Finally, some sense!
Imagine what would happen if you or I were involved in a legal case and instructed (on bond) that any kind of travel for business required 48-hour notice to a court representative. Of course, it wouldn’t happen. For mere mortals like us, there would be no travel… Not with 48-hour notice… not at all.
The dear mayor of Detroit, however, is no mere mortal like the rest of us. Although he is currently on “bond,” he has been given the freedom to travel, at least for business, if only he informs (notice, CNN uses the word “informs” not “gets approval from”) the court. That’s what I call generous.
So what happens when the court is generous to you? Well, apparently in Mr. Kilpatrick’s case, you ignore the order; violate it; get a slap on the wrist, and violate it again by going out of the country (not just out of the state!) He’s in trouble now, but his little trip to Canada, you’ll notice, wasn’t his first violation. The rest of us would be sitting in jail after even the most minor infraction. (How do I know? Because I’ve seen the courts throw people in jail for far lesser infringements!)
Oh, and I don’t buy that blather about his first priority being being to take care of the city, either - how dumb do you really think we are?!
It’s about time the courts stepped up to the plate. Just because someone is famous (or rich… or powerful…) doesn’t mean that should get a free ride. As a matter of fact, I’d argue it ought to be just the opposite. Courts bending over backwards for celebrities and political figures actually undermine their own authority and violate their own values. Show some grace to Joe-and-Jane-Schmoe once in a while and we might respect you… Give overly-light treatment to rich people and we won’t.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/08/07/mayor.jailed/index.html?iref=topnews
***Steps down off of soapbox***
Grace and Peace,
`tim
Beautiful as Heaven, Deadly as Hell
A month (or so) ago, a few people from our church decided to do some landscaping around the parsonage. For this, we are incredibly thankful! The parsonage is 50-ish years old, but has never had much landscaping done to it and the work they did in the course of a day practically transformed our yard. To make matters even better, they are - even as I write this - putting up a fenced in back-yard so that we don’t have to worry about chasing Sophia to the highway if she decides to run! It’s great. However, that’s not my point. All of that is context to what I’m really interested in writing about this evening. I really want to write about a weed. Yep. A weed. Somehow, when they pushed a bunch of dirt into a pile, they must have worked up an old seed and exactly on the top of the hill a weed started to grow. In the course of a month, she’s now several feet tall and blooming. And beautiful - at least the flowers are. Every evening she pushes open a half a dozen white-trumpet-like flowers with blue-ish insides. Gorgeous. (Although the leaves suggest a little of her darker side.)
The weed is, I believe, Datura Stramonium: Jimson weed… or for those of you who like Harry Potter: Devil’s Snare. It’s a relative of the famous “deadly nightshade,” and it’s horribly poisonous.
Go figure! The one plant that not only lives but actually thrives under my care causes one to be “blind as a bat, mad as a hatter, red as a beet, hot as hell, dry as a bone, the bowel and bladder lose their tone, and the heart runs alone” or according to the Navajo: “Can’t see, can’t spit, can’t pee, can’t sh*t.” (please excuse the language…. reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datura_stramonium)
Several years ago I ran across this same plant and actually dug it up and put it in a pot - it thrived. My wife, upon learning of it’s effects, promptly “suggested” that it wasn’t welcome inside the house. Now I’ve been re-introduced. I wonder if I can replant it somewhere and tell people it’s intentional?
So what’s my point. Well, I don’t suppose I have one. I just wanted to share my little plant with someone before she gets dug up and destroyed….
Grace and Peace,
`tim
Ragbrai XXXVI is now officially over
What makes me say that? Well, the ride is over. But even more, I’m home and the wristbands are cut off. I could pretend Ragbrai was still going as long as the wristbands were still there, but once I cut them off, I suppose it’s official. It’s good to be home - It was great to see JJ and Phia again, of course. I wish I could have just had that and a few more days of Ragbrai fun.
In any case, I put up a few more pictures on the flickr set - I’m home now, so dialup forces me to shrink them a little. You’ll be able to see them fine though. I have dozens more if anyone’s interested - almost 800 MB of pics and vids.
If you’re wondering about mileage the magic number is 500. I dipped my tire at a little less than 500 miles but rode around a couple more to make sure I reached it! I couldn’t stand the thought of being that close and not quite making it.
