The Hammer Ride

My hat is off to David Miley for sharing Saturday's ride, despite threatening weather and diminished participation. The ride out of Gallatin through Bethpage and up to Westmoreland was nothing short of wonderful ! David and Gary rode point with me and Doug doing rear guard duty. Even though I'm truly a FAT old guy, I'm dubbing this route the " hammer " ride because you can ride a lot of miles of it flat out and it includes the most inviting incline to the top of the Highland Rim I've ever seen. As we climbed to Westmoreland i kept holding back expecting some hidden surprise near the top. Never got surprised. There was one stretch of Old Hwy 31-E north of Westmoreland where the road encouraged one to go faster and faster. It was one of those rare topographical features where the road appears to be gradually flat to rising but your pedals tell you you're on a subtle downgrade. I told Doug that we could ride to Michigan with a road like that. This ride should be done again in the fall by all of us. Without a doubt, I'm placing this ride in my top three local rides.

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/tn/-gallatin/982555213

BREWSTER'S FESTIVAL

I noticed in the paper that the "Music City Brewer's Festival" is from 2-8 pm at the Hilton downtown with over 40 world-wide breweries represented. Anyone interested?

SUPPORT Greenways for Sumner County

We were all saddened by the news about the death of Hank Thompson after a lengthy battle with cancer. As many of you may know, Hank was Sumner County Commissioner and friendly to our greenways and general "cycling/running/ walking-related-activity" causes. Hank has been temporarily replaced by Ragan Hall. On Saturday, July 26th, there will be several GOP County Caucus events throughout Sumner county to elect a representative to fulfill Hank's unexpired term. SUPPORT GREENWAYS through political action. Please click here to read more.

Frank P. Bowyer, IV

Hendersonville Greenway

. . . Frank Bowyer has a GOOD NEWS Report. He and David Hardin examined the proposed site for the Indian Lake Village Greenway last week. A path has been cleared and 10-ft wide stone trail constructed near the site of the new library. As you know this Greenway terminates at the little bridge over the CSX RR on STOP 30. This bridge will be accessible only for pedestrian/bike traffic.

I'm in a New York State of mind

Hello fellow Fogbees. Just wanted to say hello from the Big Apple. We have seen Times Square, the Empire State Building, shopped in ChinaTown, ate lunch on the streets of Little Italy, seen A-Rod hit a homer in Yankees Statium, riddin the subway every where and had a fun biking experiance (will eplain later). Anyway, see you all Tuesday.

Could be an upcoming FOGBEE Lite

Yes, your eyes are not fooling you, this is Marsha. She is at Percy Priest Dam. Today Marsha and I did the Greenway ride. Our speed was not up to even Lite, but we just took our time and enjoyed the Greenways. We made a stop at the Jack in the Box (May become a regular stop on the Greenway Ride) and got a Strawberry Banana smoothie for some extra carbs. Hope you all had a good ride tonight.

Shorts for our Jersey

Before I spend a lot of time on design, I would like to get an idea how many people are interested in purchasing shorts. I have discussed designs with Kimiko at Louis Garneau and have placed information for your consideration on our Web Site. Please click here to review and then enter a COMMENT as to how many shorts you would be interested in buying, provided you like the design. Also, comment if you aren't interested. Please note the same guy (KJ) who put the beer (or Vernor's Ginger Ale) mug with our bee also suggested the base color.

Cyclist Injured on New Shackle

Travis Simpson (an Acme Biker) was hurt this morning on New Shackle near Drake's Creek. He was looking back and ran off the road. He ended up in the hospital with torn ligaments in his shoulder.

Back from Monticello, KY

Hey, guys. Posting this from front porch of cabin on Lake Cumberland on off chance of being near Wifi sometime today. The ride was terrific, had about 15 min of rain just before getting to Red Boiling Springs but was no problem given the wide shoulders on 52. The route included a little gem named Ferguson Hill Road, not for hill haters. My selective forgetting of hills was working as usual. I remembered the ride being hilly, especially Savage Mountain just past Albany, Ky which I again had to walk, but the rest of the ride into KY was much hillier than remembered. Still, got there OK and fresher than I remember from last trip. That was probably due more to the 70 degree, low humidity this time as opposed to the 95 degree high humidity of last trip.
Don't think this will be on the Fogbee ride agenda any time soon. I was beginning to hate the downhills because one knew what was to immediately follow. Did not get out of my granny for 20 miles because I wanted the downhill to last as long as possible and all the uphills immediately required a granny. Plan to be on the ride Tuesday.
Bruce
Update, I'm back and was no where near wifi. Sorry to hear about Brad. There are bad, worse, and absolutely terrible cervical spne fractures. Hope his is one of the lesser bad.
See you tonight.

Deficient Road Design = Bike Injury

This picture was taken with a cell-phone on Bonita Pkwy Hendersonville on 7/12/08 after a FOGBEE cyclist distracted by traffic hit a grate over a storm sewer. The slots run parallel to the flow of traffic and are wide enough to swallow a bike tire. The smashed helmet, split into two, shows the damage as the grate caught the tire and cyclist went head first into the pavement. As the cyclist laid on the street, passing motorists called 911, which in minutes solicited a response of three police cars, a fire truck, and an ambulance.

This accident could have resulted in serious back, neck, and head injuries and worse if the cyclist had fallen into traffic. Fortunately, after a thorough examination by the EMT's he walked away only with facial abrasion and a very sore back. (Click on photos to enlarge)

UPDATE 7/14/08: Biker has a fractured C7 vertebrae and will be seeing neuro-surgeon this Friday. His wife is upset because the grate is an obvious hazard. I explained that the Greenway Committee has brought these issues to the attention of Mayor Foster's office in past (Wessington Rd and Thornton Market) and received only promises of action. We expect a similar reponse until someone is seriously hurt.

Jersey - In Production

Hello Doug, I have received your signed layouts and will be putting your order into the early stages of production later today. I hope you are pleased with the resulting product and I thank you for your time and business, have a great day. Cheers,
Nick Beaulieu, Graphic Designer
nbeaulieu@louisgarneau.us
Louis Garneau USA Inc.

. . . Nick says, "Expect Jersey delivery by September 1'st."

7/11/08: Thanks to the "smartly dressed" Dave Miley and Dave Buckman who showup for rides with shorts matching their jerseys, I have been asked, "Where are our shorts?" I do plan to design shorts. I just had jersey fatigue. This weekend I will have samples for your inspection.

FOGBEE Priorities

. . . A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
. . . The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
. . . The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous 'yes.'
. . . The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed. 'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
. . . The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else---the small stuff. 'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you. 'Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend time with your children Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Cycle another hour. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'
. . . One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented. The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.' The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.'