Ready for the test ride...

I installed the fairing this PM and took this photo. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be good, maybe near 50°F. I am wondering how the recent upgrades, new wheel set and the fairing will perform We have a ride scheduled in the PM and I am thinking I am close to recovery from this recent cold.

One surprise was the noise of the tire on the road amplified inside the polycarbonate and sending it upwards. That will take some getting use to.

Any advantage that I can...

I have invested more than a thousand dollars in upgrades for my recumbent. I have a new Roval wheel set as well as a fine new aerodynamic fairing. I smiled inwardly as the bike store salesman told me how light and strong these new Roval wheels were, only so many grams, etc. I thought of my still 42" wasteline and wondered how many extra grams I could lose before the NorCal Aids Challenge ride in May happens. I am down from a 46" since last October though. This new fairing, according to varying accounts, should increase my speeds by one to two mph. Due to weather congestion, rain and snow, and a head cold I have to wait to try the bike out with these improvements. Can I ride the same course as last time along the Legacy Trail and reach 15 miles in one hour? I am hoping the cold is gone and the weather has improved for a ride on Monday to test all this new gear. Thanks to Em for the gentle encouragement and support to ride the ride!

Another advantage to the recumbent, and I hope it is true, is from a nice article on Wiki:" Many riders switch to recumbents to alleviate the chronic back or neck pain from riding upright bikes. On tricycles, the inherent stability of three wheels allows very low gearing to be used, so hills can be climbed without strain on joints. Also, on some recumbents, the rider's legs are nearly at the same height as the heart. This reduces the rider's hydrostatic pressure, thus allowing venous blood to more easily return to the heart. This physiological effect of improved circulation suggests an increase in rider endurance and/or increased power output on long rides. Recumbent riders are not bent over as are conventional bike riders, and this makes breathing easier. Additionally, studies indicate that upright bicycle riding may be a cause of male impotence due to pressure placed on the perineal nerve by the seat; recumbent seats do not present the same issue."

I will remind my body of all of this as I am cranking along at the back of the pack over the 330 miles in Northern CA in May.

Uphill both directions...

Just could not stand not getting the recumbent out today for an afternoon ride. So many questions, how would I do after nearly 40 pounds of weight loss and one month or regular visits, three times a week, to the gym? Would spinning the exercise bike be of much value? Could I possible be ready in 3-1/2 months to ride 330 miles in the NorCal Aids Challenge ride? HMR said I would need to ride a minimum of 12 mph and including rest stops I must average 10 mph. I rode for an hour with Juan Luis and we kept it up to 13+ and averaged almost 12 for the 20 mile stint we did on the Legacy Trail. It was a bit on the cool side with temps in the mid 40's.

KSL's weather site said 3 mph winds from the south west so that is the direction we started. That lasted about half the ride then it switched from the north and east so we got it both directions.

Monday both the recumbent and Stout are going into the bike shop for upgrades and new rubber. I want to repeat today's ride on the Stout. That is about the sweetest bike ever. In spite of the endorsements by recumbent manufacturers the rolling resistance I think is greater than the traditional bikes. An early thought for a training ride in March in NorCal is to use the Stout in the hills on a 49 mile ride and Juan Luis for comfort on the flats.

The last issue is what does Olmesartan due to your body when exercising? My doc is famous for non communication about the side effects of chemically induced vasodilation, i.e. lowering BP. Already I have begun cutting the pills in half and reducing the dosage by 50%. I will watch it for a couple weeks. I am not telling him about it.

A different view...

It is probably appropriate to adjust the orientation of the blog. No longer will I be reporting on the construction of the new Surf Scoter Pilot House Cruiser but my current preparations for the Northern California Aids Challenge and events beyond that. Presently I am holed up in a Super 8 Motel in Montpelier ID. The good news is they have wireless internet and an exercise room. I managed to get an hour on their stationary bike in between getting ready for a couple presentations tomorrow and tracking down on the internet an aerodynamic polycarbonate faring for the recumbent bike. It is reported it can increase my overall speed by at least 10%. I have signed up to ride 330 miles in four days. Is that insane or what?

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Overnight they grew...

On Monday I inspected the property for any sign of edible shrooms. None to be seen. On Tuesday it rained a good deal. Today, (Weds.), I looked again and a number of boletes and about nine other types had "mushroomed" out in many places. We cut one of the boletes and are cooking it tonight. The very white one may be an agaricus and poisonous so we did not harvest it.

Ate some wild mushrooms...

They were boletes and we have a patch of them near the house. RA fried one up in olive oil. It was OK. I have not seen them on the property before but maybe that is because we have not been here on the first of November. A few small marks were on the fruit or cap of the shroom suggesting it was shared earlier by a small creature. Maybe we will try another one tomorrow.

The Best is Yet to Come...

Forty years and change ago I picked me a plumb, (or at least I saw one), out of the tree of life. She came along and everything started in to hum. Still a real good bet the best is yet to come. The best is yet to come and babe won't it be fine. You think you have seen the sun but you ain't seen it shine...