The weak of heart may want to stop here. The rest of you feel free to keep reading. I’ve found myself wondering a few things over the past couple of days:
- Considering biking is such a “green” activity. I wonder if Ragbrai can actually be called a “green” event. Why? There are dozens (hundreds?) of team buses (mostly old school buses that have been psychotically painted) that drive from all corners of the US. People drive, fly, ride the train and ship their bikes from all over the world. I wonder if the green-ness of the riding is actually less than the pollution caused getting to and from it!
- Ragbrai is filled with crazies. These are people - presumably normal people - who take a week out of their life to ride their bikes around 500 miles across Iowa at the end of July, pay for showers, and sleep in tents. Many of them wearing clothing and costumes that would never be acceptable in “real” life. I have a sneaky suspicion there are a lot of lawyers, CPAs, Professors, etc. who, for a week each year, live their lives in lycra, dresses, kilts, banana outfits, loin-cloths and pretty much anything else you can think of and then go back to their “normal” lives as if nothing unusual had taken place. I actually think it’s healthy.
- Port-a-potties (called Kybos on Ragbrai) are a great invention. In one town they actually put little tubs of talcum powder in them for people to use. Nice idea (albeit a little gross despite the fact that they provided spoons for “distribution”). Sometimes the simplest inventions are the best. I actually got to use one right after it was emptied and cleaned… an unexpected blessing.
- “Adjusting.” One of the first things a young boy learns is that it’s simply not appropriate to “adjust” in public. Apparently that rule is suspended on Ragbrai - for both boys and girls. Lycra/Spandex apparently has that effect on both genders. I found myself wondering how long it takes the average Ragbrai rider to cease such behavior after returning home.
Things to remember if I ever do it again:
- Pack less. or not. I didn’t use everything I brought but could have. I would probably use the exact same list.
- Bring something pillow-y. Using my bag or a rolled up sweatshirt works fine but it’s just not the same.
- If I run across a wad of extra cash, It’d be great to have a solar charger for my cell phone. Dead cell phones are miserable and plug-ins are usually full by the time “the tortoise” rolls into town.
- Tortoise tempo rocks. A comfortable pace coupled with stopping in nearly every town may get me into town later than a lot of people, but it’s a lot more fun.
- Get a small, fold-able lawn chair. Matt brought one and it was great.
- Make sure someone on the team has a good pump. We had one this year and it was definitely worth it!
- See if someone will follow in a truck/van/u-haul/bus/camper/??? - it would be great to stay outside the main campgrounds and have someone to make sure our stuff is ready when we get there and there’s cold drinks available when we arrive — maybe even shade?!
- Invite people carefully. We had a good group this year - a great group actually - but I can imagine that, as groups get bigger, it would be more and more important to ensure everyone is compatible.
- Get some kind of speaker system. Riding with music is fun and other people seem to have boring play lists. I want something eclectic - sure, a lot of people are going to think my play lists are dumb… oh well.
- Sandals are awesome. I loved my Shimano/SPDs - WAY more comfortable than my biking shoes and the recessed SPDs are great.
- Don’t bring more than a pair or two of socks - I brought WAY too many socks and didn’t even wear them on the cold day.
- Bring several swimsuits - they’re the only comfortable thing to change into after riding all day and they wash/dry easily.
- Find some kind of light-weight top. Cotton T-Shirts seem too heavy; jersey’s are too tight for a comfortable evening; loose long sleeves are ok, but not optimal. I don’t know what - something has to be a better option.
- Consider being one of the crazies. I’m not into dresses or loin-clothes (aren’t you all relieved to hear that?!) but it would be fun to come up with a great costume/gimmick.
Well, there you go. Likely the last post for Ragbrai XXXVI - 2008. Thanks for listening.
I’m spending the rest of my “vacation” on a church campout at Cran Hill Ranch.
***Back to Normal Business***
Grace and peace,
`tim
Made It!!!
Well.. Matt managed to stick at tortoise pace all day and he and I road into town together. We’ve made it all the way to Le Claire!
As I type this I’m loading some pictures up on flickr. That website is:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24266318@N00/sets/72157606261587424/
I’m putting up a couple of dipping pictures… all the way in the Mississippi. Eventually I’ll put up some more pictures for you to see, if you’re interested. For now, that’s about all I have time for.
It was a great ride today. Hot, but not miserable. Low humidity. Mostly tail-winds. Lots of good food, etc. — The perfect Ragbrai day!
Hope you’ve enjoyed reading about it.
