Celebrating a Little Wind Freedom

Jeannie, Thandi, George,Titus, Marianne, Liz, "Bluefish Mike Ingbar, Zev, Jill Marie, Frank, Lauralee, and Robby were among the smiling faces it was great to see again. (Hey wait a minute, I see Robby every day)
Quite the Memorial Day fun times at Joe's Beach

Jeannie, left clicks the shutter on Thandi, George, Titus and Liz, while Bluefish Mike Ingbar exits state right to dry off. Smoked sardines ... I'm telling you something fishy was definitely going on here.

at Joe's Beach. The wind was about as light as you can get it and still be able to sail.

Bluefish Mike and Robby

But that did not stop 3 new learners and a handful of all-win veterans from rigging up, sailing, and

George, Marianne, center, and a friend (right), pass some time by Joe's Bench

well, if you didn;t get wet, you were missing the best opportunity on the Island to cool off.

Bluefish Mike and a poor attempt at voguing by the author.

Truth be told the water was a tiny bit chilly at first but in no time it seemed warm.

Ahh, heading toward sunset. Should leave a smile on a lot of faces to begin the work week.

Parking lot still a long ways from emptying out. What's the hurry? Oh, Robby's got homework to do and gotta get up for school and an early meeting tomorrow ... Dog is waiting. Water quality: Weed free for now, but definitely a little on the dingy, murky cloudy side. Get it now while it's still good.

A Time for Heroes

As gorgeous and perfect a Memorial Day as you could ask for.

Our local active-duty; reservists, and recent and past veterans. By no means all of them — plenty I know were in the crowd. Plenty.

The PBA veterans pass by aboard a large army truck.

I don't always crash, but when I do ...

a wee scrape.

 Trying to get a ride in before lighting up the BBQ and cooking dinner. When there's bit of a rush, and it's not always the best idea.

We should have been out at a trail on the dirt, but time was short.
Gordy was amped up. He wanted to wheelie of every tree. "Calm down," I said, "this is the road, you gotta be careful. Every driveway, every car door, every pothole; you need to keep your wits about you."

But he was jacked up with adrenaline and ...

Just a flesh wound...

got his introduction to road rash, overreacting to a bug of all things.

 He panicked trying to swat it off and crashed in the process. Classic front-wheel fold. Good thing he wasn't in traffic. Bug-o-phobia is OK, but when on a bike, you have to remain calm and flick it off.

He didn't make it a half-mile before we had to go back for flesh repairs.
Flushed the wound, applied pressure, ointment and a Bandaid and got back out there. I switched the twitchy roadbike for an MTB. If I was going to be distracted keeping Gordo in line, then I better do it, not on a high-strung road rocket, but on an MTB, right?
His band-aid covers a nasty one.

Time scudding by, I chose the steeepest two hills for the best workout in the least amount of time, in the newly infernally hot and humid weather. OK not that bad, but compared with what we have been used to, well it felt like Texas out there.

Up we went.  Sweat, more sweat ... up Longview, up Hillcrest — Gordy way ahead of me — stopped for a swig of water, then down to the light, across Beacon and up Summit.

Note: those are good words; Hillcrest and Summit.

Cruising at moderate speed brakes on, downhill.

We were chatting and the next thing I knew my wheel was caught on the wrong side of in a 2 1/2-inch side rut where one part of the concrete had settled below the main roadway — a part of the road, a yard out from the curb where bikes ride. WTF? In slow ... motion I tried to regain control but the tire, my balance and handlebars were too far gone to regain control; the concrete crevice caught my tire and the balance was thrown ... smack. The front wheel folded left and down I went.
Squirted the wounds to the knee and elbow with half the remaining water. "So are we going to Sand's Point now?" Asked Gordon. "No I think that's enough wiping out for today. Not enough good karma out on the road. Traffic not exactly a picnic either — plus it's about 5 p.m. and we have a BBQ to get going.

I don't always crash, and I don't always BBQ, but when I do, I drink Blue Point Hoptical Illusion.

 Boy was dinner ever great, the grilled sweetpotato to tasty it should be illegal. The sweetcorn so fresh it makes you laugh how good it is. But cooking was a little tricky with an ice-pack, Witch Hazel, bandaids and triple antibiotic ointment.

As for now, it's not so much the know and elbow cuts as it is the hip bruise and shoulder.

So much for surfing at sunrise tomorrow. Looks like coffee in bed and then a limp up the hill to the parade.

This is a Test!

Jeannie Baumann gets things started at Joe's Beach

First day back in the wind in 9 months? I don't remember the last time I sailed it's been soooo long. Is it possible it was at Joe's Memorial, here at "Joe's Beach?"