Saturday we'll walk the beach come rain or shine. Walk the sands and feel the sea. Smell the breeze and squeeze a hand... The best is yet to come, for all of us. Little boys and a tree house, a bigger boy and thoughtful conversation. Incredible daughters and a son. I love you all. Most important is the woman I married and met on that beach forty years and change ago. How much of the next forty years will we have together? Who can say but whatever, the best is yet to come...

Love you babe.

A View from the Bow...

Yesterday I ordered from San Devlin the new and improved design for his 22' Surf Scoter Pilot House Cruiser. The boat features several improvements including the ability of mounting an outboard motor on the transom as well as an extended cabin. With the extra room in the cabin there is room for a sit down potty and an enclosed head.

The hull lines have changed so it handles better at higher speeds meaning it planes a little better than earlier Surf Scoter designs. I have to complete the various projects around the place before I can start construction however. Not all bad.

Babe on Board...

A recent trip to Seattle area to visit Kelly resulted in a visit to a wooden boat festival. We met Sam Devlin the desginer and builder of some incredible seaworthy craft including the 22' I want to start. Work will commence this winter in the garage. He also designed the Prandall, the boat the boy scouts and I built last summer.

Note the lady on board a Surf Scoter 22'. This is the boat I have plans for so it was useful to be able to climb about and get some perspective of its size and layout.

Can't wait but a number of tasks involving wood have to completed first. Its not all bad.

On my wall...

I have the 1565 Tyndale Book of James framed behind museum glass and surrounded by archival matting on the wall in the living room. According to scholars William Tyndale is as much responsible for the modern English language as any author, poet, or scholar. Much of the KJV is from Tyndale's own hand, more than 80%. For his contribution and translation of the holy writ into English he was betrayed by friends, strangled, and then burned at the stake by the order of King Henry the VIII. Arguing with a priest about his work to bring the scriptures to everyone he said: “I defie the Pope and all his lawes. If God spare my life, ere many yeares I wyl cause a boy that driveth the plough to know more of the Scripture, than he doust.” It would be for three hundred years to pass for that boy 'that driveth the plough' to read Tyndale's translated Book of James -- "If any of you lack wisdom..." and put it to the test defying the religionists of his day and he too ultimately to wear the martyr's crown.

To me the greatest tribute to William Tyndale is the incorportaion of his English translation into the Endowment Ceremony in the Temples. Of course these were taken from the KJV but they were lifted from the Tyndale Bible. Among the many phrases he brought into English from early Greek and Hebrew texts are the following:
And God said, Let there be light, and there was light (Genesis 1)
And God shall wipe away all tears from there eyes (Revelation 7)
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you (Matthew 7)
With God all things are possible (Matthew 19)
In him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17)
Be not weary in well doing (2 Thessalonians 3)
Fight the good fight of faith; lay hold of eternal life (1 Timothy 6)
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12)
Behold, I stand at the door and knock (Revelation 3)
Am I my brother’s keeper (Genesis 4)
Ye are the salt of the earth (Matthew 5)
The signs of the times (Matthew 16)
Where two or three are gathered together (Matthew 18)
They made light of it (Matthew 22)
Eat, drink, and be merry (Luke 12)
Scales fell from his eyes (Acts 9)
Full of good works (Acts 9)
The powers that be (Romans 13)
Filthy lucre (1 Timothy 3)
The patience of Job (James 5)

During the months of imprisonment prior to his execution he wrote this in his diary: "My overcoat is worn out; my shirts also are worn out. And I ask to be allowed to have a lamp in the evening; it is indeed wearisome sitting alone in the dark." He mastered at least eight languages and spoke them as a native might. He was a scholar of the first order and yet was reduced to begging the king's guards just for a lamp to illuminate his prison.

Thank you William Tyndale for illuminating our experience.

Successful Fishing

Jack, Kyle, and I went out on a charter boat for a morning fishing expedition. It was his first adventure on the ocean and he did very well. The ocean was flat so no one got sea sick and Jack quickly got his sea legs under him in the gentle swells. We all entered the on board contest for the biggest rock cod but we came in third place. Jack did catch the most fish of anyone and did a fine job of reeling them in, one after another, and once two at one time.

Next year if we get a flat day on the ocean Andy and Josh will have to go with us.

A New Edition to the Branscomb Road House

The boys started climbing in the tree in front of the house so it seemed natural to enhance their experience by adding a few boards and some screws. Andy calls it his "office", but it is shared equally by the grandsons. We will add to it in the years ahead, maybe a fire pole or a plastic slide... It will grow in future as the boys grow too.

"By the Sea" from Emily Dickinson

I started early, took my dog, (it was really Em's)
And visited the sea;
The mermaids in the basement
Came out to look at me.

And frigates in the upper floor
Extended hempen hands,
Presuming me to be a mouse
Aground, upon the sands.