Grace and Peace,
`tim
A Much Better Day
Well, I made it to Mechanicsville (I’m just 14.8 miles from the end town today). Traditionally the last town before the overnight town is the major party town. It’s crazy down here. I just popped into the public library to write a quick note.
What’s happened since Solon? Well, We went through several towns - Lisbon and Mount Vernon (only about 2 miles apart) are on the top of my list right now for potentially the best towns on the ride. They were great. We were (as I think I mentioned) looking for pancakes and someone told us that a a place called “Gwen’s” had a great breakfast buffet for $5. Unfortunately when we got there, they had just closed it down (they ran out of food). Fortunately, they just opened up their lunch buffet - $6 all you can eat… roast beef, roast turkey, mashed potatos, gravy, corn, rolls, etc. All incredible (I’d know… I tried some of everything.) [If I were paying attention to my Weight Watcher’s points this week I’d be in some MAJOR trouble!!!) 
Just 2 miles down the road from Gwens We got to Mount Vernon (a college town) and I stopped for 20 minutes or so at a wonderful little coffee shop called “Fuel.” If you’re ever there, try ‘em. So far, it’s the best americano I’ve had this week.
To top that off, six miles later I found the daily “Peanut Butter Jam” place. I’ve been looking forward to them since I found them yesterday. It was great (but too many people are finding out about them so there was a pretty big line). Again, totally worth it.
Anyhow… I don’t know if I’ll get to the internet truck tonight - It’s been a great day.
Grace and Peace,
`tim
North Liberty to Tipton
Well, I’m 20-some miles out of North Liberty on my way to Tipton and saw the internet truck. If you read yesterday’s post, you may have noticed a little frustration. It wa a deeply unplesant ride for me yesterday. Today is going much better. The showers were warm; I managed to find some good food last night that wasn’t completely deep fried or 98% sugar; my tent sort-of dried out after being stuff unceremoniously in a trash bag yesterday morning; I had a good night’s sleep… other than the fact that I accidently packed my sunglasses in my bag before putting it on the baggage truck and I’m riding sunglasses-less today, it’s been a blast.
I haven’t managed to find any pancakes yet (I was really looking forward to pancakes this morning) but I found some a little home-stand on the side of the road and treated myself to an couple of kolaches…mmmm… an appricot one and a poppy seed one. I also got a free banana at the Iowa Conservation stand (they hand hundreds of them out and offer free water every day. They also have free postcards and send them for you — Sophia will be getting a few….)
Today is a little shorter (64 miles compared to yesterday’s 76) but there’s only 50 feet less of climb. It’s been extremely hilly. I’m feeling pretty good about how well it’s going!
Oh, and rumor has it that the Peanut Butter Sandwich place is 6 miles out of Martelle and 1 mile before Morley…. Here I come!
Grace and Peace,
`tim
Time is of the essence…
I have some people waiting for me so I don’t have a lot of time to blog. I guess that means a bullet point post
- I was a “Ride Right Ambassador” today, which meant basically that I stopped and helped people when they needed it… Kind of fun. One of those great things about a ride like this.
- The roads today were horrible for the first half of the ride. Bumpy and poorly maintined.
- There were a LOT of hills…it rained…it was cold…My muscles are sore. All in all, today may indeed be my least favorite Ragbrai day ever (including last year!)
- The Amana Colonies didn’t provide free water and gouge-priced everything. They’re no longer on my list of things I like.
- The scenery today was AWESOME! One thing about the hills is that they tend to give great views.
- I ate at a brand-new booth that makes peanut butter and ??? sandwiches. Cool idea. This is their first big event. Mine was Wheat Bread, Peanut Butter, Marshmallow Fluff, Coconot, and Chocolate chips…. mmmmmm. and I had a banana milk — have you ever heard of banana milk? I haven’t. It was realy good though
- I’ve decided that the overnight towns don’t much care for those of us using the baggage service. They tend to put us far out of the way of the food, booths, and entertainment. Disappointing! Shame on them - this is how Ragbrai started
- I got to listen to a presentation on the Amana Colonies Church and it’s understanding of Christianity. Very intereting. Maybe I’ll post on it later.
All in all, decent - but not great - day
Hopefully it won’t rain tonight, although the sky is iffy.
Grace and Peace,
`tim
Time is of the essence…
I have some people waiting for me so I don’t have a lot of time to blog. I guess that means a bullet point post
- I was a “Ride Right Ambassador” today, which meant basically that I stopped and helped people when they needed it… Kind of fun. One of those great things about a ride like this.
