Over the River

It is divided highway and limited access with a speed limit of 60mph and a minimum speed of 40mph. It has at least four lanes each way. It is the Page Extension. It is the route I need ride my Symba to cross the Missouri River when traveling out to visit my son, daughter-in-law, and grand-daughter. It, also, has a really wide shoulder and is nearly deserted on the weekends. It was quite the adventure to ride this route before I got my chain replaced. Now it is not so bad. This time I touched 55smph (Symba miles per hour) a couple times over the bridge. Cars still whizzed by me, but they had lots of lanes to do it in.

The usual drill is I get there and we spend some time together and then go out for lunch. We are always going to go somewhere else, but always seem to end up at Chili's.

The kids.

Is that a black bean patty hiding in there? Maybe. Maybe not.

Next we head back to their place and I gear up and then head for home. Did I mention the temperature was 95F when I left for the kid's place? It was. And, it was 100F when I left their place. I had recharged my Glacier Tech Cool Vest while we were at lunch and put that on under my mesh Tourmaster jacket. The vest does keep my core cool and it holds its charge for over two hours in +100F heat. My only concern about it is how hard the "frozen" packets would be to fall on.

I was feeling so good about how well the bike was running and how well my hot weather gear was working that I decided not to go straight home. Creve Coeur Lake is one of my favorite destinations and it was on the way so I decided to stop by. Besides I was curious as to how many folks would be out in this kind of heat. Usually on a hot day you can't find a place to park, but that wasn't the case today.

The place was nearly abandoned.

And, there were only a couple sail boats on the water.

There appeared to be a couple of reunions going on and if not for them I'd have had the place to myself.

Some guys were playing with a four-wheeled people powered vehicle. These and kayaks are for rent to the public. 

An educational moment.

Dripping Springs.

I was going to take the long way home but it started to look like one of those late afternoon pop-up storms was brewing. Since the weather forecast hadn't mentioned rain I'd not brought my rain gear, but with it being over 100F I wasn't concerned about getting wet. So, I put my wallet and cellphone in the top case and away I went. But, the further I got the darker it got and then it began to thunder and lightning. I saw a McDonald's and decided that a lemonade would taste real good.

By the time I'd finished my lemonade the storm had passed and and blue skies had returned.

I'd left the house around 1030hr and returned at 1700hr. I put approximately 75mi on the bike.

It was a very good day.

I'll Be Keeping Watch

The "For Sale" signs are up.

The transformation nearly complete . . .

It has changed quite a bit since I first started watching it . . .

 To take a ride down memory lane click here

While the property at the corner of Lafayette and Compton is getting a new chance, this property still looks much the same . . .

I did meet the guy who rents the property next door . . .

I asked him about the property. I found out the person he rents from doesn't own the building that is falling down. It seems the City had taken over the property and was going to tear the building down when the new budget year began. If so, then I suspect there will be some action soon. Then I asked him why he continued to live there. Was it because he had a lease? Nope. The reason turned out to be very simple. He just really likes his landlord. And, since the City inspectors have told him that the townhouse he lives in is still sound, he and his family are staying put.

And, I'll be keeping watch as I ride to and from work each day

I Will Be Content, If Not Satisfied

St. Louis, Michigan is the town I grew up in. My Dad and Sister still live there. St. Louis, Missouri is the town in which I now live. When I first bought my Symba I had in the back of my mind riding the Symba from St. Louis, Missouri to St. Louis, Michigan and back. I have no doubt the Symba could do it. Not all that long after I got my Symba I learned of Binh Cheung and his ride from San Jose to Alaska . I'd, also, hoped to learn to do much of the maintenance on the bike myself. Alas, I found the increased level of anxiety and lack of patience that have been ongoing challenges post head injury become especially evident when I work with things mechanical.

Now, I'm following the blog of a couple of travelers as they travel around the world on two  Symbas. They have made it from Portland, OR to Columbia, MO  once again proving the Symba can go and go and go given the right support. The key phrase there is: Given the right support. I would not be able to do the mechanical things, at least at this time, to take on a trip to Michigan and back let alone a journey of such epic proportions.

Still, I figured it was high time I added a state to the states I have ridden in. So, this past weekend I made it across the Mississippi River and into Illinois.

Proof that Billie made it to Illinois.

Most of the Bridges across the Mississippi aren't friendly to wee machines like my Symba. But there are a couple that are. I crossed over one of these -- the McKinley Bridge.

I walked back along the bike trail to get this photo. It shows two of the three spans. On a cooler day I hope to go back and hike a bit further up the trail and get some better photos of the Bridge.

There is a small park on the Illinois side of the Bridge. It the background is what appears to be an old power plant that is being torn down.

Once in Illinois I continued up Hwy 3 for a while and then turned around and headed for home. Hopefully, the next time I venture this way I'll go farther. Yes, next time I plan to make it all the way to another bridge and make some photos for a certain  Pennsylvania blogger I know.