Well, whatever came of my extremely short-duration windsurfing season last year I do not remember.

I do recall the annual end-of-summer yearbook deadlines chopped free time down to a minimum.

The last questionable months — before my neck shut me down totally in October — when the pinched nerve was causing issues again after a brief respite in July, was mostly spent cycling with Gordon and the family.

BETTAH!
So, when things improved suddenly and dramatically in Feb and March I was still cautious about windsurfing in thick gloves and cold weather.Then Gordon got interested in mountain biking again, and away we went. On the bike every weekend for a few months.

SUDDENLY
The interest in MTBing has run its course for now for Gordon, and the weather hasn't helped. Got a good road ride in a couple of weeks ago but the wheels generally stopped rolling.

Last weekend, however, the weather was perfect, there was surf, the possibility of wind and getting back on the water felt like the right idea.

I really wanted to surf, but on arrival at Long Beach it was easy to see the surf was too gnarly, drifty and blown out to be anything but a nasty glideless deal for my skill level (back at 0.5).

But if it was windy from the East at LB, and hot and sunny, it had to be going off on the Great South Bay. I turned my back on the churning ocean and booked it to Heckscher State Park.

WHERE IS EVERYBODY?
No sails on the water — what is going on? Is windsurfing dead?

Turns out that my early rise for surf was a little early for most windsurfers. I was not disappointed, a strong ENE was blowing, with a little thermal and venturi help — much stronger on the bay than on the ocean. 5.3 for most 5.7 for me.

And out of nowhere windsurfers appeared. Arty, Marty, Upwind Mike, Jeannie, Alfonso, Andreas, Frank, Annie, Mike Burns, Rich Simmons, John "now I'm a woman" Sassone, and many more.

GOOD MOVE
This was as close to perfect moderate-to-good planing conditions as it gets. The difficult thing was stopping. Had to re-rig to fix a mechanical, but got a good hour-and-a-half of playing in some fun swells in the middle.

THE BOARD
This F2 Style 255 — which I've never sailed before — has got to be the slooowest board I've ever ridden. Does not like to go upwind. Period. I ditched the weed fin for a waveblade for extra windage.

The 255 comes off a plane quick; needs to be scootched up onto a plane way downwind; dies in the jibes without big power to pull it around; but it is easy to stay dry in the jibes. Definitely not too crazy or high-strung, even easy going in nearly 5.0 wind. Perfect for me right now. Feels more like a wave board than a freestyle.

And the wind decided to add. Now we were cooking with gas, and the first planing jibe came to life, wow. Didn't think I'd be doing that again so soon. It's easier to stay on, easier to schlog, but harder to keep planing.

COOKED
You know it's time to call it a day when you have trouble getting the clew clear of even moderate chop, and holding on in the water start. My right arm was fried. Game over. Great sailing with so many old friends,

Not bad, but things really tightened up up on Monday into Tuesday, and the neck was really stiffening up on the left side. How bad would this get? Getting in and out of the van was definitely an issue.

But it eased up by Wednesday night allowing me to think I could do this again — but forget about twice in a weekend.

Test complete. Score 65-75 out of a hundred. A few problems with arm hand grip strength, and slow recovery, but otherwise promising.

Ever So Slightly Wild One-Handed NewbVid Ride

I'm not sure the last time I rode this much. But when you've been on the "injured reserve" (IR) for a year and a half; well if you feel good, and your son wants to ride — a lot — you ride. And if your dog wants to ride, or walk, you do as he directs. Especially if he can summon a determined visage like this.

Here's a rough snippet of one-handed video rounding the corner at Sands Point end. I can still ride no-handed, so one-handed is nothing remarkable, but a practiced eye will notice that although it looks and sounds almost fast, it's all at a measured pace to avoid potholes or rapid braking. Sands Point Curve to the Water
Plus a photo of the scene. Pity it came out globby, the white bike parked by the rocks was a mountainbike adorned with an adorable flower-speckled basket. A charming mix of rugged and picturesque. img_20120512_141159.jpg