- The roads today were horrible for the first half of the ride. Bumpy and poorly maintined.
- There were a LOT of hills…it rained…it was cold…My muscles are sore. All in all, today may indeed be my least favorite Ragbrai day ever (including last year!)
- The Amana Colonies didn’t provide free water and gouge-priced everything. They’re no longer on my list of things I like.
- The scenery today was AWESOME! One thing about the hills is that they tend to give great views.
- I ate at a brand-new booth that makes peanut butter and ??? sandwiches. Cool idea. This is their first big event. Mine was Wheat Bread, Peanut Butter, Marshmallow Fluff, Coconot, and Chocolate chips…. mmmmmm. and I had a banana milk — have you ever heard of banana milk? I haven’t. It was realy good though
- I’ve decided that the overnight towns don’t much care for those of us using the baggage service. They tend to put us far out of the way of the food, booths, and entertainment. Disappointing! Shame on them - this is how Ragbrai started
- I got to listen to a presentation on the Amana Colonies Church and it’s understanding of Christianity. Very intereting. Maybe I’ll post on it later.
All in all, decent - but not great - day
Hopefully it won’t rain tonight, although the sky is iffy.
Grace and Peace,
`tim
Today’s Magic Words: Wet & Chilly
Yep. It rained last night. And this morning… We’re in Chelsea on our way to the Amana Colonies (we’ll be riding through 3 of them). It’s just cold and wet enought that I’m wearing sleves but warm enough that my rain coat seems like too much.
Last night was something of a debacle as we tried to get a shuttle from Tama to Toledo for dinner. The shuttle took us all over and people were getting a little testy - funny, when you think about it - to get upset that a shuttle is taking so long when you’re taking an entire week to ride your bike across Iowa. I had a strange, but surprisingly good meal out of a buffalo hotdog. I don’t think I’ve ever had buffalo, and though there was a choice between hotdogs and burgers, the guy at the counter recommended the hotdogs because “they’re different and really good.” He was right. Very different - the flavor is…. darker… not gamey…. I don’t know exactly how tot explain it. the texture was different too. Apparently they were the best though, the guy who made them has won a number of prizes for his buffalo hotdogs. (Odd, I never thought of there being such a thing as buffalo-hotdog contests!)
Anyhow, somewhere between Tama and Chelsae (about 25 miles or so) my computer must have had a blip. It’s only reading 13 miles. Oh well.
On a completely different note, A woman from my church (Name: Myra) is going in for surgery today. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.
Grace and Peace,
`tim
Day 4: On to Tama….
Well, we’re here. That’s Tama and Toledo. It was an 80-some mile ride today (made a hair longer since Jon, Matt and I took a detour this morning in search of a coffee shop (which we found at almost exactly the same time they opened).
The route was hilly again (big surprise… they’re all hilly this year). I think Day 2 has finally caught up with me; my legs were pretty sore this morning.
My favorite thing of the day? A praise for Green Mountain (a little, unincorporated town); they had live music and I got an ear of roasted corn. Have you ever seen those industrial toasters? The ones that run the toast through a little conveyor belt? This was like that, but huge and for corn. Roasted… smothered in butter… oversalted (by most people’s standards)… and covered in chili powder. yummmmmmm.
I’ve managed to get my tent set up (Ethan was the first in again, and got us another nice camping spot) and took a shower. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard me tell the story of my visit to a Turkish shower or not, but the part where I describe being doused with freezing water… that was this shower! I think a dunk in Lake Michigan (in January) might be a bit warmer. I had heard it was cold and thought “well, it’s probably best just to get it over with and step in.” Nope. I tried that and my entire body revolted and sat on the verge of a full-body cramp. So, extremity by extremity I soaped up, rinsed off, etc. I think I managed to clean everything except maybe my back. I tried to back into the shower and get my back good but it didn’t work. My body wouldn’t do it. Honestly! So, I suppose my back isn’t as clean as the rest of me. Oh well.
No big plans for tonight. I’m hoping for some entertainment from the Nation down the road (no… I’m not going to the casino.)
If you’re keeping track, I’m 1/3 of a mile short of 300 for the week. Well over half way.
No new pictures, sorry. I took a bunch but didn’t bring my camera and card reader up to the internet trailer.
Grace and Peace,
`tim
