Almost “almost” (aka “Two down, ten to go…”)

By John Straffin | Published: 28 February 2009

After the issues I had last month, you’d think I would have learned. Here’s what I rode:


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One down, eleven to go…

By John Straffin | Published: 21 January 2009

I did it. I rode from Durham to Burlington to Roxboro and back to Durham. See?

Welcome to Burlington[caption id="attachment_70" align="aligncenter" width="150"]Welcome to Roxboro[/caption]


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Are you asking for a challenge?!

By John Straffin | Published: 1 January 2009

(Title thanks to HSR‘s “Stinkoman”)

So… 2009 is here and I don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions. Typically, there’s too much invested in not screwing up, or not bothering to continue if you do screw up. (“This year, I’m not going to use contractions… oh wait, I just did! Nuts! Oh well… maybe next year.”) Instead, I’m going to issue myself a number of challenges. That number is currently “3″.

  1. Earn the Larry Schwartz award by riding ~100 miles, maintaining an 8.33 mph average, at least once a month for the entire year.
  2. Read the entire bible in the next year. I started this before, but have never made it too far beyond March. I’m going to finish it this time, even if I have to continue beyond the December 31, 2009, deadline.
  3. Weigh 185 lbs and/or be negative buoyant by the end of the year. Having a washboard between my navel and my sternum wouldn’t be bad either.

I plan to note my progress on each of these challenges both here and on a few web sites: mainly MapMyRide and maybe SparkPeople too. I used to use SparkPeople pretty regularly, but it quickly becomes a bit cumbersome, especially if you’re tracking your food intake. Shannon and I are currently following the South Beach Diet plan and are sticking to it pretty well, so I don’t think I need to record what goes into my mouth so much anymore.

Anyway, watch this space and those sites above for periodic reports, wish me well and pray for me, and get to work on your own challenges!

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Ten years ago…

By John Straffin | Published: 20 October 2008

Ten years ago today, my eldest daughter celebrated her first birthday while in surgery to have a cancerous left kidney removed. Tonight, we will be celebrating the 11th birthday of the tall, beautiful, vibrant, charming, talented young lady she has become, thanking Almighty God for His kindness, mercy, and miraculous healing power all the while. Thank you, Jesus, and happy birthday, Emily!

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Day Seven Report: Reach the Beach

By John Straffin | Published: 4 October 2008

This morning I woke up sore and stiff, perhaps from the previous day’s century ride, perhaps from the last six days of riding… I’m not sure which. Regardless, I broke camp and got on my way to Oak Island, NC: our final destination. The ride itself was largely unremarkable… Fairly flat riding all day, riding past farmland and forest and swamp.

Only once we started nearing the ocean did things start getting exciting. And confusing. The day was planned to go for 75 miles. This turned out to be three miles short, and many (including myself) pulled out our cue sheets to make sure of our directions and our destination. Once at our destination (78 miles from the day’s start), I rode right past the camp and food and music and went straight for the beach, one block beyond. Dropping my bicycle to the layer of old seaweed at the top of the beach, I doffed my cycling shoes and socks and went for the water, Twittering and calling my wife while standing in the Atlantic Ocean.

After wading around for a bit, I went back to camp. Upon finding my bags, I set up my tent to start drying then headed over to get some food: fried and baked catfish, hush puppies, cole slaw, and sweet tea… Yum! I then found myself headed back to the water for a longer, deeper swim.

I didn’t leave the beach for hours. :) A conversation with a fellow swimmer out in the water turned into a conversation on the beach with him and his friend. Over the next hour, our trio slowly grew into an octet, sitting on the sand watching the pelicans dive for fish and watching the sun set over the water.

(Yes, I said “watching the sun set over the water”. The beach we were on faced due south. With the angle of the sun at this time of year, the sun did indeed set into the ocean, far to our right, probably only five degrees from the shoreline.)

Sunset didn’t stop the conversation. We talked biking and politics and family and stupid jokes until almost 10:00pm. By the time we got back to camp, full darkness had set in, the camp was silent, and the shower trucks we’re long gone. :O Still salty and sweaty, I was resigned to getting the best shower I could from the open-air beach-side facilities meant for a quick de-salting and de-sanding after a day at the beach. A single, cold jet of water, it was, quite possibly, the worst showering experience I’ve ever had. It was also, however, my own darn fault and couldn’t be helped.

Aside from the shower, it was an excellent ending to an excellent week. Now, I just have to get home…

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