day. Bummer!

Be that as it may, his tomb now served as an excellent shelter for 3 weary, wet, and cold travellers. Once we were safely inside, I called my daughter to say we were safe and to get an updated weather report to see how much longer we might be delayed. 20-30 minutes later, the sky cleared and we were on our way.


Here are the 3 intrepid travellers after about 103 miles on bicycles. 7 started, 3 finished. All in all, a great day!

Evan and Me...

Swimming in the lake...

I joined the TNT group that is going to the Nation's Triathlon in an open water swim last evening. We were in Lake Erie at a place called "Columbia Park". That place is a magnet for open water swimmers. I saw my roomie from the Philly Tri at the swim. He is planning to do the Nation's Tri. It was good to see him again and catch up on his plans. Maybe we'll get together for a bike ride some time.

Wetsuits

I attended a free wetsuit fitting and demonstration last evening. Tried on a $600 "Zoot" brand wetsuit. Very nice. Very expensive. I took my two "Team In Training" wetsuits to get an opinion from the "experts" on how they fit. Their conclusion was that my long sleeve wetsuit that I wore last year in the Philadelphia Triathlon was one size too loose. Of course, "too loose" in a wetsuit still means that it is very difficult to squeeze into. The sleeveless wetsuit that I wore for Wildflower was judged to be the proper size. That's actually good because I prefer the sleeveless suit anyway.

Saving turtles...

Watch out for the snapping turtles!

Riding a stretch of road through Mentor Marsh, I came upon a turtle making slow progress crossing the road. Not wanting to see it squashed by a passing car, I reached down to pick it up and deposit it on the side of the road. I expected it to retreat into its shell when I reached down but... It attacked! I didn't think a turtle could move so fast. I narrowly avoided having it bite into my finger. I managed to nudge it gently to the side of the road with my foot.

The moral of the story is verify a turtle's intentions with a stick before deciding on the correct "Good Samaritan" strategy. :-)

Le Tour de Hamilton County

My brother has just set the date for his annual century ride, June 28th. I'm planning to join in the fun.

The Gobi March...

A very interesting race started yesterday. I signed up for updates...

12:44 am, 7 June 2008, Kashgar, China: Competitors, staff and volunteers have now arrived in Kashgar, anxiously awaiting check-in early in the morning. Competitors will depart for the first campsite in the Gobi Desert at 3 pm, with a large cultural show expected by the locals later in the evening. The bidding for the hot showers continue with a bid reaching US$2130. The Gobi March (China) 2008 website is now live.

12:53 pm, 7 June, Kashgar, China: Check-in is now almost complete. The competitor with the lighest backpack was Juan Encina of Chile weighing in at 6 kg., and William Calarese of Team Microsoft Unlimited Potential had the heaviest backpack weighing in at 17 kg. Competitors will depart for the Gobi Desert in just two hours.

2:30 pm, 8 June 2008, Taxpuxkha: Ryan Sandes of South Africa has won Stage 1 of the Gobi March followed by Siu Keung Tsang of Hong Kong in second, and Juan Encina of Chile in third place.

15:24, 8 June, Taxpuxkha, China: Lia Farley of the United States was the first female to cross the finish line of Stage 1, while Team Lieda of Spain was the first team to cross the finish line. Carlos Dias of Brazil is struggling through Stage 1. Temperatures are around 35 C (100F). Tonight competitors will stay with local Kirghiz families.

1:45 am, 9 June, Tashpushka, China: Competitors are now resting. Two competitors are expected to withdraw before the start. Stage 2 will contain one of the most difficult sections of the stage. The temperatures were very hot for Stage 1, and several competitors required I.V.s.

Check out the 4 deserts series website.

My "baby" is home from China

She returned to Columbus, Ohio, last tuesday, and back to Mentor for the summer on Wednesday. Her dad is so glad to see her. :-)