But no man moved me till the tide
Went past my simple shoe,
And past my apron and my belt,
And past my bodice too,

And made as he would eat me up
As wholly as a dew
Upon a dandelion's sleeve —
And then I started too.

And he — he followed close behind;
I felt his silver heel
Upon my ankle, — then my shoes
Would overflow with pearl.

Until we met the solid town,
No man he seemed to know;
And bowing with a mighty look
At me, the sea withdrew.

Feliz Dia Pascua a Todos

Update on the Branscomb Road House

We got a few things done around the house. The gate was termite infested and about to fall down so I replaced the posts with pressure treated doug fir and started the rebuilding. Because they sit on piers rather than burried with cement in the ground they will need some additonal bracing -- a couple more posts and cross members. That will have to wait until next trip. The gates are remounted again and were free of termites. I believe termites prefer the fir when they can get it. It seems they left the redwood alone. We burned the termite infested wood and removed the screws and nails with our magnet when the fire died down.

We also cleared a large pile of brush and debris from near one of the parking areas and removed some limbs from a couple trees so we have a little more room for parking. We will call the gravel place and have them haul in a load to expand parking in front of the garden. Some branches were cut back as well that were rubing against the house.

So much fun and so little time to work on it.

A Palm Sunday note from my sister...

My sister sent me the following:

"I have said a little prayer so I can make it to Mass on this special day. In the last month I have been so interested in a pair of Magpies outside my bedroom window. I have to peek thru my curtain because it makes them nervous if they see me, First of all they have a schedule and every morning they work on building the nest. At first the time was short and I couldn't even tell they were making one. Then each morning their work time increased. Sometimes one of them brings a bigger twig and the other one grabs the opposite end to help get it in. Usually they are noisy birds but now they are very quiet. The nest is very intricate and getting quite large. I am simply amazed that how can this be. they communicate and work together. I really have seen evidence that we do have a Heavenly Father behind all this because it is a miracle. This time I think about Mary the mother of Jesus. When Spottie even lets out a little yelp it cuts into me causing me great pain. The pain Mary must have suffered is beyond understanding how she could survive that torturing of her son. Again I guess the answer is in our Heavenly Father. Time to get ready and pay my respects at church."

Thanks Colleen for sharing.

Poetry from the Stern?

"Don't worry about saving these song, and if one of our instruments breaks, it doesn't matter. We have fallen into the place, where everything is music. Poems reach up like spin drift on the edge of driftwood along the beach, wanting. They derive from a slow and powerful route that we can't see."

COLEMAN BARKS

End of the Trail

I was excited on Friday's ride when exploring the new Legacy Parkway bike trail I saw signs that suggested it connected to the Jordan River Parkway trail. Not so, after 9 miles I came to this sign. If I had been on a mountain bike I could have continued and crossed Redwood Road and started that trail. A biker I met at trail's end told me it is supposed to be connected one day. That suggests it would be possible to ride from Centerville to Provo without ever being on a public road -- no SUV's with their drivers talking on cell phones about to smash you flat or run you off the road.

And a further note, I suggest since we are all running or riding or both we reestablish the Team Fisher exercise program. My goal is to ride a thousand miles this year and lose 40 pounds. Step up with your goals and I am good for some cool shirts.

Juan Luis and me today...

I have been waiting impatiently for spring to arrive and finally had my chance this morning to get Juan Luis out of the garage and on the asphalt. I rode on the new Legacy Parkway Trail from West Bountiful over to see Jack, Andy, CP and their parents in NSL. The first ride I think in more than a year. The first five miles were the worst. I was hoping the old out of shape body would have some memory of what is was once to ride with Juan Luis. Sure enough the last 11+ were actually better than the first five.

There are lots of people on the trail, kids and moms walking, bike riders, harses even, and a couple old guys like me. The photo is of some unknown person I found on Google Images of the trail.

I have to conclude this is one road the Sierra Club got wrong. The commute is scenic and relieves I-15 and we can get 55 mpg in the Prius driving to work at 55 mph. The bike riding is safe and I am enthused to ride again soon.

Que bueno!

Time is short...

I have decided it is time to start building the Noyo King. RA's projects will get done first and then I will be laying out the frame in the garage to support the hull. It has to be level, flat, plumb and dimensionally accurate within a quarter inch from stem to stern. The frame won't be a lot different than building a raise bed garden frame to start.

Visiting with our friend Kelly in Port Orchard, WA, over the weekend confirmed to me again of the fragility of life. It did not help either that we were constantly surrounded by water and boats everywhere. Now is the time. I have two sets of plans for the Surf Scoters, a 22' version and a 25'. The 22' is one I am planning on building. It fits into the garage too, though I am adding an extra foot to the boat.

No longer will Q be able to point out to me that this blog has gotten so far a field from its original intent of documenting the construction of the Noyo King. Q, here is a nice article about cruising aboard a Surf Scoter on the designer's web page.

Does anyone know of any maritime traditions or rituals that presage the beginning of the construction of a new boat?