Bud Baker
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Posts posted by Bud Baker
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Five Years
in HOPE
The magic 5 years! Congrats, Carol!
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Good morning, everyone! TGIF!
It was 71 degrees when I got up this morning, with a forecast high of just 81 with all the cloud cover. The weather radar is pretty impressive right now, with rain over the southwest two thirds of Texas, but it's not raining here.
I drove to work, taking a rest day off the bike before tomorrow's 200k. Between the rain, last weekend's 300k, and tomorrow's 200k, I only rode to work twice this week.
I hope everyone has a fun 4th of July weekend planned. I'll be riding tomorrow, then fishing Benbrook Lake Sunday morning, then our daughters and grandkids are coming over for a pool party. Besided being Independence Day, Sunday is also my grandson's birthday. Monday, one of my daughters and I are going fishing.
Have a great Friday and holiday weekend, all!
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Sorry about your colleague, Eric. Yes, that's a real danger here too, along with lots of other dangers. It's better to ride out in the lane with angry drivers behind you than get too close to a line of parked cars and risk getting doored.
It's quite a challenge finding roads to ride here. The US, and especially Texas, is incredibly motor vehicle-centric. So many people here spend more time in their automobiles than in their homes. And that makes them always in a hurry, driving like it was a video game, rather than real life.
I choose my riding roads very carefully. For example, my drive to work is 11 miles. But when I ride, I ride 12.6 miles. Obviously, I don't consider the 11 mile route a safe one for a bicycle.
We need more slow speed, low traffic routes that go through. Most newer neighborhood streets here go nowhere, forcing you onto higher speed, higher traffic roads if you want to actually go somewhere. That's been road designers solution to keep speeding autos out of neighborhoods for many years.
But, there would likely be more widespread use of all kinds of slower speed commute vehicles, not just bicycles, if we had decent slow speed routes, with traffic calming features to keep the video game drivers slowed down.
I rant a lot about that........ LOL. If you'd like to see a copy of the email rant that I sent to the Fort Worth Bike Plan director, see this thread in the rbent forum.
But even if we made our roads here more bike friendly, changing drivers attitudes enough to make them behave more safely around bicycles would still take a long time to accomplish. But, it would help if there were more bicycles on the road here. In areas where there are lots of bicycles, the problem isn't nearly so great.
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Good morning, everyone!
It was 72 degrees with light northeast winds as I rode to work this morning. The forecast high is 85. Today, like every day for the next week, has a 30 percent chance of rain. It 30 percented all over me on the ride home yesterday. I was drenched.
It's July 1st. That means the year is half over. I had a good mileage month on the bike in June, 841 miles. I'm still 160 miles behind the pace I need to be on to make my mileage goal for the year, but I'm thinking that with the cold winter, rainy spring, shingles, and all the other things trying to keep me off the bike the first half of this year, that's not bad.
I rode to work 76 times the first half of the year. That puts me on a pace to commute by bike 150 times this year. I'm really hoping to start riding it to work even more often, as I'm taking an extended break from long distance riding after this coming Saturday's 200k.
Have a great day, all!
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Good morning, everyone!
I did this once already, but it ate my post after making me confirm that I still wanted to post it since Judy had posted after I started. Sheesh. I'm copying to the clipboard this time before I post.
It was 71 degrees with a light north wind as I rode to work this morning. The streets were still wet in places from last night's rain. Forecast high for today is 86 degrees, with a rare summertime front keeping it a bit cooler than usual. We still have a 30 percent chance of rain, but nothing is showing up so far.
Eric, I did that same thing when I accidentally posted my story in Introduce Yourself instead of My Story. Ned was kind enough to move it for me. Donny, I hope you're feeling better today. Glad you found time to stop by today, Judy.
Have a great day, all!
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Good morning, everyone!
It was 72 degrees with light rain when I got up this morning. There was enough lightning in the area that I drove to work, rather than riding. Forecast high is 87.
I didn't make it to group last night. It's an hour drive across the metroplex under the best of conditions, and when you have the kind of downpours we were having yesterday evening, it's one of those "no way to get there from here" scenarios.
The conference sounds like a grand adventure, Eric. And, yes, you're right, advocating for lung cancer funding isn't easy.
Not much else happening here. Have a great day, all!
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Great photos, Eric! I missed these; I must have viewed this thread from work, which won't let me see most photos.
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Well, the cancer news is great! I'm sending positive thoughts that the rest can be handled well.
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Good morning, everyone!
It's cloudy and humid here, with a chance of storms. Forecast high is 92. I drove to work today, resting from the 300k I finished yesterday morning.
I stayed with the lead group in the ride too long, and rode too fast. I didn't realize how blown up I was until the stop at mile 67. It's funny how that will hit you when you stop. With the next two sections of the ride being the hilliest, I did not think I could finish it. But, I took a long break at that stop and slowed to an easier pace for the rest of the ride, and by mile 125, I felt fine. I ended up with 191 miles, and completed the ride in 15:50.
