Spring Flowerbeds

Now that spring has really arrived, and it's turned quite nice out, we decided it was time to decorate with a few flowers. In the process, we built a new flower box to go with our big flower pot.

And here's the process in photos:
First we bought some landscape timbers and marked them up for cutting.
Then they were cut and moved to the front of the house.
Of course we had to frame and mark them before we actually got started.
We had to mark the yard and remove the grass from around the mailbox.
Placed it, filled it with dirt, and then called in the reinforcements.
Bethany added her "green thumb" to it.
And Tada! Finished.
So, finally, we have flowers around the mailbox and up by the doorway. At least those look good. Now, if only we could get rid of all the weeds in the yard, we'd be doing pretty well.

One heck of a ride

Today's ride was textbook. Couldn't have been better. I managed to get out of work a little early, which allowed for an extended ride at Oak Mountain State Park. I've really come to enjoy riding there for many reasons: scenic, good roads, safe, fast, good climbs, and many other riders.

Today I went out to set a distance record. Here's the overall course to view.



The basic single loop is just over 18mi. I did it 3 times. Here are the total figures as recorded by the gps, that I thought I'd share.

Total Distance: 50.73mi
Total Time: 3:20:14
Average speed: 15.2 mi/hr
Max speed: 35.4 mi/hr
Average rpm's (pedal cranks): 84
Total rpm's (pedal cranks): 16,800
Average heart rate: 144
Max heart rate: 166
Calories burned by heart rate: 3970

Hoorah! Now that's what I call a good ride.

Now, after bragging, here's the part that brings me back to earth. Just after riding, I pulled up to the truck and decided to finish my water and walk a bit. Afterwards, I took the front tire off so that it'll fit in the truck. I leaned the tire against the bumper and loaded the truck (see where this is going?). Climbed in, and proceeded to back the truck over my tire. Yea, it didn't get loaded inside, and it got crushed by the truck.

After nearly crying, I drove to the shop to have it looked at. They attempted to re-true it and get it straight, but nothing. Didn't work. Surprisingly, they are going to try to claim it under the bike warranty and see if I can get a new one. And in the meantime, I have a bright flourescent orange front tire as a loaner.

So, all in all, a great ride completely dwarfed by a case of stupid!

Nasty weather

We are getting some nasty weather right now...

There's a band of thunderstorms rolling in from MS that have made their way through our state dropping a few inches of rain, some spotted & confirmed tornados, and now very heavy winds. The office has lost power a few times already and it sounds like our windows are being sandblasted.

It's rough.

Feel free to follow all the warnings, alerts, and comments on the Alabama Weather Blog.

So much for the planned Wednesday bike ride tonight...

Have you seen me..UPDATE

Update on Ken Knight - FOUND

Looks like Ken was found today around 5pm. Excellent news. From the reports, he used textbook survival skills to make it out alive. Reports say he was found approximately 17mi from his last known location

Once realizing he was lost, he set camp and began rationing out his food. He stayed put. He used his resources to survive...his matches.

Apparently, he set a small brush fire as a signal fire to help with his location and it worked. He was able to walk out with firefighters afterwards and is doing fine at a local hospital. Amazing what can happen to hikers who have lost their way.

Thanks for your prayers in his search.

Have you seen me?

I'm sure not many will know about this, but I thought I would help spread the word in the event someone, somewhere stumbles on this info:

KEN KNIGHT, editor of BackpackingLight has gone missing on the Appalachian Trial.

BackpackingLight Press Release

Article:
Backpacking Light editor KEN KNIGHT is missing after a hike on the Applachian Trail in Virginia.

If you saw Ken or otherwise know of his whereabouts after Sunday morning, please contact us at the following email address:PUBLISHER@BACKPACKINGLIGHT.COM

About Ken
Ken is 5'4" tall and approx. 180-200 lb. He is vision impaired, has dark hair, and is probably using a dry bag-style pack with an orange packbag.Ken is an experienced AT hiker but his vision impairment may have caused him to lose the trail.