So, while others traverse continents I will be content, if not satisfied, with having two states on my riding resume. And, I will continue to merrily go on my way constantly on the lookout for a flamingo or two.

They are everywhere you know.

It Was A Delight To Meet Both Her And Her Work At the Same Time

It has been hot and humid in St. Louis for what seems forever. But once upon a time it was cold here. Now people complain about the heat. Then they complained about the cold and the lingering ice. In that time of cold and ice on my dark winter night commutes home I would often see lights in a building at the corner of Shenandoah and Compton. It was both comforting and heart warming to know an artist was at work as I worked my way home. Each time I passed I would wonder about who this artist was and about her work. I knew her name was Carol Carter, the building had given me that much. I realized only after I met her that I could have "googled" her name, but I didn't think of it at the time.

Recently, as I rode Billie, me wee chariot, toward home in the long light and heat of a July day I noticed a poster in the window of the studio where I had seen those lights last winter. It announced an Open House on Saturday July 30th from10am to 4pm. I made a commitment to myself to be there.

It was raining as Heather and I made our way to the Open House. The rain was nice enough to let up as we arrived.

I like this building. I think the balloons wilted in the humidity.

We opened the door and walked into a studio both sparse and filled with color. The woman we would soon learn was Carol welcomed us even as she spoke with others already there. We wandered around, and on what I suspect was an inspiration wall I found a very good omen.

Yep, a flamingo.

When we did get to talk with Carol I told her I rode by her studio on my daily commute to work. I told her of seeing her in the studio during the winter as I rode home. I, also, mentioned to her I had a blog and was interested in learning more about her. She went over to a box and looked for something to give me. She handed me a magazine. It was the December 2009 issue of American Artist. She had it open to an article written by Stephen Doherty about a series of portraits she had done of her son as he grew from two weeks after his birth to young adulthood.

People were coming and going. The Studio had a wonderful feel to it. 

Heather took this picture of Carol.

On Carol's blog under the heading Things You Need To Know is this statement: "Painting my whole life--watercolor especially...." From being in her space I sense this is certainly true.

As I watched Carol being a gracious host to strangers and welcoming dear friends, I knew I was having an experience that I'm doubtful would have happened if not for my commuting to work by small motorcycle rather than car. Billie by her nature keeps me off the expressways, places me in neighborhoods, and demands my attentiveness. I by my nature find myself increasingly caring about these neighborhoods and meeting more and more of the folk that give these places life.

I loved Carol's use of color to open up the familiar and make it fresh. I'm very glad she has a  website, but I'm glad I didn't think to search it out before. It was a delight to meet both her and her work at the same time. That said, I hope you take a look. It's really good stuff.

Another Day of Triple Digit Temperatures.

Besides not tempting the road rash gods a good thing about wearing gear when riding in this weather is all the women who tell me I look hot.

It's so hot here that even the spider webs are "shimmering."

On the Road Again

This morning I went to see my Doctor. As I expected he released me for all activity. Come Monday I can go back to work. I can even skate, but I don't think I'll be doing any sprints for a while.

After lunch with Heather I came home and prepared to try out some new hot weather gear. It came the day I got hit by the car. I got a neck cooler which is just one of those things you put in the freezer and than tie around your neck. It didn't cost much and I figure I'd give it a dry. The other purchase was more of a risk. You can read about it here:  http://www.coolvest.com/RPCM_Cooling_Vest/Default.aspx

I had put the cool packs in the freezer to charge last evening. When I took them out they were the solid white color I was told to look for.

Here they are on the kitchen counter.

I placed them in the vest. The packs went in easily. The vest felt heavy until I got it on. I had hoped there would be less condensation with these packs than with other systems, and perhaps there was. That said these packs "sweat" quite a bit.

Obviously not a profession model.

It felt cool, but not freezing when I put it on. I thought it might feel heavy, but it didn't. I put my regular jacket on over it. And, I was good to go. 

I rode out to Castlewood State Park. It is one of my favorite places to ride to.

We stopped in the Park for water and a couple of photos. This is my first photo of Billie since the panniers were removed.

By the time I returned home I'd been wearing the vest for over two hours. I was still feeling some coolness from the vest as I waited at the last stop sign before pulling onto my street.

After two hours there was still some charge left. I was impressed.

It was triple digits here today so it was a good test. After my ride I wasn't worn out, not did I feel that overheated feeling that I nearly always feel after a ride in today's conditions.  The only negative so far was the condensation. As I expected I still did sweat quite a bit and hydration is still important, but the vest definitely kept my core temperature down. My initial reaction is: For the commute home and for longer summer rides this vest seems like it will be a good addition to my arsenal.

Changing the subject slightly, it was great to get on the bike again. It is difficult for me to comprehend that just a few days ago I was hit by a car. I was indeed one very lucky cat.