Enjoy your holiday, Eric. Let us know how the conference goes. Have a fun trip, KW Judy. I hope your pain is better today, MI Judy. Hope you slept better last night, Randy.
Have a great day, all!
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So sorry, Ronnie. Condolences to you and your family.
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What a stunning loss! Condolences to her family and friends.
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Good morning, everyone! TGIF!
It's cloudy here, with some rain around, but it's only been light rain here. At least it's keeping the temperature under 100.
Last year, when I rode this night brevet, I got up and went fishing on Saturday morning, came home early and took a nap, then got up and did the ride. But, I was doing the 200k route. This year, I'm doing the 300k. So, I'm thinking I'm just going to stay up late tonight, sleep in way late in the morning, and skip trying to get a fishing trip in this weekend.
Have a great weekend, all!
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Good morning, everyone!
It was 76 degrees when I got up this morning. Forecast high is 95. There are big storms off to the southeast, but it's pretty iffy whether they'll make it here or hot, only a 20 percent chance of rain, the weatherman is saying.
Congrats on the new computer, Judy! Enjoy your dinner. I hope you'll get a better night's sleep tonight.
I didn't ride to work today, and I'm taking tomorrow off the bike, as well. I want to be rested for the 300k I'm riding Saturday evening. Once a year in the summer, the local randonneuring club has a night brevet, and it's this Saturday. I'll be riding 188 miles, starting Saturday evening at 7:00. It will likely be after 10:00 am Sunday morning when I finish.
Have a great day, all!
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Wow, how beautiful is that?
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Congrats for Henk!
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Good morning, everyone!
It was 78 degrees as I rode to work this morning. I just looked at the 10 day forecast and there's nothing under 95 degrees.
Good luck with your chemo, Judy. Enjoy your game, Eric. Not much happening here.
Have a great day, all!
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It has to feel great to achieve these kinds of goals! Congrats to your mom!
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Congrats for Kelly!
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Good morning, everyone!
It was 76 degrees as I rode to work this morning. Forecast high for today is 101 degrees.
We've had Hush Puppies shoes in this country for a long time, too, Eric, but hushpuppies are also fried cornbread balls. That link will tell you more about them.
I took my morning break in my old office yesterday, then ate lunch in my new one. I went home after work and mowed and trimmed the back yard. My yard isn't that big, so I usually just mow it all at once, but after spending the day moving my office stuff across a 100+ degree machine shop, then riding home on a 100+ degree afternoon, I decided that mowing only the back yard had given me my quota of heat for the day.
Have a great day, all!
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Good morning, everyone!
It was 76 degrees as I rode to work this morning. The forecast high for this afternoon is 100 degrees. Weather forecasts can get a little monotonous here this time of year.
I hope everyone had a good Father's Day. Rose and I went fishing, then our daughters and granddaughter were over for a fried fish dinner. We tried a new oil for frying the fish. It has the highest smoke point of any cooking oil, so it's great for frying, and it's also supposed to be the healthiest cooking oil there is. I'd also started hearing reports of how great fish tasted when fried in it, so decided to try some. It's rice bran oil. The reports were right; the fish was excellent. Even the hush puppies were the best I've tasted. There just seemed to be no taste from the oil at all.
It was a great visit and family dinner. Today is back to the grind, and I'm packing everything in my office to move to another office.
Have a great day, all!
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Sorry to read this, Barbara. Of course, what the others have said is true. It's a very small module. But those of us who are here, of all people, are certainly entitled to worry about even small nodules. I'm sending positive thoughts that it won't be anything serious for a long time.
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Sounds great, Van. I was able to do some bike rides after my first and second rounds of chemo, but a few days after that second round, fatigue hit me like a brick. As long as you feel up to it, exercise is great, but don't hesitate to get plenty of rest if fatigue sets in.
Thursday's Air
in JUST FOR FUN
Posted
The main problem with bike paths is that they only go a very few places. If you're just riding for fun, that's ok, but if you get on a bike and really want to go somewhere specific, you probably need to use a road to get there.
And bikes are only a small part of the picture. The fast advances in battery technology are creating new possibilities. In China, electric assist bicycles are now outselling plain pedal bikes. There would be a lot more of them being sold here too if people thought they could use one without getting run over by some SUV trying to drive 70 mph on the same road. And small, electric, plug-in commuter vehicles is an industry just waiting to explode, if we just had safe slow speed roads for them.
This country really needs to do something to create a slow speed road network, whether it's improvements to the existing road system, something else, or a combination of the two. We shouldn't wait until gas is $15 a gallon to start. Maybe the gulf disaster will be another incentive to get started.