Point Last Seen
He was last seen on the AT on Sunday morning, around 9-10am, at Punchbowl Mountain, Blue Ridge Parkway, mile 51.7, in the area of Buchanan and Bedford, Virginia.He'd been trailing behind a group and meeting up with them at their camp sites. On Sunday, he reported not feeling well and suggested he might go off the trail. The group did not see him since leaving Punchbowl Mountain on Sunday. He was anticipated to reach mile 76.3 on Tuesday, which the rest of the group did. To date, he has not arrived, and he has missed his flight back home to Michigan Wednesday night. Ken regularly blogs via iPhone when he has cellular coverage. His last known blog entry was Sunday morning, April 26, at 6:36 AM http://twitter.com/kenknight

Search in Progress
Ken's family has been notified, and a search is currently in progress by NPS and VA State SAR.Non-agency SAR and other volunteers interested in assisting with this search should contact us at publisher@backpackinglight.com, who is coordinating the efforts of outside volunteers with the SAR Coordinator on location. Please send your name, cellular phone number, and distance from SNP in your message, and then wait for further instructions.

Please Distribute This Info
Please distribute a link to this post as wide as possible via this tinyurl link via Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking avenues. Please copy and paste this exact text to retweet this info on Twitter etc.:EMERGENCY @KENKNIGHT (KEN KNIGHT) MISSING ON A.T. IN VA: http://tinyurl.com/ded5tt INFO? EMAIL PUBLISHER@BACKPACKINGLIGHT.COM RT @BIGSKYRY

I am in contact with the NPS Ranger and the VA State SAR, the agencies responsible for the search and will relay info promptly them.

Best Regards, Ryan Jordan CEO Backpacking Light

If anyone would like to join in with the distribution of this information, please do so. Thank you.

I hit a tree

The only major dowfall of the camping weekend was me clipping a tree in the truck. The truck was parked out of the way, at the top of a hill. I went to move it, and bring it into the campsite so that I could load it to leave.

No big deal right?

Somehow, in backing it out, I managed to clip a small tree with the back right corner of the bumper. Oops.
Honestly, it really doesn't look that bad. Except that the bumper came in, and bent the quarter panel. And that the quarter panel came in and overlaps the tailgate. And that the tailgate grinds when you open it...

You would think a truck like this could move a small 4" tree...But apparently it didn't happen. The tree won.

Did I mention that that isn't my truck? It's my dad's! So yea, his son wrecked his truck. Now it's not just an "Oops" it's an "Uh-oh".

Sorry Dad.

Camporee and Camping

We had a great weekend! Of course we had a few little roadbumps, but otherwise it was a fabulous weekend.

It started Friday with the Boy Scout Camporee at Lake Martin. Nearly 150 scouts showed up to spend a weekend camping, working on requirements, and generally having a great time. The kids learned the basics like knots, orienteering, first aid, and Leave No Trace Camping.

One of the highlights is that both, Bethany and I went and enjoyed time relaxing away from everything around the house. Fun times. Also, considering it was a scout outing, Bethany got to enjoy Boy Scout food prepared by me!

Friday was nothing special. We stopped by the gas station for pizza.

Saturday breakfast - pancakes, eggs and sausage. Lunch - deli sandwiches. Dinner - Steak, baked potatoes, and an apple cobbler. We cooked the potatos and cobbler in dutch ovens.

Sunday was simply breakfast burritos cooked in a ziploc bag.

The kids had a blast. The whole weekend wrapped up pretty early on Sunday morning. Most of the kids were out and heading back. This was the perfect opportunity for us to go out fishing and relaxing on the lake too.

It sure was nice to get out, get some camping nights in, and have a little fun on the lake!

(pictures to come)

Everyone loves Hooper

Who doesn't love mascots?



Who doesn't love mascots even more when they throw down awesome dunks?



Who doesn't love mascots when you personally know them? Awesome Hooper. Awesome!

Superman....without a cape...

Meet Ryan Hall. Marathoner.

Here's some practice footage of him preparing for the Boston Marathon...

VIDEO FEED HAS BEEN REMOVED. PLEASE CLICK LINK ABOVE.