Here are a few moments of trail ride with Koda … this was a dog's day in paradise. First a walk in the woods then a run around the green circuit. Kdog trail walk
SWEAT HEAT ROCKS ROOTS RAIN I got back on the MTB last August with Gordon, for a brief spurt, but the cervical radiculopathy — which at the time was only about 70-75% recovered — resurfaced, reaggravated in the fall. An epic late fall “carpentry” session — if you can call measuring, drilling and screwing carpentry — really put me over the edge. 30 reluctant tiny flat head inch long cabinet screws and their bit-busting pilot holes — all drilled and screwed over head level — with a neck that did not want to look up. And I did not own a periscope. Brutal. I'm surprised I managed four road rides — one on one on Sept. 11, one on Sept. 25, another with a new stem on Oct. 23, and the last on November 13, before the tingling and burning got so bad I shut it down again. There was also one surfing session, Sept. 25. That paddle out caused a little aggravation, tingling, but with all the golf and biking going on at the same time hard to tell which activity was causing the problem. The wood screwing though, that was the clinker. So, it was another winter of recuperation. SUDDEN RELIEF Things took a dramatic turn for the better in Mid February, and since Gordon was inspired to ride and the weather fair, we took to the trails. 2 rides last two weeks of February 2 recorded rides in March 5 rides in April and 2 rides so far in May. It's been a great spring for riding … and dog walking.

A Quick, Fast-er Ride and then back for BBQ

The garden was idyllic tonigt. Marg had done a heck of a job cultivating a meadow like experience. How could you want to go indoors?

Pity the magnolia bloom was a short lived affair, or this would have been spectacular. Now, however, that tree/bush is green as a grashopper, and all about shade and grow, grow, growth.

Looks nice; I should sit in it sometime, but like many outdoorsies, if I am feeling good, I like to keep moving. Walking, or gliding on wheels or water, with wind, gravity, on contours of waves or dirt. But recently it's been all dirt. The weather has been cool, a little moist, perfect for riding. When it gets hotter, I shall seek the shore and seabreezes more often. So we didn't stay indoors, or even at home; we stayed out all day; all over the place. First the Bike push to the end of Willowdale/Bayles from Evergreen. Then the MTB ride. Then a barbecue to cap it off. With daylight slipping away. Not dramatically so, but enough to throw a wrench into dinner BBQ cooing plans, we finally arrived at Stillwell with barely enough time to do two laps of basic blue trail before setting back home to light the charcoal.

And if you are going to ride short, you better ride hard. Or at least hard-er.
Gordy set off at a blistering pace, and I was already feeling the effects of helping push the Ducati around town. By the second lap I figured I had the seatpost lowered to Gordon's height, and that was bunching my legs up. Higher was a lot better, it allowed the thighs to stretch out and capture more of the leg leverage stroke. We pushed it harder, and did some whole loops almost non-stop. Just enough to burn between 950 and 1100 calories, which made dinner that much more of an indulgent affair.

The Guardian of the barbecue hung close by to ensure no bikes or chicken was stolen.

Unreal Day, Week, Month

So today, Just happened to be filling a scrip on Evergreen St. when I saw this dude pushing a bike across the road. A big, heavy Ducati M900 Superbike. And there was Chuck's 'burban, so, with little help from my eyeglasses, I deduced ... it must be Chuck. After all I know he has a motorbike. And would likely be doing something odd with it other than riding. And it was his street, his car, and roughly his body outline. Not much guesswork needed. ... I guess.

Turns out it needed moving across town into storage. But the gas in it is off, and it won't start. Needs a lot of TLC. So, for appetizers in today's exercise department, we pushed and tugged Chuck's reluctant Ducati M900 about 1/2 mile. It has wheels; it rolls; should be a piece of cake, right? Nope — it has a ton of rolling resistance, by MTB standards, and it weighs 407 lbs dry. The thing is a true beast. Koda was along for the walk. and we walked past his first home, the N. Shore Animal League during it's chaotic adoptathon. I said, "Koda be a good brand ambassador!" And he clotheslines a telephone pole, but we did not drop the precious bike.

That bike push sure got the blood and sweat flowing. Humid, and some strong sun in between the clouds, directing adoptathon traffic around so that Chuck could push, at times, the rest of the time pushing, trying to keep a balance point, and not have the dog scoot into the street or entangle himself in any legs, wheels or struts. A cycle cop checked us out and asked a few questions, and went on his way after we asked if he wanted to give us a tow.

Meanwhile back in the Dojo

Meanwhile back in the Dojo ... Gordo passed his orange belt test, and got a bro-hug from instructor Ryan. Plenty to work on, forms and form, but good progress nevertheless. He did well considering we could only do the 1x a week routine.

Master Woo was noticeably on the sidelines, peeking in now and then. I guess the 1x weekers, get the low-end treatment. Wish these guys would understand it's not for lack of desire and effort G doesn't do 2x, but more financial. They pressure it a bit, but cash is cash. They ought to be thankful for what they get; here on the North Shore the price of TKD classes is off the hook for normal people. Oh wait, we're not normal for here. Forget that concept.