Billie Went Down, But . . . And, I Went Down, But . . .

Billie went down, but I was not with her.

Last week during one of those "Scattered Thunderstorms, Some Possibly Severe" that "pop" up from time to time here in St. Louis during the Summer, the wind blew Billie, my Symba, over. One of the maintenance guys called the Fileroom trying to contact me, but I was in the other Courthouse at the time. So, my boss and Walter went down and set Billie back upright. When I got back, I went down and found her mostly damage free. It's good to be taken care of. I really appreciate Mark and Walter for being Billie's guardian angels.

The only real damage to Billie was to one of the panniers. I must admit to having a love hate affair with these panniers. I got them as part of a special deal when I bought the bike. They had to be ordered. When I first saw them they seemed very flimsy. Later, when they were installed the service techs said they couldn't hook up the lights in the panniers. This meant the original tail lights could only be seen by the person directly behind me. I didn't like this and eventually got them to install another set of lights in addition to the regular lights at my expense. These lights quit working after a month or two. Not a pleasant customer service or product quality experience.

I mentioned how flimsy these panniers seemed, yes? Well, they were plastic and the lids rubbed together. It was hard plastic on hard plastic. They were noisy and there was a trail of plastic dust on the panniers from the lid and the bottom of the panniers grinding away on each other. I lined both the lid and base with electrical tape and it stopped the rattling. Another annoyance was the need to remove the top box to open the panniers. Needless to say I didn't use them for storage very much.

Ah, but when Mike took over the service department at Maplewood Scooter my relationship to the panniers was transformed. He said it would be no problem to wire up the lights. And, when I finally got a chance to see how cool they were, well, all the pannier's past sins and shortcomings were forgiven, but not forgotten.

Flimsy?

Yes.

I will miss the lights, but we'll come up with something. And, I will miss the place to put stickers, but other than that: Good riddance!

 

And, I went down, but Billie wasn't with me.

Last Monday evening I was inline skating on Grant's Trail. The previous Saturday I'd done a nice long slow skate of twenty miles (32.1km) and was doing intervals -- nearly full out sprints followed by recovery time. One cyclist had clocked me on one of my sprints as doing 18mph (29km/h).

As I approached where the trail crosses Union Road I had sprinting on my mind. I was due to begin one shortly after crossing Union. When I saw in the distance the clock on the crossing sign showed eight seconds. I figured if I began my sprint it would be tight but I could complete the crossing before the light changed . . . and I could have. What I hadn't allowed for was the car preparing to run a red light. We suspect he was going 35 to 40mph when he hit me. I remember impact and remember as much as is possible in such instances of what happened during the impact. I pretty well trashed his windshield. The first responders think my head hit there. I'm not so sure, but I know I was thrown ten or fifteen feet down the road after impact. I'm sure my head hit the pavement.

Importantly, given my head injury past, I was lucid all the time. There was no unconscious time. The helmet did its job. So, after an ambulance ride to St. Anthony's Hospital. I got to spend the evening meeting X-Ray and CAT scan technicians. I had an EKG. Everything checked out. I spent a couple of additional hours trying to give a urine specimen to rule out bleeding from the kidneys. That took forever, but I was finally successful and was released.

Yesterday, I was sore, but not as sore as I expected. I have had days after an American Rules Football game where I felt worse. I've felt no need to take any pain medication.

Today, I'm even less sore overall, but it is becoming clear to me where the points of contact were. I'm getting out and about. I drove over to have breakfast with Heather before she left for work. She took yesterday off to make sure I behaved myself. I, also, went by the the eyeglasses place to begin the process of replacing my glasses. The glasses didn't break and the vision technician said I did a good job of straightening them out, but the lenses are scratched pretty badly. Oh well, it was time for new glasses anyway.

My face is swelled up on one side where the glasses seem to have been jammed into my face, but it looks like I will avoid having a black eye. I still suspect the whole of my left leg will eventually blossom into one gigantic bruise. My right elbow has a scape on it. One small area of concern is some vertigo I'm experiencing, but that seems to be lessening. I took at least one major blow to the right side of the head and suspect this may be balance related and not concussion since it only happens when I bend over to get something or rollover in bed. In bed if I keep my head elevated as I roll no dizziness.


Tomorrow? I may actually go back to work. It is hard to believe I was hit by a car just two days ago.

The ER Physician, Dr. Vincent, saw some pictures one of the EMT's had taken of the car and of the scene of the accident. He was amazed I walked away from it. I was lucky. And, Dr. Vincent also pointed out being in really good physical condition certainly helped. Needless to say, wearing protective gear helped perhaps most of all. In addition to the helmet I was wearing knee and wrist guards.

Heather took these photos of my helmet . It has a major owie. Time for a new helmet.

Oh well, add being hit by a car whilst inline skating to my resume.