Quite impressive. If you don't have the 7mins to watch here are some of the interesting points:
-8mi easy warmup (pace for mile 1 - 4:18, mile 2 - 4:24, miles 3-8 - sub 4:30)
-2mi at race pace (9:15)
-He'd love to win Boston, but that's not his dying dream.

Yea, he's a machine. Really cool. Matter of fact, he placed 3rd at Boston yesterday.

It's about time

Finally, some really good friends of ours decided it was time to make a step in their relationship. Well, he at least decided he'd pop the question...


So, he took her to one of the many overlooks of the city and gave her his spill about love and marriage and how he's crazy about her. Then, he got down on one knee and asked her that famous question....


Then pulled the ring from the box...

And she said yes!

So, Congratulations Michael & Kym. That's pretty exciting. From the both of us, we wish you the best and look forward to the big day!

How it went down...

We had a pretty fun birthday celebration, so I thought I'd share it...

Dinner was planned to be at 5points Grill here in Birmingham. Neither of us had been there, and it sounded like a good place to try. Sure, why not.

Since the grill is just down the road from Bethany's work the plan was to meet her there after taking care of the dogs at home. It's a minor inconvenience, but well worth it.

I got home, let the dogs out, got the mail, fed the dogs, grabbed the camera and headed back out. And right as I shut the garage door, I realized I didn't have my truck keys. They just got locked in the house...

Don't worry, I have a spare truck key in the truck. I can just deal with it when we get home. Except that the truck was locked too. Not to worry, there's a spare key hidden in the garage.... nope. Somehow it's not there. Crap. Oh yea, the neighbor has a spare key. Too bad he's not home either.Well, I guess I ought to call Bethany and give her a heads up...except my cell phone was in my truck.

Hmm....So now, I'm locked out the house and the truck, yet my phone is in the truck and I cannot access any of my spares.

Finally, I noticed one of the neighbors was home and had to borrow a phone. Who does that anymore? Talk about feeling odd...

I shared the excitement with Bethany, told her she'd need to come home, and we'd reconsider dinner plans. No big deal. It'll be fine.

After she came home, I jumped in the car and we wound up going to Shogun instead. Still very good, but a complete turn around from our original plans. Hey, I even received a fruit desert and a Birthday song! :)

It turned out great regardless!

Happy Birthday 2009 edition

Yep, it's that time of year. It's my birthday! Happy Birthday to me! So far, it's been a pretty good birthday too (granted it is 0700). It's already better than last year's little celebration.

Tonight we'll actually get to go out and celebrate...so cool! :)

Thanks for the cards you've sent through the mail. Some came in yesterday. I really appreciate it! I even got one from "Chilly New York". :)

Very Rare

Isn't it awesome when you stumble upon a rarity and it just makes you smile? You know, like short lines and smart people at the DMV?

That really doesn't happen very often, but when it does, it's great.

It happened today. I went to renew my license and to my surprise there were only two people in line, and 5 people in the whole building waiting. Took me less than 20mins and that included the driving time!

Awesome!

Where'd it go?

I seriously thought Spring was here. I really did. I mean, come on, who didn't?

The last several days and weekends have been in the 70s with light breezes and full of sun too. Perfect to get outside in and enjoy. My afternoon runs have been going outside, my bike rides have been in short sleeved shirts, and working in the yard wasn't unbearable. It's been great.

Until this week.

I guess it started with rain on Sunday. Then the wet ground and cooler temps went cooler. Monday barely got into the 50s. It stayed slightly overcast all day. The wind even picked up out of nowhere and started blowing. And worst yet is that it got even colder last night. I mean into the 30s. Yea, that's cold. And this morning? My truck registered "ICE" on the temp guage.

It's April. It's Springtime. It should be nice and warm out.

Yet it's cold.

Come back Spring. Come back NOW!

Complete surprise

"If God invented marathons to keep people from doing anything more stupid, triathlon must have taken him completely by surprise." ~ P.Z. Pearce

Yep, this just raises my confidence levels through the roof. I tell you what...